Catholic archbishop warns against ethnic profiling amid nationwide protests

By Philip Nwosu

Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Adewale Martins, has cautioned against ethnic profiling as the #EndBadGovernance protests continue across Nigeria.

In a statement, yesterday, by the Director of Social Communication for the Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos, Anthony Godonu, Martins said hate speech would not benefit the country and should be avoided.

While acknowledging the widespread poverty and hunger, Martins called for peaceful demonstrations and urged Nigerians to exercise restraint in expressing their anger to prevent violating the rights of others.

“There is a right to peaceful protest to draw attention to concerns,” Martins said, and encouraged protesters to remain peaceful and vigilant against mischief-makers and agitators attempting to infiltrate their ranks.

“Fuelling ethnic bigotry should be seen as the hand of the fifth columnists in the struggle and should be rejected. Such a shameful distraction is counter-productive at a time when the collective effort should be to fight against hunger and poverty that do not know ethnic origin or tribal affiliation,” he said.

The archbishop highlighted the need for political leaders, at all levels, to address the root causes of the protests.

“There is no doubt that there is much hunger in the land. People are falling sick and dying out of poverty and inability to procure medicine and pay hospital bills. They have difficulty in paying school fees for their children, and the costs of food and electricity are on the rise,” he said.

He appealed to both federal and state governments to initiate policies that would have a direct positive impact on the masses, particularly in food production.

Martins also urged security operatives to handle the protesters professionally. He commended those who had conducted themselves well and expressed sadness at the loss of lives in states where the protests turned violent.