Sunday Ani
Recently, the Young Catholic Professionals (YCP) of the Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos, gathered at the Catholic Church of Transfiguration in the Victoria Garden City (VGC), to cross-fertilize ideas on how to strengthen the Christian faith in Nigeria. This is against the backdrop of widespread anger and hopelessness among Christians in the country, as a result of insecurity and economic hardship.
Responding to series of social, economic, political and religious problems that confront Nigerians, the YCP came to the rescue through a town hall meeting organised by the VGC chapter of the professional group. The theme of the meeting was living the Christian faith in an uncertain time.
According to the president of YCP in the Lagos archdiocese, Boniface Oguobi: “We intend to bring to our people the awareness of what is really happening and begin to talk about it. We want to see how to synergize as professionals to correct the ills in our society. This is the first of its kind and we intend to make it an annual event.”
Director, Lagos Resource Centre, Reverend Father Immanuel Agbulu, used St Paul’s letter to the Romans in Chapter eight of the Bible to drive home his point. He likened the situation in which Christians find themselves in Nigeria today to the situation that St. Paul found himself. He assured Christians that there is hope for them, even in the midst of the present decay, hopelessness and insecurity in Nigeria:
“Christians must realise that our story did not end on Good Friday; there was an Easter Sunday. St Paul says that the glory of God will come and renovate the world. So the Christians in Nigeria should not lose hope. We should not be despaired; we shouldn’t give up.
“Like every other person, the Christians also wait but we are not waiting for death; we are waiting for life. For the Christians to wait for life, it means they should get up and go cast their votes and struggle. Yes, things are tight, but get up in the morning, go and look for job; contribute the little you can and continue to do good things. That is what it means to wait for life.
“The only thing that enables the Christians to succeed is the grace of God. Grace does not force people. St Thomas Aquinas said Grace acts on nature. You must first of all dispose yourself, and be willing before the Grace of God will help you.
“There is no one human being that is greater than this nation. Nigerians are too intelligent to be stupid. If anybody comes out today to say let us scatter Nigeria, it will not work. What happened during the civil war happened because what we know today, we didn’t know it then. Till today, many people are still trying to recover from the civil war and we have seen what war is in other countries.
“It is never a good thing and anybody who wants any kind of disunity for a country like this, God will take care of that person before any of such happens. I am very optimistic and I can tell Nigerians that all hope is not lost. Look at what happened to the Israelites in the wilderness for 40 years but God told them He was with them. So, we are in an exodus. We will get there, no matter what happens. Nigerians shouldn’t give up because God will never abandon his people.”
President of YCP, VGC chapter, Amen Osayande, said the choice of the theme was informed by the prevailing situation in Nigeria: “When you look at the situation in the country today, it is such that the Christian faith is under serious attack. When the kidnap of priests, nuns and killing of Christians have become ritual and when the killing of two priests and 17 parishioners in Benue State are still fresh in our minds; a town hall meeting on ‘living the Christian faith in an uncertain time,’ becomes apt.
“It is one thing to be attacked but it is also another thing for you to also do what you are supposed to do; you are supposed to be the light of the world.” He stated that the event would be an annual event and its subsequent themes would be determined by the prevailing circumstance in the country then.
However, Director of Liturgy, Archdiocese of Lagos, Kelvin Onwuharinne, also spoke on the rationale behind the event’s theme: “Over time, there has been anxiety in the nation, economically, politically, and lately, religiously. So, our families are under tension. We worship without food and hope. Christians are being persecuted. As catholic professionals, we thought it wise to begin to tell people that they must not move away from doing what is right, as well as what the law and the church demand. Therefore, Catholic Church believes that God is in charge of every situation, and because of that, it behoves us as Catholics to remind people of what our faith teaches; that we must not compromise our faith because there is always hope for those who trust and believe in God.”