Catholic Bishops Demand Harsh Policies’ Reversal

The Catholic Bishops of the Kaduna Ecclesiastical Province (KEP) have called for immediate reversal of the policies that have plunged Nigeria into economic hardship.

The Bishops said policy reversals are not a sign of weakness but evidence of a listening, humane and caring government that appreciates its people’s voices.

Reading the text of the Bishops of KEP yesterday at the end of its provincial meeting in Kaduna signed by the chairman, Archbishop Man-Oso Ndagoso and the secretary, the Catholic Bishop of Kano, John Namaza Niyiring, the faith leaders urged Tinubu not to listen to those hawks who see the protests as an affront to his government.

“We have been with this subsidy for the past 25 years. The president should have removed the subsidy gradually, it’s about the people, even if the president spends 10 years removing subsidy in phases without inflicting severe hardship on the people, that would be better,” they said.

According to them, insecurity and fuel subsidy removal brought Nigeria to the current sad situation.

“Two key issues have brought the nation to this sad situation. First, is the issue of the unresolved security situation across the country. Banditry continues unabated with citizens still painfully vulnerable to the barbarism of the bandits and criminals across the country. We believe that far more could have been done to take the war to these criminals who have declared war on our country.

“Being an agrarian society, the inability of our farmers to go to their farms has created the condition for the ravaging hunger across the land. Second, is the removal of oil subsidies without the attendant clarity of how to turn these huge resources towards ameliorating the pains of our people. Rather than plough the huge volume of money to change the fortunes of our people, we have seen the federal, state and legislative arms of government turn this fortune only to their own welfare.

“We appeal to him to identify some quick wins that can create a win-win scenario. It would be a fatal mistake to see those who protested as unpatriotic citizens. Those who broke the law and their sponsors must be identified and punished appropriately,” they said.

The faith leaders, however, appealed to the president to immediately send out signals that show concrete appreciation of the circumstances that have created the conditions for the protests.

“We encourage the President to focus on the ideals of Democracy by building consensus rather than the temptation to search for enemies,” they added.