YAOUNDÈ, Cameroon – In offering hopes and prayers for a better 2024, the Catholic bishops of Africa delivered a largely searing judgment about the continent’s political leadership during 2023, condemning failures on multiple issues including insecurity, poverty, corruption and economic stagnation.
In Nigeria, Archbishop Adewale-Martins of Lagos said he was saddened by the economic hardship faced by Nigerians in 2023.
He said rising fuel prices and the devaluation of the local currency, the naira, had reduced the purchasing power of Nigerians and forced many of them to leave the country. He urged the government to focus on economic policies that would improve the living conditions of the poor and to create jobs for the youth.
