Advertisement

Federal Government “insincere” in Fight against Insecurity: Nigerian Archbishop

Archbishop Alfred Adewale Martins of Nigeria's Lagos Archdiocese/ Courtesy Photo

Nigeria’s Federal Government is not sincere in the fight against insecurity, the Local Ordinary of the country’s Lagos Archdiocese has said.

Speaking at the conclusion of the 60th anniversary celebration of the Knights of Saint Mulumba Saturday, September 18, Archbishop Alfred Adewale Martins said, “Insecurity is the major problem we have in Nigeria currently; places of worship are not safe.”

“The government is supposed to have access to experts who will bring in their expertise to solve the problem, but that is not so,” Archbishop Adewale said, and added, “When you hear the kind of complaints and dissatisfaction from the military, you will know that there is inadequate sincerity. There is inadequate arms supply to the security.”

The Nigerian Archbishop noted that “Nigerian politicians have lost faith in service to humanity and are in search of personal gain.”

Making reference to the case of former aviation minister, Femi Fani-Kayode who recently joined the All Progressive Congress (APC) after years of criticizing President Muhammadu Buhari as an example of a lack of “principles” among the political class, the Archbishop said, “One of the things about Nigerian politicians is inconsistency in goals and principles.”

Advertisement

“When Femi Fani-Kayode was criticizing Buhari it was not based on principles or he would not joined or switched to APC. It is not surprising that we are where we are because we have people like him who are inconsistent,” the 62-year-old Archbishop emphasized.

Reflecting on the economic crisis in Africa’s most populous nation, the Archbishop said, “it seems Nigerians are carrying more crosses now than ever because of the present economic challenges in the country.”

Against this backdrop, Archbishop Adewale urged Nigerians not to lose focus despite the challenges. ‘

“We can only ask that in spite of our challenges we never lose focus of who we are as a people, people that should be united more than we are, a people that should make efforts to support one another and be united with one another,” he said.

The Archbishop added, “Of course, some of the persons that are there, have been imposed on us by bad leadership, bad government, corruption and so we want to also challenge the leaders to try and see what needs to be done to lift the challenges Nigerians are facing now, such as insecurity.”

More in Africa

Nigeria has been experiencing insecurity since 2009 when Boko Haram insurgency began with the aim of turning the country into an Islamic state.

Since then, the group, one of largest Islamist groups in Africa, has been orchestrating indiscriminate terrorist attacks on various targets, including religious and political groups as well as civilians.

The situation of insecurity in the West African nation has further been complicated by the involvement of the predominantly Muslim Fulani herdsmen, also referred to as the Fulani Militia, who have been clashing frequently with Christian farmers over grazing land.

Catholic Bishops in the country have repeatedly called on the government to put in place strict measures to protect her citizens.

“Insecurity, clearly evident in widespread loss of lives and property, has left the impression that the country’s leaders are either unable – or worse still, unwilling – to take up the responsibilities of their office,” the members of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) said in February.

Advertisement

Jude Atemanke is a Cameroonian journalist with a passion for Catholic Church communication. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of Buea in Cameroon. Currently, Jude serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.