“Catholic Church is not an agency for employment,” Archbishop Tells Nigerian Government to Address Youth Unemployment

Abuja, 08 December, 2025 / 5:23 PM

Archbishop Ignatius Ayau Kaigama of the Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja has appealed to the Nigerian government to create meaningful job opportunities for the youths to address the high rate of unemployment in the West African nation.

In his December 6 address at the 13th Convocation ceremony of Godfrey Okoye university, Archbishop Kaigama who also serves as the University’s Chancellor expressed concern over the high employment expectations Nigerian youths place on the Catholic Church. 

He emphasized that faith-based institutions such as schools and hospitals have limited capacity to address the unemployment crisis in the West African nation.

“The Catholic Church only employs people when and where necessary. She is not an agency for employment. That is the duty of the government or companies,” Archbishop Kaigama said at the event that was held at Hon. Alhaji Aminu Waziri Tambuwa Convocation Arena, Campus II in Ugwomu-Nike.

He added, “In Abuja, for six years now,  I have had a long list of young graduates, and I am already having boxes of CVs and credentials from desperate students or their parents imploring that I should help them get jobs.”

“Many believe that by virtue of being the Archbishop of Abuja and having the honour of meeting some prominent persons in the government in Abuja, I have the automatic ticket of taking the phone to call any minister or director to ask for anything and it would be granted,” the Archbishop said, and added, “If I had the chance to seek help for them and get a positive response, I would certainly do so.”

Archbishop Kaigama encouraged Nigerian youths to hold their government accountable for employment creation, rather than relying solely on the church, which he said has limited resources.

“The Church, despite her limited resources, offers so much in terms of educational, vocational, medical, and other social services that they now think that it is the duty of the Church to provide jobs and social services,” the Catholic Archbishop said.

“Since they cannot easily reach their elected or appointed representatives in government but can easily burst into the offices or houses of Priests and Bishops, they pour out their frustration on the Church, hardly appreciating the tremendous role the church has played in the social transformation of what is today Nigeria,” he added.

Archbishop Kaigama expressed sadness at the daily encounters he has with young, talented, and dynamic graduates who approach him during pastoral visits or in his office, pleading for employment. “They are, every day, searching for what to do with the talents they struggled so hard to acquire in the university,” the Catholic Archbishop said.

He recalled similar experiences during his tenure as Archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Jos, in Plateau State, where he kept cartons of CVs belonging to hopeful young people “looking up to me as a Bishop to approach on their behalf, government departments, or to intervene with the big people in government for employment.”

“To my greatest chagrin, I was not able to meet their demands, and they would naturally feel frustrated and disappointed. This was due to no fault of mine or theirs, but the system that does not give maximum attention to the dynamic and energetic youths in their millions, who are well educated and capable of contributing enormously to a new and better Nigeria,” he added.

Focusing on the 660 students who were conferred different degrees at the ceremony, Archbishop Kaigama congratulated them for their perseverance towards the journey of success, saying, “To our graduating students, each of you has travelled a unique journey filled with challenges, discoveries, and triumphs. You have endured sleepless nights, faced uncertainty, and yet, emerged stronger, wiser, and ready to face the world.

He also reminded them that “education does not end with a degree; rather, it begins with a degree.The evidence of educated persons is not just what they know or what they were taught, but how they apply their knowledge for the progress of humanity and society,” he said.

Archbishop Kaigama further urged graduates to uphold virtue in all aspects of their life, saying, “Let discipline and integrity be your watchword wherever life leads you, whether in corporate offices, classrooms, hospitals, public service or in your personal business.”

“I challenge you to remain anchored in your values as defined in the vision of the University. Let your success be defined not by what you achieve for yourselves, but by what you contribute to the lives of others and the society as a whole,” he added.