What I Warned In 1984 Has Come To Pass –Archbishop

Former President, Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), Archbishop Felix Alaba Job, is not one of those men in cassock who talk when there is no need.

If anything, he belongs in the class, which, from the benefits of hindsight could accurately foretell the future on the strength present misadventures.

Last week’s13th convocation ceremony of Veritas University, Abuja, provided an opportunity for the bishop to track up on one of such warnings to the Nigerian authorities that was not heeded, but is spoiling things currently.

“In 1984, my message to the nation was that if our educational system remained what it was, sooner or later, our children will not be able to know the difference between what is right and what is wrong.  And it has come to pass.

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“The point is that, the Yorubas have a proverb that if your neighbor is eating a frog, and you do not warn him, if you keep quiet because he’s just your neighbor, the noise from his throat will not allow you to sleep”, Archbishop Felix Alaba Job said.

Blaming successive governments for ignoring genuine calls to review the nation’s education curriculum, the cleric said that the failure to reform the education system has created a generation who are unable to distinguish right from wrong.

“We have spoken to government. But unfortunately, governments did not take heed. And therefore, it is not just the curriculum. It is the spirit behind the curriculum that matters.

“When you remove, for instance, History from education, what do you want to tell us? That we should forget who we are. There is a need for the government to take action where it is necessary.

“For some of us, we are on our way out. I call myself quarter two. I was a pupil teacher as far back as 1959. And then I went on, even up to university, and I came to teach. So let me tell you, the government has injured the essence of education and needs to amend”, the cleric stated.

Job who became a bishop five years after his priestly ordination at a young age of 33, also dismissed allegations of corruption against religious leaders.

He urged the government to address the spiritual and moral deficiencies plaguing Nigeria’s education system, adding:

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“We have tried to remove God from our educational system. And some of us that have the courage to begin to say religious leaders are the ones who cause this. It is not true religious leaders.

“We are not talking about those who only use religion to make money. But religious leaders, true religious leaders, cannot do without ethics. We are not talking of those who look for their daily bread by calling themselves different names, giving themselves positions in life which they do not have”, he stated.