Thursday, December 25, 2025 - Gerald Mamman Musa, bishop of the Katsina Catholic Diocese, has called on the federal government to provide targeted support for farmers and rural workers and to strengthen micro, small, and medium enterprises through grants and soft loans, urging leaders to act in line with the spirit of Christmas.
The bishop made the appeal in his Christmas message
delivered on Wednesday, December 24, at a press conference held at the Katsina
Catholic Church. He cautioned the government against imposing taxes that lack
compassion, urging authorities to first recover revenues lost to illegal
mining, oil theft, reckless borrowing, and waste, and to reduce government
excesses before placing additional burdens on the poor.
“Public funds are being quietly redirected into political
machinery while communities continue to cry out for food, security, and jobs.
Such leaders must remember that God came among the poor, not the powerful, and
that a government that ignores the weak contradicts the very spirit of
Christmas.
“In the light of this, Christmas urges us to remember the
poor—the farmers, market women, artisans, self-employed citizens, and the small
business owners who form the backbone of the Nigerian economy.
“These groups continue to suffer from insecurity, inflation,
and the ripple effects of the removal of fuel subsidy.
“The government must therefore provide targeted support for
farmers and rural workers, strengthen micro, small, and medium enterprises
through grants and soft loans, avoid taxes that lack a human and compassionate
face, recover revenue lost to illegal mining, oil theft, reckless borrowing,
and waste, and cut government excesses before tightening belts for the poor.
Taxation must not become a punishment for being poor.”
Shifting from economic concerns to political leadership, the
bishop said Christmas serves as a reminder that governance should be rooted in
service rather than manipulation, warning against divisive politics and
premature electioneering ahead of the 2027 polls.
“Leadership is not a chessboard to be manipulated but a
sacred trust to be honoured. Furthermore, it is troubling that in our beloved
nation, some individuals have turned themselves into instruments of darkness,”
he said.
“Equally concerning is the behaviour of many political
actors who, amid deepening hardship, have already abandoned governance for
early campaigns ahead of the 2027 elections.”
He lamented that insecurity and violent crimes have become
lucrative for a few while inflicting suffering on many Nigerians.
“Most Reverend Musa said that kidnapping, banditry,
assassination, and organised violence have become profitable ventures for a few
at the expense of the many.
“Let it be known clearly: no one profits from blood without
inviting judgment upon themselves. To those who enrich themselves through the
tears of farmers, traders, travellers, and vulnerable citizens, Scripture
declares emphatically: ‘There is no peace for the wicked’ (Isaiah 48:22).”
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