NIGERIA IS SUFFERING FROM INSTITUTIONALISED CORRUPTION -OKOGIE

A former Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, his eminence, Anthony Cardinal Okogie has identified institutionalised corruption as a bane of the nation’s growth.
Okogie also said that in spite of being highly religious, many Nigerians are not godly. According to him, this ungodliness on the part of many Nigerians is the reason for intolerance and religion-based violence in the country.

The clergy also submitted that many religious leaders had failed to teach their followers about respect for sacred things and the need to respect others’ views.
He therefore said there was need to build national goals and aspirations that transcended religious leanings.
Okogie was the guest speaker at the 16th edition of Pastor Solomon Odunaiya Annual Memorial Lecture organised by the Young Men Christian League.
He spoke on the theme: “Governance and Religious Conflict in Nigeria: What role for the church?”
He said, “Our country is bedeviled by a host of demons, such as institutionalised corruption, which has reached a demon stage; disregard for the rule of law and due process, electoral misconduct, terrorism, kidnapping and lack of transparency and accountability on the part of public office holders among others.
“From a careful observation of religious conflicts over the years, we can summarise the causes of religious conflicts in Nigeria as stereotyping or the wrong perception of other people’s religion or faith, wrong religious orientation, the low literacy level of many of the violent religious adherents, selfishness on the part of religious personalities, pervasive poverty, intolerance, government involvement in religious matters or politicising of religion.”
Okogie urged the church not to keep silent in national affairs but to continue to promote peace, inter-religious dialogue and discipleship. He also enjoined the church to organise pre-election debates and to encourage good people to go into politics.
He added, “While religion can serve, and indeed continues to serve as a powerful instrument for social harmony and growth, paradoxically, however, misuse of religion can bring about disharmony or serve as a motivation for violence.
“In fact, our common experience is that religious bigots or fundamentalists often attempt to legitimise violence in the name of God, which is evident in acts of extreme violence such as terrorists attacks in the name of ‘holy warfare’ that supposedly carry great reward for the perpetrators.”
Earlier, the president of YMCL, Mr. Femi Sodeinde, in his opening remarks, had said the annual posthumous lecture was designed to celebrate the life of the group’s late father, Pastor S.A. Odunaiya, “who spent his lifetime mentoring Christians.”