Governors ineffective because centre holds much power ― Archbishop Ndagoso

He said the menace of banditry and kidnappings for ransom was posing a grave threat to not only peace and security but also to the corporate existence of the country as a united entity.

“I’m deeply concerned over the alarming rate of insecurity and poverty in the country,” he said.

Speaking at the 2020 Kaduna Archdiocesan pastoral council meeting in Kaduna State, the man of God said that, “apart from the socio-economic, socio-religious and ethnic conflicts, continued incessant kidnappings, herders/farmers clashes, banditry and abject poverty which has unfortunately become one of our national trademarks.”

“The insecurity situation last year reached a crises point with many people killed and hundreds of homes and property especially in Kajuru and Kachia Local Government Areas destroyed”.

“Today our country, richly endowed with both human and material resources is occupying the unenviable position of the world’s capital of poverty due mainly to our inability as a nation to harness and manage our resources for the common good,” he said.

He urged Governors of each state to be creative, saying that too much concentration of power and resource at the centre has made a lot of them ineffective.

He noted that COVID-19 pandemic has made an already bad situation worse, causing hopelessness and despondency among the citizenry.

Archbishop Ndagoso then urged the church to be an example to the government in the prudent management of scarce resources for the common good.

“The pandemic has not only exposed the weaknesses of our traditional assumptions, systems and structures but also our false securities and highlighted one of our most cherished principles of Catholic Social Teaching (CST), the principle of Subsidiarity and Solidarity.

“The #EndSARS protest which is gradually metamorphosing into a movement which was planned and executed by the youths of our country is a clear message that we can only ignore them at our own peril,” he said.

He condoled with communities affected by communal clashes and attacks by bandits and assured them of their continued support and solidarity.

Ndagoso encouraged the priests to continue to promote and foster not only ecumenical and inter-religious dialogue but also in inter-ethnic and inter-cultural relations. This is what our church universal is known for.