From George Onyejiuwa, Owerri
The Catholic Archbishop of Owerri and President of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), His Grace Most Reverend Lucius Ugorji, has challenged Nigerians to work for the common good.
He said Christmas is God’s rescue mission, which sets humanity on the path of liberation and redemption to be achieved through the passion, death and resurrection of Christ, whose redemptive birth was well-captured in the Canticle of Zechariah.
In his Christmas Message themed “Christmas: A Challenge to work for the common good”, the prelate noted that “Christmas is the joyful period when we celebrate the mystery of the birth of the Son of God in the world and remind ourselves of the unfailing and abiding presence of God among His people.”
He said that the nation is celebrating this year’s Christmas amidst hardship occasioned by a declining economy and deepening poverty as a result of inept and corrupt leadership.
“This year, we are celebrating Christmas in Nigeria amidst untold suffering, hardship and lamentation in the face of a fast-declining economy, high soaring inflation, increasing poverty and collapsing security infrastructure, with kidnappers, terrorists and bandits on the rampage. All these are traceable to inept, corrupt and exploitative leadership. This dark chapter in our national history is comparable to the sufferings, helplessness and hopelessness of the Israelites as a result of greedy, selfish and corrupt leadership. God did not abandon them, rather, He intervened by sending them a Saviour in Jesus Christ, a priceless gift wrapped in a swaddling cloth and laid in a manger in Bethlehem. Christmas, the birth of Emmanuel, (God with us) is a cause for hope that God will not turn his back on His children in our country,” he stated.
“This is a cause for optimism and assurance that help is on the way. As Christians, we believe that the Son of God is in our midst in his mission to rescue us and bring us into his kingdom of light over the darkness of evil, which seeks to destroy and depress us. He invites us and indeed the entire humanity to submit ourselves to His transforming civilization of love as the path to a renewed world and society, where humans can live in dignity, freedom and peace. It is by accepting to be change agents with Him and in Him that we can impact the social order and transform our country into a nation, where justice, righteousness, goodness and peace reign and prevail. This is by no means an easy task. As change agents, we would be engaged in the battle against forces of evil and darkness. No situation, no matter how horrible, can resist the transformative power of the gospel values of love, truth, justice and peace.”
However, the cleric said that Nigerians have lamented enough over the dreary situation of the Nation and should join hands together to work for the common good.
“We have lamented enough about the sad situation in our country and should now join our hands together to work for the common good by infusing our society with Christmas values such as love, peace, solidarity, self-sacrifice and justice. Working for the common good is the reason for the existence of the political community. Perhaps Christmas, when we recall that Christ assumed human flesh to sacrifice himself for the common good of all humanity, is a providential period for preparing ourselves adequately for free, fair and credible general elections in 2023 to choose the right leaders who can turn the fortunes of our nation for the better. This should animate and motivate all of us, whether as voters, candidates, umpires and security agents to act in ways that accord with the common good as opposed to parochial, clannish and selfish interests, which are evils that have hitherto damaged the Nigerian polity and led to the emergence of incompetent and self-serving leaders.
“In pursuit of the common good as we prepare for the 2023 general elections, hate speech, electoral violence, buying and selling of votes as well as all forms of election rigging should be eschewed. All eligible voters should see general elections as good opportunities for liberating the nation from the shackles of misrule. After proper discernment, they should rise to their civic responsibility of going to the polling booth on election days to vote for candidates with competence, capacity and integrity to rule. We urge the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct the elections with transparency, honesty and impartiality. All electoral officers should shun partisanship and place the common good of the nation above any religious, ethnic, monetary or personal consideration.
The prelate also urged security agents to maintain peace and order during the general elections with every sense of Professionalism and impartiality.
“Likewise, we urge security agents to exercise their duty of maintaining peace and order during the general elections with every sense of professionalism and impartiality. They should not aid and abet rigging or unleash violence on innocent voters. Candidates vying for political offices should not see the general election as a do-or-die affair. They should approach it with the spirit of sportsmanship, with the disposition of winning or losing without bitterness. They should allow the electorate to freely elect those to lead them, without threats, intimidation or inducement.
“Our faith, commitment and integrity will be challenged in the coming months. We need help from God our Heavenly Father. For in the final analysis, if the Lord does not build the house the builder labours in vain, unless the Lord watches over the city the guards stand watch in vain (Ps 127:1). Without the Lord, our best intentions and efforts will bear little or no fruits. While we endeavour to do all we can to change our political and economic fortunes during the upcoming general elections, the ultimate success lies with God.
“Hence we must put our knees down in prayer for God’s help and sustenance in the forth-coming elections so that he can transform the hearts of our people to do the right things.”