Lagos Catholic Archbishop Seeks End to Killings, Urges Govts to Tackle Corruption

Ferdinand Ekechukwu

The Catholic Archbishop of Lagos Diocese, Most. Rev. Alfred Adewale Martins, has attributed the myriad of challenges facing the country to leadership problem. The clergy, while speaking in an exclusive interview with THISDAY, in Lagos, highlighted the danger of corruption, inefficiency and lack of transparency to any society.

He stressed the need for leadership to address the issue of good governance by leading people in the right direction and make the required sacrifices for the nation.

Archbishop Martins said there was need for the political will to deal with inappropriate use of government resources.

According to him, lack of transparency on the part of leaders cast doubts upon the shared aspiration for peaceful co-existence.

“Leaders are supposed to lead by example in directing people towards that which is best, the practices which are best, to attain common good. In other words, leaders who expect the followers to make sacrifices in other that goals be achieved must lead by example.

“As it were today, the economy is in   a very bad shape; there is hardly money for people to do their normal things. Even for a sick person to buy drugs, simple malaria drugs and the rest of them are becoming more and more difficult. Yes, sacrifices are supposed to be made. But I believe the leadership also has a responsibility of making sacrifices to the people,” he added.

Speaking on the killings in some parts of the country, especially Plateau State, he said, “The way things are now, seems to me we are going towards the precipice again as a nation. And unless we decide to begin to do things differently, than we have been doing, we will talk and talk about the killings that are going on all over the country at this point in time.

 “The fact that those killings happened and there are no consequences that anybody can point at is gradually driving people to the edge. And I believe that as we are beginning to see peaceful demonstrations going on, for example in Plateau State, if this is not taken seriously, very soon, people will begin to take laws into their hands.”

Speaking further, he said, “We will continue to see situations of attacks on some communities by the so called unknown gunmen in the east, for instance, and the bandits in the north. These are very dire things that are happening. “

He observed that “we have not had adequate response to those challenges.

 “I mean if people feel that they are not being listened to, if people feel they do not have adequate stake in the life of the country, and therefore they begin to act and react to that, you cannot justify the way they react.”

He suggested that government officials needed to listen to people dispassionately in a way that it’s more of wanting to hear them.

“Rather than as it were, listening just for the sake of ‘we have heard you’, they have to listen to them and respond to the issues which they bring up. That’s one thing I believe also that is important for us as a people to also go back to the values that make up for proper human co-existence. The respect for life seems to have constantly been put to the back burner these days,” he concluded.