Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of Abuja Catholic Archdiocese has called on Nigerians to commit to justice, integrity, and love to birth a new Nigeria.
Kaigama made this known while delivering a sermon at the opening mass of the 2025 first plenary of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) in Abuja on Sunday.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the conference has as its theme: “Jubilee of Hope: A Light for a New Nigeria.”
According to Kaigama, God can spare and progress Nigeria if the citizens embark on individual and collective renewal, choosing righteousness over corruption, love over hatred, and peace over division.
The cleric warned against the dangers of greed, abuse of power, and materialism, adding that Nigerians must resist the devil’s temptations, including corruption, violence, and religious extremism.
“If we desire a new Nigeria, we must commit to truth, justice, and love. We must choose unity over division, selflessness over greed, faith over fear.
“As Nigerians, we still find ourselves in a wilderness of economic hardship, insecurity, corruption, and social division, with many burdened by despair.
“Yet, just as God led the Israelites out of slavery and brought them into a land of abundance, He can also lead Nigeria into a new era of justice, peace, and prosperity.
“However, Nigeria, like ancient Israel, must turn back to God, trusting in His providence and seeking renewal through faith, justice, and love,” he said.
He urged Nigerians to be agents of positive change, emphasising that transformation often begins with individuals, families, workplaces, and institutions.
The cleric also urged political, judicial, military, and religious leaders, past and present, to take responsibility for past wrongs, return ill-gotten wealth, and work towards a better Nigeria.
According to him, if they wallow in luxury and do little to ease the suffering of the people, they miss the point.
Kaigama further said that Nigerians should embrace the Lenten season as a time of spiritual renewal and national transformation.
He explained that Lent was a season set aside by the Catholic Church for sober reflection and repentance while engaging in prayer, fasting and almsgiving.
Kaigama said that Muslims were also observing their Ramadan fast, and urged Christians and Muslims alike to live out their penitential seasons with sincerity.
He urged all Nigerian Muslims and Christians to use this sacred period to foster a nation that is free from hunger, poverty, kidnapping, and corruption.
The archbishop stressed the need for a shift from empty religious rituals to genuine faith and moral integrity.
“Enough of external religiosity, erecting monumental places of worship while ignoring the suffering of the people.
“True worship is in our actions, justice, honesty, and love,” he said.
The President, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Archbishop Daniel Okoh described as apt the conference theme as it admonishes all Nigerians to go back to God and re-establish or strengthen relationship with Him.
Okoh said that it also called for reflection on the people’s existing relationships with one another and with the entire creation in the light of God’s will.
“It inspires us to give courageous leadership to efforts geared towards drastically reducing the level of wickedness in the Nigerian society, and to rekindle the hope in others for a new nation of abundance and joy.
“As we all know, our country, Nigeria, has been wallowing in hopelessness and despair for a long time.
“Many of our fellow citizens are at their breaking points, while some have given up hope entirely in the midst of extreme conditions of hunger, poverty, insecurity and disease.
“This theme resonates deeply with the spiritual and socio-political journey of our beloved nation.
“At a time when our country is yearning for healing, unity, justice, and renewal, the Church stands as a beacon of hope, illuminating the path toward a new Nigeria where righteousness, peace, and love shall reign,” he said.
The CAN helmsman said that the Catholic Church, through her unwavering commitment to the Gospel and the common good, had continued to inspire positive transformation in Nigeria.
According to him, the prophetic voice, tireless advocacy for social justice, and the church’s unwavering stance on truth and equity remain a guiding light in these challenging times.
Okoh said that with all the genuine efforts of the church and all well-meaning Nigerians to bring positive transformation to the country, Nigeria would rise again.
He urged that all Nigerians to be steadfast in faith, united in purpose, and committed to building a Nigeria where love, peace, and justice prevail.
The CAN president said that the association, which was co-founded by the CBCN in 1976, will be 50 years old next year. (NAN)
