The Catholic Diocese of Enugu on Thursday joined other catholic dioceses in holding a special Eucharist prayer as part of Nigeria’s 60th Independence Anniversary.
This is in compliance with the directive of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria which had suggested that the catholic church prayed for insecurity in the country.
“At the beginning of September, the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria suggested that we pray for the prevailing insecurity in parts of the country.
“The prayer ended on Wednesday but today (Thursday) we are holding a special Eucharist for Independence and with God on our side, we shall surmount all our problems,” the Catholic Bishop of Enugu Diocese, Most Rev. Callistus Onaga said.
Onaga had at a news conference on Wednesday, urged Nigerians irrespective of tribe, religion and political status to develop a new mindset for the country to attain greatness.
The cleric said that Nigeria would realise its potential when everyone changed their ways of life, adding that the problem with the country was not all about the political class.
“Things are wrong and all of us are involved. Every Nigerian should change and do good for the growth of the nation,” he said.
Onaga said that corruption remained the greatest impediment to achieving the needed development and progress in the country.
He said that every fabric of the Nigerian society seemed to be involved in one corrupt act or the other.
“Corruption has taken another dimension in the country and seemed to have been institutionalised. It is unfortunate that we are allowing it to be part of us,” he said.
Onaga, however, said that all hope was not lost due to the resilience of Nigerians when they want to turn things around.
He said the fact that the country had pulled through some difficult periods without disintegration was something to cheer about.
He urged government at all levels to take seriously issues that border on security and infrastructure reforms in order to give Nigerians a new lease of life.
