Okogie at 85, warns Nigeria practically becoming a failed state

The Emeritus Archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos, Anthony Cardinal Olubunmi Okogie, has said that Nigeria is practically becoming a failed state as all the indices available show that the country is no longer able to protect its citizens from harm and secure their welfare.

The cleric stated this at his 85th birthday thanksgiving mass and 50th Episcopal ordination anniversary celebration held at the Catholic Church of the Assumption, Falomo, Lagos.

Okogie said it was shocking that on the occasion of the sixth anniversary of the Buhari administration, given the severity of the status quo of the nation’s socio-economic and political situation, the government claimed that the Nigerian people would praise the government at the end of its tenure.”

While noting that it is true that the nation’s problems did not start under this administration, he said they seem to have worsened economically and politically in these past six years.

The cleric expressed need for the country to retrace its steps, warning that starring Nigeria in the face are prospects of anarchy. Okogie stressed the need to build a prosperous nation where there are no second-class citizens, saying politics of exclusion exploiting the nation’s ethnic, regional and religious diversity cannot help the citizens.

Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, said the excitement with which the news of his validation as the archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos was received in Lagos and across the country. saying it was indeed an historical moment not only in the Catholic fold, but for the entire Christian faithful.

Sanwo-Olu, who was represented by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Religious Matters (Christian), Very Revd. Bukola Adeleke, said the church under his leadership over three decades had recorded major successes that mark out achievements of the church as a major stakeholder in governance in Nigeria during the military era, and the nation’s nascent democratic experience.