By Paschal Norbert
ABUJA, MARCH 11, 2025 (CISA) – As Nigeria grapples with economic hardship, insecurity, and social challenges, the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) commenced its first plenary session with a powerful call for renewal and national transformation. Delivering the homily at the opening Mass, Most Rev Ignatius Kaigama, the Archbishop of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Abuja, urged Nigerians to embrace repentance, justice, and unity as pathways to a brighter future, declaring that the Jubilee of Hope is a ‘light for a new Nigeria.’
Speaking at the gathering that included the new Apostolic Nuncio to Nigeria, Archbishop Michael Francis Crotty, bishops, clergy, religious, and lay faithful, Archbishop Kaigama emphasized the significance of the Lenten season as a time of purification and transformation. He reminded the congregation that just as Israel was delivered from slavery into a land of promise, so too can Nigeria rise from its current challenges through collective renewal.
“We gather here today united in faith, having embarked on the sacred season of Lent—a season of renewal and transformation, with the obligation to do more good and respond to the special invitation to a more intimate relationship with God,” he said.
Hope for a Troubled Nation
At a time of economic distress, widespread insecurity, and social division, Archbishop Kaigama reassured Nigerians that God’s power remains a source of hope. Drawing from Deuteronomy 26:4-10 and Romans 10:8-13, he highlighted that God’s saving grace is ever-present and capable of transforming the nation.
“Hope is not lost for our country. If we turn back to God with sincerity, He will transform us individually and our nation as a whole,” he proclaimed, likening Nigeria’s plight to that of Nineveh, which repented and was spared destruction. He challenged political and religious leaders to embark on moral reformation, choosing righteousness over corruption, love over hatred, and peace over division.
The Temptations of Power and Corruption
Drawing from the Gospel of Luke (4:1-13), which recounts Jesus’ temptations in the wilderness, Archbishop Kaigama warned against the dangers of materialism, arrogance, and ambition. He lamented that “the devil is like a prowling lion seeking whom to devour” and has been particularly active in Nigeria, fostering ethnic and religious discord, moral decay, and political selfishness.
“We in our contemporary world easily face the temptation to illegal and corrupt wealth, the temptation to misuse power, and the temptation to even say there is no God because we feel materially comfortable and make progress in philosophy and technology,” he observed.
He called on Nigerians to resist the devil’s schemes, whether through political oppression, economic exploitation, or religious fundamentalism: “We must emphatically resist the devil who continually tempts ethnic and religious groups to be selfish and myopic; husbands and wives to be unfaithful; youths to be violent; kidnappers to dehumanize others for money; militant herdsmen to destroy food crops; and bandits to unleash terror on innocent citizens.”
The Call to Prayer, Fasting, and Almsgiving
Archbishop Kaigama urged Nigerians to embrace the three pillars of Lent, prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, as concrete ways to bring about change.
“Jesus does not say, ‘If you pray, if you fast, if you give alms,’ but rather, ‘When you pray, when you fast, when you give alms.’ These are not optional acts but essential elements of our Christian life,” he stressed.
He reminded the faithful that true fasting is not only abstaining from food but also from greed, corruption, and injustice. Almsgiving, he said, should extend beyond financial donations to acts of love and service. “Lent is not just about ‘giving up.’ It is about giving more—more love, more time, more kindness,” he said.
The Jubilee of Hope: A Call to Action
In keeping with the plenary’s theme, Archbishop Kaigama described the biblical concept of the Jubilee Year (Leviticus 25) as a time of restoration, freedom, and renewal. He urged Nigerians to embrace this Jubilee of Hope by rejecting corruption, promoting social justice, and committing to nation-building.
“If we desire a new Nigeria, we must commit to truth, justice, and love. We must choose the path of unity over division, of selflessness over greed, of faith over fear,” he declared.
He lamented the tragic Christmas incident at Holy Trinity, Maitama, Abuja, where desperate citizens were crushed to death in search of food.
“It was a terrible embarrassment in a country like Nigeria blessed with immense resources,” he said, calling on leaders to take responsibility for the suffering of the masses.
A United Lent for Christians and Muslims
Acknowledging the concurrent seasons of Lent and Ramadan, Archbishop Kaigama called for interfaith solidarity in seeking national healing.
“May all Nigerian Muslims and Christians live out their penitential seasons with the right spiritual and social attitudes, resulting in a happier country, free from hunger, poverty, kidnapping, and corrupt dealings,” he prayed.
