Catholic Bishops Meet With Jonathan

Catholic Bishops met with President Goodluck Jonathan on Thursday November 14, seeking to be involved in the distribution of relief materials to victims of terror in the country, particularly in the north-east.

The association was led by president of the Catholic Bishop Conference, Ignatius Kaigama, who told journalists after the meeting at the presidential villa, Abuja, that the process of relief distribution, currently being carried out by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), was unbalanced.

According to Leadership, Most Rev Kaigama said that considering the experience of the Catholic Church in its interventionist approaches in crisis situations, government should bring it on board to improve the system.

“We are here on behalf of the Catholic Bishop Conference of Nigeria. We have some concerns about the situation of security in the nation as well as political developments. So, in general terms we shared with him in a conversation and discussion.”

Expressing worry over the continuous incidence of killings in the country, the bishop said: “We feel that things are not right. Territorially, our land is being taken away. The people we look after are displaced, their homes, their villages and towns are captured and they are internally displaced, and have become refugees in their own land.

“We thought this is not right. We have families that are just stranded. We thought that the president should know.”

Kaigama added that the Catholic Church had a good structure for relief distribution and in taking care of such situations and sought government’s collaboration.

He said, “We have what we call the Catholic Peace and Justice Commission; we respond when there is an emergency. We know how to technically do registration of displaced people.

“The little funds we gather, we buy clothing and materials and are able to reach out very effectively. You would almost say, scientifically, because every victim gets something.

“So we are telling government that we are aware of the wonderful effort they do, the relief they give through NEMA and other agencies; the effectiveness of the distribution is our concern.”

According to him, the president assured them that he was on top of the situation.

President Jonathan had told the bishops that government was reviewing its strategies and that, by the grace of God, the terror attacks being witnessed will soon be a thing of the past.

Kaigama said, “This is the assurance we are coming away with. We are here with long years of experience; as a Catholic Church, we don’t discriminate. In fact, 90 percent of the people we give relief to are not Christians or even Catholics, so we should be brought on board.”