Why Nigeria’s Church must remain moral conscience of society, bold in defending truth

 

 

The Church in Nigeria has been urged to sustain its stand as the moral conscience of the society, while defending the truth boldly as the country continues to scramble for holistic developmental initiative in response to her current socioeconomic realities.

For many, the Church in Nigeria is the hope of the common man and as such she must play her role in nation building by siding with the helpless and vulnerable people of the country.

“The Church must remain the moral conscience of society, bold in defending the truth, yet humble before the God whose mercy sustains all ministry,” Augustine Obiora Akubeze, said in a recent homily in Lagos.

Akubeze in his homily urged the Church to renew her commitment to gratitude, holiness, courageous leadership, and faithful service to Christ and His people. According to him, the prophetic mission is never peaceful; hence prophets do not merely speak comforting words.

He posited that the Gospel challenged Christians, especially church leaders, never to take God’s blessings for granted. He added that taken together, the readings offer a timely message for the Church in Nigeria. “They remind bishops, priests, religious, and faithful that true greatness lies not in worldly influence, but in holiness, gratitude, fidelity, and courageous witness.”

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According to Akubeze, faith should inspire hard work, while prayer should strengthen human effort. “No nation prospers through slogans, miracles, or empty promises alone. It requires productivity, responsibility, and moral renewal,” he said.

According to him, Cardinal Okogie’s prophetic witness continues to call both religious and political leaders to integrity, accountability, simplicity of life, and fidelity to the gospel. “Yet, what makes authentic prophetic witness so powerful is not simply bold speech, but fidelity rooted in prayer, sacrifice, and communion with Christ.”

He added that the greatness of the priesthood and its prophecy does not lie in the titles or honours, but in conformity to Christ the Good Shepherd. “Anthony Cardinal Okogie is widely recognized as one of the strongest prophetic voices in the Church in Nigeria,” Akubeze said.

According to the homily, the Church must teach her young people to pursue success through honest labour, perseverance, education, integrity, and trust in God’s providence, drawing examples from the Anthony Cardinal Okogie.

“Throughout both military and democratic representations, he consistently condemned corruption, injustice, abuse of power, and bad governance, insisting that political leadership must be rooted in truth, justice, accountability, and respect for human dignity.

“During the military era, he courageously opposed oppression, human rights abuses, political intimidation, and the annulment of the June 12, 1993 election, refusing to remain silent despite pressures and threats. Analogous witness reminds us that prayer without responsibility and hard work can become self-deception,” Akubeze said.

Cardinal Okogie was celebrated by the Catholic Church in commemoration of his 90th birthday; 60th priestly ordination anniversary; and 55th episcopal ordination anniversary.

Pope Leo XIV eulogised Cardinal Okogie for his selfless contribution to the growth of the Church and sent his papal blessing to the celebrant as he marked his 90th birthday, 60th ordination anniversary and 55th episcopal anniversary. The Catholic Pontiff’s message was read by Michael Crotty, the Apostolic Nuncio to Nigeria.

Mathew Man Oso Ndagoso, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) and Archbishop of Kaduna Archdiocese, while reading his message, described Cardinal Okogie as a blessing to the Church, saying the legacies he laid over the years are still visible. He stated that Cardinal Okogie, during his tenure as President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria many years ago, used his position to speak to power, especially during the military regimes.

Alfred Adewale Martins, the Metropolitan Archbishop of Lagos, used the occasion to call on the government and those with the responsibility of leading the country to double their efforts and address insecurity so that Nigerians can live in peace.

Martins urged the federal government to empower all security agencies including the Police so that they can face the risks associated with their profession. According to him, the citizenry are tired of the daily kidnappings across the country; hence the government and security agencies should do more and give “our Eminence the gift of a birthday celebration that is worthy of a man who has done so much to impact lives.”

He also called on Nigerians to continue to pray for those in authority, especially those who have the responsibility of securing lives and property, adding that prayer answers so many things.

“Collectively as a conference and individually at different fora and on different occasions, we have brought to attention when we had private audiences with our president these challenges and always he explained to us what the government is doing to overcome the problems, however, the problems still persist in spite of different kinds of successes.

“We hear of people being kidnapped by so-called bandits, and uncommon criminals. We hear of soldiers being ambushed and killed among them Generals slaughtered, people being displaced from their homes including traditional rulers for fear of attacks. We even hear now that the bandits delivered the body of an Army General who died in their custody for the families to bury.

“We still wait for those who received the body to know who they are. We hear of ridiculous demands made by the bandits. It is becoming more difficult to understand what is going on in our country,” Martins said.