By Henry Umoru

ABUJA—CATHOLIC Bishop Conference of Nigeria, CBCN, yesterday, threw its weight behind President Muhammadu Buhari’s fight against corruption, just as it stressed the need for all hands to be on deck if the anti- graft war must be achieved in a holistic manner.

The Catholic Bishops also backed the government’s effort at checking insurgency by members of the Boko Haram that have continued to engage in massive killing and wanton destruction of property in the North East region of the country.

Delivering a homily at the  Vesters and Benediction for the 2016 first plenary session of the CBCN, at Our Lady Queen of Martyrs’ Catholic Church, Sabon Lugbe, Abuja, the Archbishop of Abuja, Cardinal John Onaiyekan, said the church was in support of the anti-corruption crusade being fought by President Buhari-led government, but advised that all Nigerians must be carried along to make the war a success.

He noted that the twin evils of corruption and terrorism were interlinked, stressing the need for concerted efforts of all Nigerians to address them with a view to bringing about total healing of Nigeria.

He said, “We have before us two major challenges: corruption and insecurity, both of which our government had declared a war that must be embraced by all of us. It is now generally agreed that this is a war that government alone cannot win. We must therefore, do all we can to mobilise everybody. Recent revelations and allegations are pointing to the fact that our two challenges have a common moral source.

“Nigeria’s inability to deal adequately with terrorist insurgency has been closely linked with massive corruption in the system. Nigerians have every reason to be angry with the system. But anger is not enough. We must seek positive and effective ways forward, which takes on board our common spiritual and religious values.”

Onaiyekan said though the effort of the government was commendable in the anti-corruption and anti-terrorism war, it was imperative that the Church was engaged fully to bring about total reconciliation among Nigerians as government efforts alone cannot win the wars, adding,  “In general, Boko Haram members are not foreigners. They are our kith and kin. Does it not make more sense to win them back to our communities than killing them all off? Billions of naira is being spent on arms. How much are we spending to bring people together?”

Also speaking with Vanguard, Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Bishop Matthew Kukah said, that if corruption must be addressed, there was need for all Nigerians to mend their personal lives as well as that of their communities.