Nigeria in state of political emergency, needs urgent rescue, says Onaiyekan

The Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, yesterday lamented the present state of the country, saying the nation was going through a period of political emergency.

He said that there was an urgent and serious need to salvage the country and give its youths hope of a better future.

Delivering his sermon at the first 2018 Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) in Abuja, Onaiyekan argued that Nigeria deserved far better than it was getting in terms of good governance, social justice, peace and well being of the people.

He, therefore, urged Nigerians to use the 2019 general elections, as their opportunity to radically turn things around and change their fortunes.

He lamented that the present government came into power three years ago with a promise to change the country for the better in all aspects, but had so far spent so much time and energy demonising its predecessor that it seems to have forgotten its promises of a better life for Nigerians.

Onaiyekan regretted that the present administration has allowed the initial massive goodwill it enjoyed to be depleted so much that most Nigerians were now looking for a new political organisation that could truly bring about genuine change.

The cleric observed that having tried the two major political parties and found that none of them met their expectations, the nation was on the verge of despair.

Meanwhile, the prelate of Methodist Church, His Eminence, Rev. Kanu Uche has said that the church is against the establishment of grazing fields or cattle colonies for any special group of people but rather prefer ranches to be built by individuals who have the ownership of the cattle.