By Olivia Obijiaku
The Catholic Bishop of Zaria, Most Rev Dr. Habila Tyiakonaboi Daboh has explained that Nigerians are protesting because they are in a fix. Making this known at the Mass for the nation’s sixty fourth independence which he celebrated for the diocese in St Joseph’s Minor Seminary, Zaria, Tuesday, 1st October, 2024, the bishop also tasked the faithful to contribute their quota towards a better Nigeria.
The spiritual leader who celebrated his first Mass for the event as the bishop of the diocese asserted that citizens have the right to hold their leaders accountable even as he discouraged protesters from violence and from looting.
“The people are protesting because we are hungry.” The Chief Shepherd explained. “We are all crying. We are all suffering. We are all hungry. We are stranded. There is need for us to protest, to present our desire, to hold the government of the day accountable. We are holding the government accountable because it is our own right. They are accountable to all of us. But the protest should not lead to crisis or loot of other people’s properties.”
“My brothers and sisters, there is a tendency for us to say, ‘Oh, it is Tinubu. Oh, it is the ministers. Oh, it is the House of Assembly.’ The tendency is to look at the people up there and condemn them. The President addressed the country this morning. He was saying that all we need is a little patience – that it will be better. Yes that seems to be giving people hope and in our own religion, Christianity, we talk about it, that we are a people of hope and tomorrow will be better than today.”
“But I will always remind us to go back to our homes. We should begin with us. In my own house, am I doing the right thing? As a man of the house, am I providing the needs of the children, needs of my wife? As a woman in the house, am I really the heartbeat of the family? Am I looking after the children given to us by God? As a bishop, am I looking after the people entrusted to me by God the right way? As reverend father, am I looking after the sheep entrusted to me? We all have our own responsibilities.”
“The battle of Nigeria is not a battle of government alone. It is our battle. Everybody has a role to play in order for us to succeed against bad governance, against bad leadership, against corruption. You and I have our own responsibilities. Let us look inward and have a kind of evaluation of our lives and see what we can do to make our country better.”
Bishop Daboh affirmed that things will get better since there is hope. He prayed that Mary Queen of Nigeria on whose Solemnity the nation’s independence was celebrated may intercede for the country, her leaders and citizens.
The Mass was preceded by Rosary Procession which the bishop offered for the good of the country. The spiritual leader who disclosed how happy he was for the annual diocesan event promised to improve on subsequent ones. He also commended members of Holy Childhood Association (HCA) for their presentation on the Names of Mary and Lives of Saints, including that of St Emelda who was killed by her father because she refused his proposal for marriage as a replacement for his late wife and her late mother.
