The Secretary-General of the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (CSN), Rev. Fr. Michael Banjo, has tasks Nigerians on the civic responsibility of conscience and common good to guide their choices ahead of the 2027 general elections.
In his new year’s message, Rev. Fr. Banjo also urged Nigerians to integrate faith with everyday civic responsibility consciously.
“Our identity also shapes our conduct at critical moments of civic responsibility, especially as we prepare for the 2027 elections, when citizens are called to make choices guided by conscience, truth, and the common good, rather than by ethnic loyalty, religious bias, money, or divisive rhetoric,” Rev. Fr. Banjo said.
According to him, each New Year invites citizens to reflect anew on the meaning of time and that in Christian faith, time is not merely a sequence of passing days, but the sacred space in which God acts for human salvation.
“Whatever resolutions we may make at the beginning of this year, the most fundamental must be the resolve never to live our time without God at its centre, for time only finds its meaning when it is lived with God within it.
“Nigeria can be better, and authentic love for our country demands more than pointing out its failures; it calls for personal fidelity to what is right.
“Nations are renewed when consciences are renewed. Renewal does not begin only in the corridors of power; it takes root in the daily choices of ordinary citizens.
“Each of us is called to live with honesty, fairness, and respect. Divine filiation extends to how we treat what belongs to all of us. Roads, schools, hospitals, utilities, and public spaces must be used and cared for with a sense of stewardship, not abused or vandalised as though they belong to no one,” Rev. Fr. Banjo said.
The CSN leader also urged public servants and professionals to reject bribery and abuse of office, and for traders, artisans, and business owners to act with integrity.
He said, “Workers must offer honest service, mindful that their labour is offered not only to employers but ultimately to God. This is what it means to live as sons and daughters of God in public life.
“This responsibility of divine filiation finds a privileged expression in the family, the basic building block of society. The quality of a nation’s life is shaped in the quality of its homes.
” Strong nations are built on formed consciences long before they are built on policies. Parents and teachers therefore carry a sacred trust, sharing in God’s own fatherly care for his people.”
He warned Nigerians, especially the youths that what destroys the future often presents itself as freedom and that such paths do not lead to freedom; but lead to loss.
” The New Year, therefore, stands before our young people as a summons to hope and responsibility: to invest in themselves through learning skills, acquiring trades, pursuing education, and building strong character.
” A disciplined youth is a nation’s quiet revolution. These are the foundations of responsible adulthood and a lasting contribution to society, Rev. Fr. Banjo said.
He noted that much of what afflicts Nigeria today flows from a separation between faith and ordinary life, where belief remains private while daily decisions are shaped by other values.
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