The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) has said that Nigeria is currently seized with despair occasioned by massacres, inflation and industrial action by university lecturers across the country.

The bishops described them as a “horrible state of affairs.” CBCN President, Most Revd Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji, made the assertions in his 2022 Easter message to the nation, released yesterday, through the National Directorate of Social Communications, Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, Abuja.The ongoing strike of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) is thwarting the academic ambitions of many Nigerian students. In some parts of the country, workers are owed arrears of salaries, while retired senior citizens eke out an existence without regular pensions.Many young people are deeply wounded and degraded by unemployment and poverty, a poverty that breeds crimes and seeks relief in hard drugs.

“The appalling economic condition is worsened by the present scarcity of fuel, which is as puzzling as it is frustrating. This horrible state of affairs is driving many compatriots to a feeling of cynicism as they gaze at a gloomy future that seems to promise them little or nothing.”The CBCN also said the 2023 general elections should not be regarded as a do-or-die affair; calling on politicians to ensure that there is no bloodshed during the polls.