By Marie-Therese Nanlong

The Catholic Archbishop of Kaduna Archdiocese, Most Rev. Matthew Ndagoso has said the COVID-19 disease ravaging the world has brought home the reality of the world being a global village and how interconnected human beings are hence the need for all to work together, keep peace and strengthen the universal bond of brotherhood.

He spoke in Jos on Tuesday during the homily at the installation of the new Catholic Archbishop of Jos, Most Rev. Matthew Audu.

Archbishop Ndagoso who represented the Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Antonio Filipazzi observed, “humanity must work  in concert to be a step ahead of this invisible enemy because it is by working together as a global village that we will be able to defeat this dreaded enemy.”

The newly installed Archbishop who celebrated the Mass at Our Lady of Fatima Cathedral, Jos, urged the people to “focus more on what inspire unity in and work together irrespective of religion and tribe.”

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While commending his predecessor, Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama for the wonderful work done in Jos, he assured the people of doing his best in service and prayed for a better replacement for the people of Lafia Diocese where he was transferred from.

Earlier, Archbishop Kaigama in his remark highlighted the achievements of the Archdiocese under his watch and solicited support for the new Archbishop stressing, even as he prayed for God’s intervention in the ongoing scourge saying, “May God have mercy on us and bring to a very quick end this global scourge.”

The State Governor, Simon Lalong, represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Professor Danladi Atu commended citizens for adhering to government directives to contain the disease and stated that because the disease is dynamic, government policy to will change to meet with trend.

According to him, “We welcome the new Archbishop to Jos, government has noted your giant stride in Lafia, you left legacy of dialogue, advocacy and peace, we hope to harvest these to sustain peace in Plateau State. That is what your predecessor stood for. It is unfortunate that Plateau people could not come out to share in this joy because of corona virus.

“I am happy that we are complying with the directives, corona virus is highly dynamic, our policy will change to meet the trend. We tested 38 people, 34 have tested negative, the results of four are being expected. Plateau is not immune to the virus, keep obeying the directives to keep the State safe, these are some of the hard pills we have to swallow at this time.”

The installation had 50 people in attendance but was transmitted live on local television station.

Vanguard