Hunger protest: Archbishop Martins acknowledges poverty and hunger in the land

The Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Most Rev. Alfred Adewale Martins has once again acknowledged that there is multidimensional poverty and hunger in the land while also acknowledging the need for good governance.

On this third day of the protests, he called on protesters to exercise restraint in expressing their anger and continue to make their protestspeaceful.  

While noting that it was within the fundamental rights of every citizen of Nigeria to embark on protests as a way of expressing their grievances and drawing attention to their concerns, hepleaded that protesters should not allow their ranks to be infiltrated by mischief makers and criminals who would turn an otherwise good and lawful activity into a criminal one.

In a release signed by the Director of Social Communications, Very Rev. Fr. Anthony Godonu, the prelate also cautioned against people who are taking advantage of the ongoing protests to fuel ethnic bigotry especially against the Igbos living in Lagos. He warned that such a shameful distraction is counter-productive at a time when the collective effort should be to fight against hunger and poverty that do not know ethnic origin or tribal affiliation.

Archbishop Martins called on the political leaders across the various tiers of government, as a matter of urgency, to address the root causes of the ongoing protests; which is endemic hunger in order to assuage the anger in the land. He warned that failure of the country’s leadership to address the major legitimate demands of the protesting youths may further aggravate the already tense atmosphere in the land. He said:

“There is no doubt that there is much hunger in the land, people are falling sick and dying out of poverty and inability to buy medicine and pay hospital bills, they have difficulty in paying the school fees of their children and the cost of food and electricity is constantly on the rise. This is the third day of the protests and these days have highlighted the failure ofgovernment over the years to address the root causes of the hunger and poverty in the land. The present government has had to make some policy decisions that have had the effect of creating more pains for people and so government at all levels must show that it is listening to the protesters by makingmeasurable commitments to cutting down on the cost of governance even if it means cutting down on the number of political appointees and pruning down on their salaries and emoluments. She must commit to abandoning projects and travels that do not contribute in any direct way to the welfare of people especially in the light of the sacrifices that people are being requested to make for the future of the nation. People want to see their leaders taking the lead in making sacrifices and I believe that some such gestures will assuage the anger in the land.”

He also challenged the federal and state governments to quickly roll out policies that would have direct positive impact on the masses, particularly in the area of massive food production and strengthening of the naira to curb inflation and improve the quality of lives of Nigerians. While importation of food may serve short term needs, we must embark of massive production so as to achieve food security and a sustainable solution to the problem of hunger in the land.

Finally, the prelate urged the Police and other law enforcement agencies to exercise maximum restraint in engaging with the peaceful protesters. While commending the officers who have demonstrated good rapport with the protesters in the last three days, he expressed deep sadness at the states in which protests have led to violence and deaths. He appealed for a quick end to the protests so that the bad economy would not become worse.