The Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) has lamented the high level of hunger in Nigeria and the alarming rate of corruption in the country.

The Bishops stated at their 2nd CBCN Plenary Meeting in Auchi in Edo State that the huge debt burden of Nigeria can be cleared by stolen monies stashed away by politicians in foreign countries.

The President of CBCN, Archbishop Lucius Ugorji, in his welcome address, criticized the killings in the recent #EndBadGovernance protest, which he said went violent, contrary to the original plans, but insisted that it was wrong for anybody to prevent Nigerians from protesting in fulfilment of their constitutional right.

He also lamented the recent kidnap in Otukpo, Benue State, of some Catholic medical students, at the Universities of Jos and Maiduguri respectively.

“The socio-economic problems of our nation are unmistakably beyond what economic reforms alone can effectively resolve, no matter how well thought-out and how meticulously implemented.

“When all is said and done, we must admit that the cost of running our military-imposed presidential system of government with so many elected officials assisted by numerous support staff is staggering and unsustainable.

“We must also acknowledge that the corruption level of many Nigerian politicians has gone beyond scale and measure and that controlling our national resources at the federal government level creates more opportunities for corruption to flourish.

”Having experimented with the presidential system of government for over 25 years and having groped in the dark in search of solutions to our socio-economic problems, now seems to be the opportune time to heed the advice of some of our best minds canvassing our return to the former regional system of government, as envisaged by the wise founding fathers of our nation or devolve power to the present six geo-political zones,” the repower by Vanguard newspaper on Monday quoted Archbishop Ugorji as saying.

According to the Archbishop of Owerri in Imo state, the current reforms of President Tinubu’s administration were similar to the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) of General Ibrahim Babangida, backed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which did not work.

“Despite his rigorous efforts to mitigate its harsh effects through setting up the Directorate for Food, Roads and Rural Infrastructure (DFRRI); Better Life for Rural Women; and Mass Transit initiatives, the implementation of SAP triggered massive social and economic upheaval

“At the end, Retired General Babangida in an interview with Channels TV in 1992, disclosed that his administration’s economic policies had failed and that the Nigerian economy had defied every conventional solution.

”Given that the ‘shipwreck’ of one man should be the ‘ship-guide’ of another, the present administration of Mr. President may consider reviewing its own economic reform policies with more openness to the insightful contributions of highly respected compatriots,” he added.

The Archbishop also listed the numerous problems bedeviling Nigeria to include public debt stock of $93.7 billion, multiple taxation, hunger and hardship induced by insecurity.

He, however, said that proactive steps should be taken urgently to address the situation before it snowballed into a huge crisis.

GIK/APA