By
Princess-Ekwi Ajide, Abuja
The Catholic Bishops of Nigeria, in a Communique issued at the end of its first plenary for the year in Abuja, urged Nigerians to go beyond sophistry and rhetorics to work towards a tradition of love that transcends the barriers of race, nationality, culture, ethnicity, religious or political affiliation and geographical distance and embrace the things that unite and bind them together.
The Communique signed by the outgoing President of CBCN, Archbishop Obiora Akubeze and made available by the Director of Social Communications, Padre Mike Umoh, noted that politics is a noble vocation for the common good just as it affirmed that political office holders have a fundamental role to play in providing good governance.
According to the Bishops, although political parties are the platforms through which political offices are sought in Nigeria, elected officials should build fraternity among all citizens irrespective of differences in creed, ethnic group, sex, and political opinion.
They observed that there is no evident fairness in the distribution of social amenities or in making appointments to offices despite the Federal Character principle enshrined in the Constitution. There is also no functional, stable, qualitative and affordable educational system that should be the bedrock of development saying currently, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) is on strike with the consequent closure of public universities, thereby leaving young people roaming the streets.
The Bishops urged the Federal Government to quickly and permanently settle the dispute in the interest of human and national growth and called on government at all levels to respect and protect people’s fundamental rights and shun all forms of ethno-religious favouritism as it further observed a gross lack of job opportunities, equity, gender balance between male and female, good moral standards, an adequate justice system, transparency and accountability.
They also advised political office holders to embrace a better kind of politics by proper application of the principles of equity and subsidiarity for programmes of development; and by “promoting an economy that favours productive diversity for job creation” in the interest of respect for human dignity
The Communique encouraged all citizens to participate in the forthcoming national population census exercise to help Government have the data needed for proper policies that will aid development and described Constitutional and Electoral Reforms as recipe for Peace and Development noting that the Constitution of any nation is the primary law that provides for the organization and direction of the actions of governments about the welfare of citizens as a faulty Constitution can breed rancour, discontent, and maldevelopment.
They thanked the Government for initiating processes towards reforming the national Constitution handed down by the military Government and urged the legislature and the executive to exercise their relevant roles to give the nation an adequate Constitution that reflects the common aspiration to live in unity, justice, and peace.
The Bishops commended the efforts of the National Assembly, the President, and all who made it possible for Nigeria to now have a reformed electoral law, the Electoral Act 2022adding that if well and sincerely implemented, the law will engender a better democracy in which there would be free, fair and transparent elections, through which people choose their leaders to serve the common good.
They welcomed the adoption of modern technology to improve the quality of the nation’s electoral process but however cautioned that technology in itself, may not necessarily guarantee free and fair elections and drew attention to the need for sincerity and vigilance over the accuracy and objective use of the technology being adopted.
They demanded that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) register only qualified people and ensure that the people’s votes count.
