By Achadu Gabriel, Kaduna
After taking a hard look at the current socio-economic and security complexion of Nigeria, a leading clergyman in the country has returned a verdict of lack of hope.
Catholic Archbishop of Kaduna, North-Central Nigeria, Most Rev. Matthew Man-Oso Ndanoso, dismissed the situation as hopeless.
His verdict appeared to clash with that of President Bola Tinubu who,during his first presidential media chat few days ago in Lagos, was upbeat that the country is on the right track and that things can only get better.
Archbishop Ndanoso made the assertion in his Christmas eve message to the Christian faithful in Kaduna state.
He said the country’s situation was exacerbated by the current insecurity, hunger, multi-dimensional poverty, banditry, kidnapping for ransom, terrorism, insurgency, armed robbery, high cost of living and transportation, which, he noted, were caused mainly by President Tinubu’s hurried and unplanned removal of fuel subsidy.
He also ascribed the current hardship in the land to free floating of the national currency, the Naira, which, he pointed out, caused serious existential challenge to most Nigerians.
To him, these have spawned hopelessness and loss of trust among the citizenry on a scale never experienced in the history of the country.
The Archbishop said: “The situation in our country today with insecurity, hunger, multi-dimensional poverty, banditry, kidnapping for ransom, terrorism, insurgency, armed robbery, high cost of living and transportation caused mainly by the hurried and unplanned removal of fuel subsidy.
“And the free floating of the national currency, the Naira, has caused serious existential challenge to most Nigerians resulting to hopelessness and loss of trust among the citizenry never experienced before in the history of our country.
“Some have lost hope in themselves, their country and even in God, leaving them with no option but ending their lives. Those who can afford are leaving the country in droves or ‘japaring’. There is hopelessness everywhere in the land.”
Archbishop Ndanoso pleaded with Aso Rock and other leaders to do a policy change and make life bearable for Nigerians.
His words: “Given the hardship in the land, we plead with governments at all levels, especially at the federal level, to do whatever it takes by way of policy change or redirection to cushion the effects of the policies that brought us to where we are.
“The hunger and poverty in the land is better imagined. Even at harvest time, the prices of essential food items have not changed for the better. Little wonder then that wherever people hear of palliative distribution, huge numbers gather to get whatever they can, leading to the tragic experiences we have had in recent times.
“If anything, this should serve as a wake-up call to those charged with the responsibility of managing our common resources. We believe there are enough resources to go round, with proper management.”
Nonetheless, the top clergyman said hope for Nigeria is nearby, urging people to stick closer to Almighty God for solutions.
“Dear brothers and sisters, the Word became flesh and dwelt among us to give us hope in our seeming hopeless situation. Because He is Emmanuel, He is with us and in our situation, good or bad.
“He says to you and I in our difficult situation to be calm and know that He is God (cf. Ex. 14:14). Our hope in God, St. Paul tells us, does not fail or disappoint us (cf. Rom. 5:5). Our God is able. He will surely see us through these very difficult and trying times.
“For as Pope Francis has said, ‘where God is born, peace is born; and where peace is born, hope is born; and where hope is born, persons regain their dignity’. Christianity is not a thought but a fact because God became man and it is this fact that we celebrate at Christmas.
“Jesus Christ, who is the Word Incarnate, is the fullness of the revelation of God (cf. Gal. 4:4). More than anything, Christianity is a revelation and it is God Who reveals Himself and God in His infinite generosity, has given human beings enough light to hope and believe in Him.
“As we reflect on the mystery of the Incarnation which is the result of God’s unconditional love for us, we should be challenged into asking ourselves how we are responding to this divine love (cf. my 2017 Christmas Message).
“God became man in order to teach us how to live a new way of life. In the light of the incarnation, we are challenged to see, judge and act in a new way wherever we find ourselves -in the neighbourhood, family, parish, office, institution because the incarnation has given us a new lease of life.
“Yet even today, according to Pope Francis, great numbers of men and women are deprived of their human dignity, and, like the Child Jesus, they suffer cold, poverty, and rejection.
“We pray that our closeness to the Word Incarnate may be felt by those who are most vulnerable in our society like the internally displaced persons, the inmates, the sick and the home-bound, the elderly, victims of herders’ attacks, human trafficking and the drug trade, kidnapping for ransom, armed robbery and women who suffer violence (cf. 2015 traditional Urbi et Orbi message on Christmas Day).
“With the Holy Father, Pope Francis, I enjoin one and all to make sure that the Gospel becomes ever more incarnate in our own lives too. Drawing near to the Gospel, meditating on it and incarnating it in daily life is the best way to understand Jesus and bring Him to others.”
