The Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria has urged President Bola Tinubu to reconsider his economic policies, which the CBCN said, have thrown Nigerians into suffering, hunger, and dehumanising poverty.

This was contained in a communique issued by the CBCN at the end of its Second Plenary Meeting in Auchi Diocese, Edo State, on Thursday, August 29, 2024.

The communique was signed by the CBCN President and Archbishop of Owerri, Most Rev. Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji, and CBCN Secretary/Bishop of Uromi, Most Rev. Donatus Ogun.

While making emphasis on the blame game and calls for patience and sacrifice by government, the Catholic Bishops lamented that the country was stuck in a web of corruption, adding that some of the policies by the current administration were in favour of those in the corridors of power and their cronies in the business sector.

According to the Bishops, the nation’s huge debt burden described as a great affront to present and future generations, was responsible for the current economic reforms which was killing Nigerians.

The Catholic Bishops stated: “We observe that servicing huge debts to international monetary agencies and consequently sourcing funds internally to balance budget deficits gave rise to the present government’s economic reforms, consisting mainly in the withdrawal of fuel subsidy and the floating of the Naira.

“We are aware that these reforms have triggered a galloping inflation that has reduced most Nigerians to a life of cruel suffering and wretchedness. The majority of Nigerians is now stuck in living conditions that detract from human dignity. Thus, the debt burden has turned out to be a new form of enslavement of present and future generations.

“We note that the socio-economic difficulties of our nation are clearly beyond what economic reforms alone can effectively resolve, no matter how well thought-out and how accurately executed. We must admit that the cost of running governments with many elected and appointed officials is stunning and unsustainable.

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“We, therefore, urge the present administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to reconsider its economic reform policies with a view to lifting the burden of hardship from the citizens and engender people-oriented and progressive development.”

The CBCN further called for the release of #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protesters detained for protesting against hardship in the country.

The Bishops added: “We denounce the use of violence by some people and equally condemn in the strongest terms the killing of some protesting citizens by security operatives. Yet, we reaffirm the constitutional right of every Nigerian to peaceful protests. We wish to stress that as long as the nation is afflicted with poverty, hardship and corruption, and as long as the future of people remains bleak, we must continue to reckon with protests.

“We call on governments at all levels to address the issues that engender protests, and release all who are being detained for their support and expression of their constitutional rights to protest within the ambit of the law.”

Raising the alarm over food insecurity and malnutrition, the CBCN lamented that the yoke of hardship in Nigeria was fuelled by insecurity, high electricity tariffs, high cost of petroleum products, transportation, and medicare, as well as general lack of basic infrastructure.

The Catholic Bishops stated: “We demand that governments put in place policies, programmes and initiatives that would address the multi-faceted factors that adversely affect food security with a good action plan for implementation such as provision of safety and security to farmers and their crops across the country.

“We enjoin governments to support farmers with subsidies, soft loans, modern technology and, improved seedlings, but not genetically modified seedlings. It would also involve supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) struggling to add value to raw local food products through processing, preservation and packaging technology.

“We encourage families and individuals to embark on farming and call on government to ensure the security of farmers and their crops, offer incentives to private-sector agribusinesses, and take urgent and decisive steps to achieve food self-sufficiency in our nation.”

The Star