Anthony Okogie, onetime Archbishop of the Catholic Diocese of Lagos, has said Nigeria was “wounded, bleeding and dying” at 59.
Okogie said Nigeria was dying due to governmental inefficiency and falsehood.
In an article entitled “At 59, what will save Nigeria?,” Okogie said Nigeria’s allegiance to truth was it’s greatest undoing.
The article reads: “The truth is, at 59, our country is wounded, bleeding and dying having being nailed to the cross of governmental inefficiency and falsehood.
“We and our leaders must quit the path of deceit. Our president and governors, ministers and commissioners, members of national and state assemblies, our judges and legal practitioners, we religious leaders, and we citizens — we all must take responsibility for healing this country.
“When we begin to admit the truth that, 59 years after independence, instead of getting better, things are getting worse. We and our leaders have a duty to our benevolent God and to our children’s children to work for a better Nigeria.
“The best present we can offer to Nigeria at 59 is to repent from sins against God and against Nigeria. We must, individually and collectively, resolve to work for a better Nigeria
“Honesty has become a crime, dishonesty is rewarded. Competence no longer matters. But Nigeria needs leaders who are intellectually, ethically and technically competent to manage her affairs.
“Oil-rich Nigeria is the poverty capital of the world. Her wealth is in the hands of a few while the majority live in destitution.”
