A former President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Anthony Cardinal Olubunmi-Okogie, has said Nigerians are angry over poverty and insecurity in the country.
The former Lagos Archbishop of the Catholic Church urged the Presidency to take note of the criticisms by former President Olusegun Obasanjo; former military dictator, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida; the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria and others, saying that they should not be dismissed as “wailers.”
He said, “The truth is: Nigerians are not happy; Nigerians are hungry and angry. They are not happy because their lives and their belongings are not safe. They work so hard while the value of the money they earn cannot make them enjoy basic things of life.
“Nigerians are unhappy because the economy has been so mismanaged that some cannot pay the school fees of their children. Nigerians are unhappy because they have not got jobs. Nigerians are unhappy because, instead of hope, they are offered propaganda and insults by the President’s men. Nigerians are angry because their loved ones are butchered by herdsmen while the response of government is woeful.
“The issue at hand is more serious than getting re-elected. It cannot be resolved by way of a facile intra-party reconciliation. Before it can succeed, this government must admit it has failed. Before it can retrace its steps, this government must admit that it has strayed from the path of keeping the promises it made, promises that made Nigerians to vote as they did in 2015.
“Apart from seeking intra-party reconciliation, this government must first reconcile with Nigerians by treating them with respect,” Okogie said in a piece he sent to The PUNCH on Sunday night, titled, ‘There is Anger in the Land.’
According to him, despite “the insolence of some of its officials,” Nigerians still pray for the President Muhammadu Buhari government.
“May this government not suffer the fate of the proverbial hunter’s dog that got lost in the forest because it obstinately refused to heed the hunter’s whistle,” he said.