Catholic bishops ask Jonathan to check corruption, insecurity

CLERGYMEN, under the umbrella of the Conference of Catholic Bishops in Ibadan Province, have appealed to the Federal Government to act decisively on corruption and insecurity in Nigeria.The clerics specifically asked President Goodluck Jonathan to put off the alleged 'toga of timidity' and tackle the twin menace.In a statement made available to reporters in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State capital yesterday, the association's President, Rev. Felix Alaba Job and Secretary, Rev. Felix Ajakaye, expressed concern over the tragic Boko Haram insurgency in the country, which they said, had continued to spread death, mayhem and destruction in Nigeria.The bishops accused the government of shielding some powerful Nigerians from prosecution over corruption charges, describing the trend as a manifestation of our country's woes and backwardness.Job said: 'There have been agitations of corruption against some eminent Nigerians and even government officials in the current administration at various levels up to the very top. Government has so far not only failed to seriously investigate and prosecute most of these allegations, but it is now seen by many to even be shielding certain individuals and interests from prosecution.'This fact greatly detracts from the credibility of the transformation agenda of the current administration and further demoralises our fractious nation.'We strongly appeal to President Goodluck Jonathan and his administration to shed the toga of timidity and foot-dragging and courageously confront the monsters of corruption and insecurity as a panacea to unemployment, crime and despondency in the land,' Job said.The statement added further that on the havoc and chaos caused by Boko Haram activities in Nigeria, some citizens have concluded that religion, rather than being a solution, is actually part of the country's problem.'We declare that religion, the submission of man to a divine being higher than himself, is wholesome and desirably for humanity. Without it, the world would become a chaotic jungle, ruled only by man's bestial whims and caprices.'We call on all religious leaders and people, Christians and Muslims, to save religion from ridicule by preaching justice, tolerance and dialogue to their adherents at every opportunity. We commend many Muslim and Christian leaders who have recently raised a strong voicein this regard. Let such leaders and people put heads together to seek concrete ways of dealing with the current security challenge in Nigeria, especially the evil perpetrated in the name of religion'.The bishops also called on Nigerians to continue to live together regardless of ethnic and religious affiliations, saying that this was the only way the country could remain an indivisible entity.
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