CATHOLIC BISHOPS CONFERENCE OF NIGERIA: SEEKING EQUITY BY BEING EQUITABLE
Mike Utsaha –
On Thursday March 10, 2022 the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) concluded her first plenary session for the year 2022 in Abuja the nation’s capital. The major highlight of that session which is on the theme “Human Fraternity: Path to building sustainable peace in Nigeria” is the seamless and rancour free transition in the leadership of the Conference.
According to the communiqué issued at the end of the session, as is usually the case with every plenary session of the Bishops, “Most Rev. Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji, the newly appointed Archbishop of Owerri, has been elected the President, while, Most Rev. Matthew Man-Oso Ndagoso, the Archbishop of Kaduna, is the Vice President. Similarly, Most Rev. Donatus Aihmiosion Ogun, OSA, the Bishop of Uromi, is the Secretary and Most Rev. Peter Odetoyinbo, Bishop of Abeokuta, is the Assistant Secretary”.
We congratulate His Grace Archbishop Ugorji and members of his team and wish him a very successful tenure as President of the CBCN.
I think it is fair to say that there is always something to take away from every meeting of the CBCN, and the immediate past plenary is no exception at all. This particular session provided yet another opportunity for their Excellencies to reflect on the imperative of cordial and harmonious relations across faith and civilisation. The Bishops drew inspiration from Fratelli Tutti an encyclical of Pope Francis which, when translated into English Language, means “all brothers”.
This papal document, it will be recalled, drew substantial inspiration from the celebrated meeting of the Holy Father and the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Sheikh Ahmad Al-Tayyeb in 2019, after which they published a joint document, “Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together”. On the basis of this document which, it will be recalled, was adopted on February 4, 2019, the United Nations has now adopted every February 4 as the United Nations day for Human Fraternity.
Regional and ethnic consciousness in our country Nigeria is, unarguably, at an all time high. Therefore, there could be no time better than now for us to focus attention on the imperative of tolerance, mutual respect and peaceful co-existence. For this reason alone their Excellencies, members of the CBCN, deserve our commendation for choosing the theme they did.
But, even more than that, their choice of words and the sentiment of solidarity and fraternity expressed in their communiqué, is equally deserving of our commendation. This is part of what they have to say: “We must go beyond sophistry and rhetoric and work towards a tradition of love that transcends the barriers of race, nationality, culture, ethnicity, religious or political affiliation and geographical distance. We call on our fellow countrymen and women, as well as all persons of goodwill to recognize that our common humanity is a gift and a challenge”
I think the Bishops are spot on when they characterise our common humanity as “a gift and a challenge”. Certainly this is a challenge that each and every Nigerian must confront as we look forward to the 2023 general elections.
While the seamless transition from one set of leaders to another within the CBCN may be taken for granted, it equally provides the Nigerian political elite a very useful succession template which they may wish to adopt. It is a template that is founded on equity, justice, fairness, equal representation and consciousness for regional diversity without compromising standard.
Nine years ago Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama, then as Archbishop of Jos, was elected President of the Conference while the newly elected President was elected Secretary of the Conference. Archbishop Kaigama served for two terms of six years after which Archbishop Augustine Akubeze emerged President with the current president as his Vice.
The election of Archbishop Lucius Ugorji as CBCN President was, therefore, probable or even predictable as far back as nine years ago. And this is the kind of leadership recruitment process that one will like to see in the larger Nigerian society. A leadership recruitment process that is futuristic, anticipatory and preparatory but without compromising standards. It combines an intergenerational context with institutional memory to produce the best crop of leaders at any given time.
The Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria remains one of the most vociferous advocates for accountability in governance and justice and fairness in the distribution of political offices in Nigeria. Through the instrumentality of their periodic statements they have pricked consciences, spoken truth to power and mobilised Nigerians in their numbers towards political participation. By this recent leadership transition their lordships have once again spoken resoundingly on the imperative of giving only that which you have. Even more, they have clearly demonstrated the age long saying that he who seeks equity must do equity. The south-east is ably represented, but so is the north and the south-west. We commend their lordship for living by example. It is our hope and expectation, therefore, that our political elite will see the need to follow in the footsteps of the CBCN, and adopt this time tested leadership recruitment process, especially as we look towards 2023 with hope and optimism.
