Bishop Emmanuel Badejo of the Catholic Diocese of Oyo has urged Nigerians to fight for moral and ethical regeneration in families, and the society at large as the country celebrates its 60th independence anniversary.
Badejo made the call in a statement he made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Lagos.
He said that injustice and graft must be opposed and the rule of law must be applied equally to all.
Badejo said that Nigerians must endeavour to support one another to alleviate the sufferings of the less privilege.
According to him, insecurity, violence, insurgency, corruption, unemployment, crippling inflation and pervasive criminality might still not eclipse the hopes of an independent Nigeria.
“The strength of the nation’s diversity and the combined force of its people can still overcome any challenge if every leader who should nurture the country’s cohesion does not work against it.
“Some questions that Nigerians ask today show that after 60 years of independence, we still lack authentic independence.
“Nigerians must fight for independence anew and all hands must be on deck, because we have no other country to call our home.
“We must fight for independence from stealing leaders, civil servants, unionists, bloodthirsty terrorists, tribalists, economic mercenaries, religious bigots and all social miscreants, who merely seek their own cut of the national cake at whatever price,” Badejo said.
He called on leaders to spearhead the charge for the restoration of equity, fairness and balance in appointments and recruitments in the country.
Badejo said that such would help to restore the federal character, the confidence of the people and also exploit the strength that could be found in national unity.
“The lifeblood of a Federal Republic like Nigeria is equity in representation, distribution of resources, positions and privileges.
“Nigeria has, however, been asphyxiated by the self-serving, sectionalist, and tribalistic character of most of her leaders,” Badejo said.
He added that we must continue to lift our voices to God in prayers because of its many benefits.
“God has done more for Nigeria than he has done for other countries. Others only used God’s grace far better than us.
“The Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria(CBCN) has called for a 40-day prayer which will end on October 1.
“We believe that it has worked for our country. God is answering our prayers but it is left to us to recognise the opportunities he offers to us and use them to our advantages,” he said. (NAN)
