Cardinal John Onaiyekan, the Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, has called on Nigerians and governments at all levels to embrace dialogue in the resolution of any grievances.
He made the call on Sunday in Gwagwalada in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), insisting that violent reactions and protest were not solutions to grievances.
He said the crisis in Nigeria was not new and the successive governments had been doing their best to manage it.
“Crisis is not something new in Nigeria, we have been going through crisis since I was born, we have been at it and doing our best to cope with it.
“Every government tries their best and the present government did not create the problem in the Niger Delta because the problem has been there and it is doing its best to tackle it.
“My general advice is that when people have grievances, they should be allowed to air their grievance and this must be done peacefully.
“It is the duty of government to open ways for dialogue and the responsibility of the aggrieved people to embrace peaceful resolutions,’’ he said.
He said the church was doing its best through preaching to enlighten the youth on the dangers of being used for violence.
NAN
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