By Olaitan Idris
The Bishop of Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Most Rev. Matthew Kukah, on Friday, said that religious leaders should not only preach environmental conservation, but should also emphasise that exploitation violated divine trust.
Kukah said in Lagos that religious leaders were not spectators in environmental crisis but custodians of moral clarity.
Kukah spoke at the 24th Chief S.L. Edu Memorial Lecture.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the memorial lecture was organised by the Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF).
The lecture had the theme: ‘To Have and to Hold: Faith and Care of the Environment’.
According to Kukah, a state will forfeit moral authority when ecological funds are diverted, environmental impact assessments treated as formalities and regulatory institutions weakened or politicised.
“When state laws and rules lose their meaning and resonance, citizens disengage and survival replaces solidarity. We then have cases of diffusion of circles of violence of one against all and all against one.
“This is where religion and religious leaders step in. This is where the devil must be called by his right name. Moral clarity becomes a substitute for subterfuge and dubious synonyms.
“The need to call out a verdict becomes urgent. Religious leaders, therefore, are not spectators in the environmental crisis; they are custodians of moral clarity. Their mission is to interpret the mind of God,” he said.
He urged that exploitation must be regarded as violation of divine trust.
“Faith demands restraint in consumption, equity in distribution and accountability in governance.
“It insists that progress without justice is regression. Blind accumulation that produces hunger is morally reprehensible.”
Kukah called for more participation of individuals, groups, organisations and governments in environmental protection.
He said that environmental destruction would not occur in isolation.
“It erodes trust, legitimacy and social cohesion among people.
“When communities watch their lands taken, their waters polluted, and their futures mortgaged without consent or compensation, grievances accumulate.
“These grievances are often misnamed but at their core lies a deeper wound: ecological injustice,” he said.
The Archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos, Most Rev. Adewale Martins, said at the event that caring for the earth was not an option.
“Pope Francis reminds us that caring for the earth is not an optional concern. It is a moral, spiritual and social imperative.
“It is intricately connected to respect for the dignity of the human person, the protection of the poor, and the pursuit of the common good.
“The Catholic Church of Nigeria, and the Archdiocese of Lagos in particular, are deeply committed to realising this profound call to ecological compassion.
“Our emphasis on integral ecology recognises that environmental degradation and social injustice are interconnected realities, and that the cry of the earth, the cry of the poor, must be heard together, and treated together,” he said.
The Director-General of the NCF, Dr Joseph Onoja, while speaking with journalists, said that the religious community was large, and there was the need to involve it in environmental conservation.
“Everybody is kind of connected to a faith, and that is why there was a need to bring the erudite speaker so that the people will know that there is an obligation faith-wise to care for the environment.
“We have brought in the Sultan of Sokoto to speak on a similar subject from the perspective of faith as well, and this will be a continuous conversation because there is more to be done,” he said.
Earlier, Justice R.I.B. Adebiyi, the Chairman, National Executive Council, NCF, said that the theme of the lecture was timely.
“With the increasing threat to deforestation, pollution, climate change and other unsustainable human activities, the foundation of our very existence is under pressure.
“Considering that many of us are people of faith: Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, and adherents of traditional religions, this lecture serves as a vital reminder that conservation is not solely the responsibility of governments or organisations like NCF. It is a shared duty.
“It also calls for a collective action from us to adopt practices that protect and preserve our natural environment and heritage for the present and future generations,” she said. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Ijeoma Popoola
