The Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Most Rev. Adewale Martins, has stated that the fears being expressed by some group of people about the state of the nation are genuine and they deserve to be looked into urgently.
Martins made the plea on Wednesday in Lagos while reacting to the ongoing agitations for better living conditions for Nigerians, urging the government to ensure the protection of their lives and property.
Part of what he said was “Except urgent and concrete measures are taking to reassure Nigerians of safety of their lives and property across the country, things may soon get out of hands. People may be forced to resort to self-help, if the government and security agencies continue to fail them.”
“The ongoing protests by some groups, is a reflection of the growing decay in the land and should be a wake-up call for the president to be more creative and decisive in addressing various agitations bothering the minds of Nigerians. Clamping down on the protesters will not make the problems to disappear. Rather, I urge him, as the father of the nation, to pay attention to the issues that bother the citizens.”
“The fears being expressed about the state of the nation are genuine and they deserve to be looked into urgently so as to save this nation from further distress.
“President Buhari needs to address the nation on these issues and give people the much-needed reassurance and hope. If this is not forthcoming, people may feel free to interpret events as they wish,” Martins said.
He further stated that there was a need for efforts towards identifying those who unleash mayhem on highways, who he believes may be foreigners that infiltrated the herdsmen.
“The people who unleashed mayhem on travellers on the highways seem to be foreigners who allegedly infiltrated the ranks of the herdsmen.
“We urge the governors to collaborate with all necessary groups to flush out these foreigners from their territories and free the nation of their criminal activities,” Martins added. (NAN)
