By Phil Okose Onitsha
The Bishop on the Niger, the Rt Rev Dr Owen Nwokolo, has blamed both the Federal Government and politicians for the nation’s woes and urged
the Federal Government to immediately arrest the present situation before it gets out of hand.
Laying the blame during his Easter message, he condemned in strong terms the incessant killing of aimless and innocent Nigerians by people suspected to be Fulani herdsmen and Boko Haram terrorists and pleaded for the respect of the sanctity of the human life.
He regretted the number of lives and magnitude of properties which he said Nigeria has lost to terrorism and brigandage since the past few
years.
In a release the Bishop called on christians, moslems and all ethnic groups in the country to use the period of the Easter to make peace among themselves.
According to him, “Easter as a time of sober reflection, should be judiciously used by both christians and moslems to make peace and seek
the face of God collectively and individually for possible positive changes in the nation’s political, economic and social life. Assuring Nigerians that all hope was not yet lost, Bishop Nwokolo
explained that as Jesus Christ suffered, was buried and later resurrected, so would the country some day stablize after decades of decay and turbulence.
According to him if Nigerians would diligently seek the face of God, forsake evil and obey the commandments of God, God would soon turn
around the fate of the masses irrespective of what they had suffered.
The bishop also frowned at the escalating cost of essential commodities in the country and the steady fall of the value of the Naira all of which he said were responsible for the present economic
hardship in the country. lamenting the degree of economic hardship most Nigerians are passing
through today, the Bishop enjoined the Federal Government to find a way urgently to save the citizenry from starvation and diseases.
“The present high cost of living in the country is very worrisome and unacceptable. Many families today find it difficult to have two square meals a day,” he stated, adding that the recent petrol price hike and that of electricity have compounded the people’s plight. He advised that the government should be cautious on the issue of petroleum subsidy, stating that the interests of the Nigerian masses should be of utmost consideration while negotiating the removal or otherwise of the subsidy.
The bishop however encouraged Nigerians to anchor their faith in God always and not to be afraid of tomorrow irrespective of seeming political, economic and social instability and uncertainty in the country.
“God is not forgetful of His people. He knows what we are passing through in this country. At the appointed time, at the right moment, our God will meet us at the points of our various needs,”
He finally prayed for good governance in the country and absolute peace to reign among the religious and ethnic groups in the country, wishing Nigerians the joy and blessings of Easter Season.
