Against the backdrop of the persisting insecurity in the country, the Catholic Archbishop of Kaduna, Most Rev. Matthew Man-Oso Ndagoso, has said Nigeria has a bad leadership that encourages mediocrity, nepotism and ineptitude which breed corruption.
Archbishop Ndagoso spoke yesterday in his Christmas message in Kaduna.
“We celebrate Christmas in our country amidst fears, trepidation and anxiety caused mainly by continued acts of banditry that takes the lives of many of our compatriots on a daily basis, kidnappings for ransom, armed robbery, un-abating farmers/herders conflicts, insurgency ritual killings, etc.
“As if these were not enough, we are now faced with a very high cost of living affecting all aspects of life with more and more people in the land joining the ranks of those already living below the poverty line, in abject poverty.
“We all know the culprits: bad leadership that encourages mediocrity, nepotism and ineptitude which in turn breeds corruption and bad governance that have earned our country the unenviable position of the world capital of the poor”.
“If recent statistics making the rounds are anything to go by, it is estimated that nearly half the population of our country today lives below the poverty line. It therefore comes as no surprise that there is despondency and a state of hopelessness in the land with no respite in sight for the vast majority of ordinary Nigerians”.
“It is worthy of note that our plight today was the plight of the poorest of the poor, the marginalized, the forgotten and the outcasts at the time of the incarnation exemplified by the poor and lonely”.
“Those canvassing for our votes must demonstrate by their manifestoes or tract records in public service that they are prepared and committed to working within these principles for the common good.
“More so, since ours is a multi-cultural and multi religious society anyone who aspires to lead this kind of society must be one with the capacity to manage these diversities”.
“As we prepare for the 2023 general elections, I appeal to governments at all levels to create the enabling environment for the citizens to exercise their civic rights and duties for the realization of good governance which is the rightful aspiration of every nation.”
