…says borrowing not the problem, but corruption in use of loans

By Olayinka Latona

LAGOS – The Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Most Rev. Dr. Alfred Adewale Martins, has declared that any government unable to protect the lives and property of citizens has no moral right to remain in power, insisting that security is the primary responsibility of the state. 

Speaking with journalists after a special Mass at the Holy Cross Cathedral in Lagos to mark the 60th World Day of Social Communications, themed “Preserving Human Voices And Faces,” the Archbishop addressed the growing debate on self-defence amid rising insecurity across the coacknowledged that citizens have a right to defend themselves in proportional ways. 

 However, he warned that untrained individuals would struggle to effectively protect themselves, and he urged the government to stop failing in its duty. 

In his words: “We must continue to tell government, whatever they are doing or the problems are, they are the ones who are trained and they are the ones who we expect to protect us. If they cannot protect us, then they should just give up and say we cannot protect you and therefore we cannot continue to govern.”

While supporting the idea of community protection, he stressed that any such effort must be carried out in collaboration with official security agencies to avoid lawlessness and chaos. He called for communities to receive proper training from security agencies, including the registration of ammunition, so that people can lawfully defend themselves.

He challenged security agencies to step up their performance, warning that failure to protect citizens undermines the government’s mandate to govern: “If they cannot protect us, then they should just give up and say no we cannot protect you and therefore we cannot continue to govern. That is why it is the responsibility of government to defend and protect the lives of people. And we must never stop calling them out to say that look, it is your primary responsibility.”

On the issue of government borrowing, the Archbishop acknowledged that borrowing is a common practice among governments but insisted that loans should only be taken for identifiable and verifiable infrastructural development. 

Martins argued that corrupt tendencies are responsible for Nigeria’s mounting debt profile, and if such tendencies are removed, borrowing could become a tool for development. He added that when citizens become cynical about governance, it becomes the government’s duty to remove that cynicism by ensuring that funds are put to measurable and transparent use.

If any government is going to borrow money, it should be for infrastructure development that can be identified and verified by anyone interested. The problem generally arises when borrowing is done and the money borrowed is stolen and never gets to fulfill the purpose for which it was borrowed,” he said. 

The cleric also charged the media with a great responsibility to pursue information about borrowed funds, track their intended purposes, and verify whether such funds are actually applied to those purposes.

Reflecting on the message of Pope Leo XIV for the 60th World Day of Social Communications, Archbishop Martins encouraged everyone to promote forms of communication that always respect the truth of the human person. 

He pointed to the vast advances in technology in recent years and called for technological innovation to be directed toward the good of humanity. “I encourage everyone to commit themselves to promoting forms of communication that are always respectful of the truth of the human person, toward which every technological innovation should be directed,” he said. 

The event brought together a wide range of Catholic faithful and media practitioners, all gathered to reflect on the power of communication in preserving human dignity and holding leaders accountable.