Nigeria needs unity to overcome her challenges – Cleric

The Cathedral Administrator of Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Cathedral, Jalingo, Rev. Fr. Simon Akuraga has said the challenges facing Nigeria require the unity and cooperation of all to overcome.

In his homily to mark the feast of Divine Mercy and 4th anniversary of the dedication of the Cathedral of the Diocese of Jalingo, Rev. Fr. Akuraga called for mercy and forgiveness among God’s people.

He enjoined Nigerians to tolerate one another for the unity and progress of the country, describing the state of insecurity in the country as unfortunate and urged Nigerians to unite if the challenges must be overcome.

“What the church and Nigeria need at the moment is unity to overcome the nation’s challenges. We must irrespective of party, tribal and religious affiliations come together as Nigerians to solve our problems.

“Today, there is fuel scarcity in our country and countries that depended on us for the product are not experiencing the scarcity and you ask yourself why? We need to unite as a people and solve these problems. Party politics is over and we must come together to move forward.

“Today, our economy is bad. Today, Nigerians sleep days on queue to buy fuel at NNPC Mega Stations. We all are suffering the heat of these problems.

“Many people are now saying, this is not the change Nigerians voted for. But we can’t solve our problems by complaining. We must unite as Nigerians and offer solutions to these problems,” he said.

The Administrator called on Catholics to use the feast of divine mercy and the 2016 year of mercy as declared by Pope Francis to bring souls to Christ.

On the 4th anniversary of the dedication of the cathedral, Rev. Akuraga said the celebration become necessary given the significance of building a temple for God, urging the worshippers to use the celebration to further deepen the love and unity among them.