“People are losing faith,” Catholic Archbishop Urges Nigerian Government to Tackle Worsening Insecurity

He expressed concern that news about Nigeria “has been largely negative.”

“Even though we have the capacity to turn things around for every Nigerian, yet greed, corruption, lack of political will, parochial rather than patriotic interests seem to dominate our decisions, plans, interpersonal relationships, with the result being needless poverty, suffering, and the monster of insecurity growing progressively destructive by the day,’ the Archbishop said.

Archbishop Kaigama urged Nigerians to utilize the Advent Season by working on their spirituality.

He described Advent as a special time of prayer and spiritual self-examination, to approach God to seek forgiveness for failings, “both at the individual and national levels.”

“To avoid being destroyed at both our physical and spiritual levels, we are called to throw away our deeds of darkness, to put on the armor of faith, hope, and charity, and work for peace and justice in our country,’ he said.

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Archbishop Kaigama condemned those who cause violence and war in Nigeria, and called for a nation where everyone feels a sense of fairness regardless of their religion or ethnic group.

The Archbishop condemned the ongoing war in Nigeria, underscoring the importance of the right to life, which he said is guaranteed under section 343 of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution. He urged the Government to take action against those who violate it.

“The ongoing culture of impunity will only result in more bloodshed and continue to erode public trust in the rule of law,” he said.

In his homily at the inaugural Mass for the legal year for Catholic lawyers in his Metropolitan see, Archbishop Kaigama challenged the Catholic legal practitioners to uphold the highest ethical standards and act as “instruments of light” in their profession.

“Catholic lawyers are called to be instruments of light. In your chambers, let your counsel be truthful. In the courtroom, let your advocacy be ethical. In public life, let your character be above reproach,” he said.

He reminded the lawyers that their job is not merely a profession but “a calling to be guardians of order, defenders of rights, protectors of the weak, and advocates for the voiceless.”

In his homily, Archbishop Kaigama called on the Catholic lawyers to be “conscience of society,” demonstrating Christ’s justice by being fair, especially in a “nation where many feel abandoned or unheard.”

“Be lawyers who are always guided by the truth, who do not serve only the powerful, who do not use the law as a weapon against the weak. Instead, be lawyers whose integrity becomes a sermon; whose character becomes a testimony; whose legal work becomes a ministry,’ he said.

Archbishop Kaigama urged Nigerians to enter the Advent season with renewed spiritual diligence, and examine their lives to reorder their priorities, to “awaken from moral complacency.”

Sabrine Amboka is a Kenyan journalist with a passion for Catholic church communication. She holds a bachelor’s degree in mass communication from St. Paul's University in Kenya.