While acknowledging that religious hatred could also play a role in the kidnapping of Priests in the West African country, Fr. Aina emphasized that economic factors cannot be overlooked.
The Catholic Priest decried what he described as a lot of violence against people of faith, especially Christians and Catholics in the country. The violence, he observed, is particularly severe in the northern part of Nigeria. There, he said that many Christians are targeted and have suffered greatly for their faith. “Some have paid the ultimate price, while others are in very dire situations due to the insurgency,” he said.
In the January 23 interview, Fr. Aina also discussed the broader challenges facing the Catholic Church in Nigeria, particularly in evangelization efforts.
He identified the resurgence of secularization and the return of African traditional religions in the country as significant obstacles.
Additionally, Fr. Aina expressed concern about the limited impact of Catholic ethos on Nigeria’s political and social climate, despite the Church’s significant growth and influence.
“With all the growth we’ve experienced, with all the population we have, and the global institution we belong to, the Catholic ethos is not as strongly felt in Nigeria as it is in other faiths, like Islam or Protestantism,” he observed.
To address these challenges, Fr. Aina proposed a return to the roots of the faith and a deeper exploration of its teachings.
“We need to go back to the roots and explore the depths of the riches of our faith. There is a pressing need for resource mobilization within Nigerian Catholicism to help people better understand the teachings of the Church, as emphasized by the Second Vatican Council,” he said.
The Nigerian member of the Missionary Society of St. Paul (MSP) underscored the importance of educating the laity, who he said constitute the majority of the Catholic population, to foster a transformative understanding of the faith from the grassroots level.
He said, “In today’s world, it is crucial not to focus solely on the educational or theological development of the clergy, as they make up less than 1 percent of the Catholic population. Instead, there must be significant investment in educating the laity.”
