Obasanjo Commends Catholic Church for Taking Care of The Needy

Former President of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, on Monday has called on Nigerians to respond to the needs of the deprived and challenged people in the country even as he commended the Catholic Church for its effort in finding solutions to the plight of those in need.

He made the appeal as he laid a foundation for the establishment of a special school for the needy children in Benue state.

The school project was established by the Bishop of Makurdi Diocese, Bishop Wilfred Anagbe, as a pet project to celebrate his silver jubilee.

Speaking during the event, Obasanjo  who said he was happy to be a partakaker in the significant and symbolic event commended Bishop Anagbe for the project.

 

He praised him for for special people who he noted need special attention but are always neglected saying "they are disempowered, they need help."

The former President prayed that God will reward the Bishop and all faithfuls for their efforts in assisting the young people with special needs to lead normal lives.

Obasanjo also lauded the collaboration between the church and government in social development of the state, saying: "I heard the Governor saying that the church works hand in hand with the government. That is how it should be and it is very commendable."

He emphasized that Nigerian leaders must ensure that spirituality and morality are to be carried along with governance for the nation to be where it should be.

The former leader, therefore, urged the Bishop to count on his support for the needed facility development for the children in the  school with a promise that he will pass from time to time to see the level of development of the school.

Welcoming the former President to the Food Basket state, the state Governor, Samuel Ortom, described Obasanjo as the father of all farmers in Nigeria.

He informed that the Catholic church have been very supportive of state government working as partners in the development of the state.

Ortom noted that because of the ground breaking event, the catholic church had already constructed a road into the community and pledged to continue to partner with the church for quality service delivery in the state.

Earlier Bishop Wilfred Anagbe appreciated God for the symbolic event. He said "these set of humans are created by God. They have life and body like us and needs to be attended to. We are doing this because we don't want to leave anybody out. So we need to give them  sense of meaning and belonging.

He re-echoed that the society is too materialistic that they forget those who are not useful to us immediately. But they have life in them and that life must be upheld.

According to him, "For us in the church, from the cradle to the grave, life is valuable and meaningful, and we will forever uphold it.”

The Bishop said the Benue people and church in particular is also involved in agricultural ativities as only the Agro -Allied industry can ensure sustainable development just as he thanked the former president for the honour of performing the groundbreaking.