Conversion and vision of development goals

THE call to conversion needs to be strongly echoed today if any progress would be made in achieving the vision of the sustainable development goals (SDGs), which is of a world free of extreme poverty; this becomes more urgent against the backdrop of a growing culture of selfishness, greed and graft among our people. In contrast to soldiers who are moved by patriotism to sacrifice their comfort and lives for our fatherland, many of the elite of our nation are driven by selfishness and greed and see their involvement in public service as an opportunity for manipulating oil wealth and obscenely amassing ill-gotten gains at the expense of the masses.

According to the World Bank 2010 Report, 80 per cent of the revenues accruing from the nation’s oil wealth benefit only one per cent of the population as a result of corruption. Consequently, many of our people are deeply wounded and degraded by poverty, a poverty that generates other social problems: violent and cyber crimes, ethnic and religious strife, terrorism, kidnapping and human trafficking that trap many girls in sex slavery. Above all, material poverty leads to despondency among our youth, many of who now seek relief in drugs and illegal migration.

However, the more insidious poverty that strikes at the root of the society is the spiritual and moral poverty, often expressed in the turning of one’s back at God and his word. It deadens the conscience, eats up the sense of justice and equity and swallows up the sense of shame and personal integrity. It cripples development, spreads material poverty and robs the young of a future. Driven by moral poverty, the powerful live by the sweat, toil and tears of the poor. This is a great scandal, the scandal of corruption. Corruption has gone beyond scale and measure in our country and has largely prevented Nigeria from rising to a great nation. Given that corruption is moral decay or rather ethical rottenness, it cannot be completely eliminated by the efforts of government alone. There is an additional mountain to be climbed, the mountain of conversion, self-reform and return to God. This is a spiritual and moral journey all of us, leaders and led, have to make.

The patriotic spirit of soldiers, rooted in sacrifice, should stimulate a patriotic fervour and a sense of sacrifice in each citizen of this nation. The sentiments of shared sacrifice should bind soldiers to civilians, especially in times of national emergency such as the war against terrorism in the Northeast. This is why it is shocking to hear the allegation that some of our elite were busy sharing money meant for the purchase of needed ammunition to counter terrorism, while our soldiers were sacrificing their lives in the war against terror, practically fighting with obsolete weapons. This is indeed outrageous.

In the light of this startling revelation, does it still make sense to sanction soldiers that have been charged with abandoning of troops and equipment out of cowardice and taking flight in the face of the war against terrorism in the Northeast? Does the oath of allegiance soldiers take to defend our fatherland also imply foolhardiness and suicide? If those soldiers were ill equipped, are they really to be blamed if they were reluctant to face the Boko Haram terrorists who, as reported, operate with sophisticated ultra-modern weapons? We, therefore, request the military authorities to review the case of those soldiers with more compassion and allow them to regain their freedom.

Each person must learn to feel the pain of violent conflicts and their futility. The mindless spilling of blood as well as the unspeakable cruelty and hardship that go with war, must appal us. We must all denounce war and say no to every form of violence. It is often said: “if you want peace, prepare for war” and this goes to justify the annual allocation for defence in the national budget. Be that as it may, it is mind-boggling to think of the huge sums of money set aside yearly for security or deducted as security vote in the face of other competing and urgent welfare needs in a developing country like Nigeria. How right Martin Luther King Jr. was when he said: “A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programmes of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.”

The social teaching of the Church constantly reminds us that another name for peace is development. Peace and security will come when we sincerely work for the development of every sector of our nation, without diverting funds appropriated for this purpose. Peace will prevail when people who are needy reach out for food and shelter, and no one has to do without these basic necessities of life. Peace will endure when people become conscious of their common origin as children of the same Father and overcome ethnoreligious prejudices and intolerance. Peace and security will reign when people respect the dignity and rights of citizens everywhere and folks are not deprived of their right to choose their leaders in elections that are free from fraud and violence. Above all, peace and security will flow like a river when love and trust know rebirth and people open their heart to the Prince of Peace, who gives that peace which the world cannot give.

As baptised Christians, we are called to be agents of God’s peace. St. Francis of Assisi was awake to this call and left us a beautiful prayer for peace: “Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy.” Let us imbibe the spirit of this prayer and live by it. May Mary Queen of Nigeria and Queen of Peace intercede for us as we work for peace and progress in our nation! May God grant eternal rest to our fallen heroes! May they sleep in peace and rise in glory! Amen.

• Ugorji is the bishop of Umuahia and chairman of the board of Caritas Nigeria. `