Kaduna Catholic Archbishop, Ndagoso, urges true federalism in Nigeria

• Says current system has made govs lazy

The Catholic Archbishop of Kaduna, Most Revd Matthew Man-Oso Ndagoso, has urged the practice of true federalism in Nigeria, saying that failure to entrench the political model has retarded the progress of the nation and made governors be lazy.

Ndagoso, who spoke while addressing the Catholic priests during the Kaduna Archdiocesan Pastoral Council meeting, yesterday, also appealed to the Federal Government to immediately find an urgent solution to the worsening security facing the country to save the lives of all Nigerians.

The Archbishop, in a two-hour address to the Catholic priests at the Catholic Social Centre, said that “apart from the socio-economic, socio-religious and ethnic conflicts, continued incessant kidnappings, herders/farmers’ clashes, banditry and abject poverty, Nigeria, richly endowed with both human and material resources, is occupying the unenviable position of the world’s capital of poverty due mainly to inability as a nation to harness and manage its resources for the common good.”

Ndagoso said that while only the adoption of true federalism could save Nigeria from social, economic, and political collapse, the Federal Government should immediately save the citizens from the current insecurity bedeviling the nation by deploying strategies that will combat the challenges.

He said: “We have been under military dictatorship for too long in this country.

“In the military, we only have a chain of command. And because of this long history, even in the Constitution, we are operating now, everything is concentrated in the centre. The resources are also concentrated in the centre.

“Because of too much concentration of power in the centre, including the resources of the nation, it has made many governors be very lazy. They are not creative on how to harness the resources of their states for development.”

He, therefore, urged Nigerian leaders to emulate the Catholic Church on how the parishes are administered worldwide which reflects the practice of true federalism.