From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
Archbishop of Abuja Catholic Archdiocese, Ignatius Kaigama, has appealed to the Federal Government to tackle the rising insecurity across the country as it is gradually taking away peace and joy from Nigerians.
He also observed that the growing insecurity has led to destructions, displacement and forcefully send many people to the Internally Displaced People (IDPs) camps.
Kaigama, in his Homily delivered at Saint John the Baptist Catholic Church, Mpape, Abuja, suggested that urgent steps are taken to arrest the insecurity situation, especially during the yuletide season, before it consumes all.
He expressed surprise with the way people, especially in public offices, openly deceive and manipulate data and other opportunities in their favour.
“How do you expect Nigerians to rejoice this season in the midst of growing insecurity: banditry, kidnapping and severe economic hardship, poor social services and many other social vices, in a society that exploits the poor, leaving many people hungry and frustrated, with lack of opportunities, and the hopes for a bright future being hijacked by a greedy and privileged few whose comfort are guaranteed at the expense of other Nigerians?
“Those in charge of collecting revenues, notably, the Customs and other tax officials must not collect more than the official amount as tax or other levies. In summary, the message of John the Baptist was hinged on distributive justice, which means giving everyone his or her due.
“Bringing it home, it means no businessmen or women should cheat others; those at the checkpoints must not extort money from people; those in charge of drafting our budget must not manipulate it in order to make themselves rich, and those in charge of payment of pensioners or workers’ salaries must not delay payment, especially now that the costs of essential items are prohibitive.”