….Say Protest Not Looting, Reject Calls For Military Takeover
As the Nigerian Catholic Priests Association, Kaduna Chapter marks Priest Day, Nigerian Politicians have been tasked on reducing high cost of governance while the masses are encouraged to pray for effective leadership.
Speaking on Tuesday in Kaduna, the Chairman Nigerian Priests Association Kaduna Chapter Rev. Father Joseph Gandu maintained that the cost of Governance in Nigeria is alarming and must be cut down to improve the life of the common man.
Speaking on the recent protest code named #EndBadGovernance, Fr. Gandu who opined that Peaceful Protest is the right of every Nigerian however insisted that “we have seen bad protests. Looting and stealing is not part of protest. We are protesting because Government is telling us to tighten our belts but Government is not even wearing its own belts at all. We are protesting because there is High cost of Governance, they should make life cheaper. We want our politicians to change, we don’t want military to takeover, we don’t want Rusia to rule us, we are praying for our leaders and we want them to change for good.”
According to Fr. Gandu, the message of Priests to the poor masses at this perilous time is “prayer, the first thing is to continue to pray, that’s why Jesus Christ would say with prayer you can do all things. Let’s continue to pray for our leaders and our country Nigeria. Some times when we say pray for our leaders some people say how can we be praying for these wicked people but when we pray positively God will change them. People are hard working but can’t go to the farms because of insecurity, we encourage farmers to continue to farm, but ensure you farm around the neighborhood where your security is guaranteed. ”
Earlier, Gandu revealed that, “the idea of Catholic Priest Day celebration is gotten from the Patron Saint, John Mary-Viani and the feast Day is usually 4th of August but this year’s celebration was actually shifted because of some pastoral engagements. We usually shift the celebrations to other days anytime there are pastoral engagements.This time we shifted it to this day. The idea started because of our Patron Saint John Mary-Viani because of his examplary life style as a Priest. The celebration started in Kaduna by Rev. Fr. Virtus Borogo and in 2021 while working on his farm he was brutally killed and since we enjoyed the idea we have to honour him by sustaining the celebration of the day.”
On the challenges of Priests in Kaduna, the Catholic Priest said “for the fact that we are priests doesn’t mean we are not human beings. Some years in the past Catholic Priests were the target. The work is sacrificial but we thank God for the Grace to carry on”
Highlight of the celebration was the novelty football match between Teams A and B at the Ahmed Musa Sports Centre, Kaduna.