President of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), Most Rev. Lucius Ugorji, has urged political leaders preaching patience on the economic hardship to citizens to lead by example and adjust their lifestyles to the socio-economic realities.
Ugorji, in his 2023 Christmas message to Nigerians, also called on political leaders at all levels to re-examine their understanding of leadership and be more committed to youth development and empowerment, “if we are interested in our future.”
Bishop Ugorji’s message readin part: “We must be a people with open and caring hearts, a nation that makes care of youths a priority. We should feel diminished as a nation, as many of our youths migrate daily for greener pastures abroad.
“We cannot remain unconcerned with the groaning of the young, robbed of a future by unemployment and poverty. As a nation, we should be more committed to youth development and empowerment if we are interested in our future.
“We should resist the temptation of accumulating ill-gotten gains at the expense of others. Depriving others unjustly of their means of livelihood fuels crimes and insecurity.
“These vices drag us down as a nation and rob us of the dream of ever becoming great. We should join hands to build a truly great and stable nation, where each has ample opportunities to share in God’s sunshine.”
Ugorji also said as he shares in the good tidings of the season, his “heart goes to communities torn apart by tension and bloody conflicts, as well as all the distressed across the country, who groan daily with anguished hearts and seem destined to a life of starvation and wanton suffering.”