By Patrick Wemambu
Rev. Fr (Dr) James Urien of the St. Paul’s Chaplaincy, Delta State has bemoaned the intense cost of living pressure Nigerians are undergoing – leading to hunger ravaging most households in the land. Little wonder, he says, there’s rising tension and protests over economic hardship across Nigeria.
The cleric made the remarks recently while delivering a homily at the St. Paul’s Chaplaincy, Delta State University (DELSU), Abraka, Delta State.
His complaint; “There is hunger in the land. A hungry man cannot be silenced. It is not surprising that majority of Nigerians are protesting the undue hardship and hunger meted on them. The government and other institutions must not only listen but act fast.”
Characterizing food as a basic necessity for humans, Fr Urien said many people go to bed hungry while others die of hunger. The cause of this hunger is not so much as the absence of resources but the problem of human greed and the unwillingness to share, he regretted.
“Following Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory, the Nigerian society is battling with basic physiological needs for survival. We cannot survive without food. When the people murmured for lack of food (in the Scriptures) God heard their cries and provided food for them. When children cry to their parents when they are hungry, they are provided food,” the homilist noted.
What should the government do amidst the hunger protests? The government must show goodwill and map out strategies that will last, Fr Urien advised, saying that though we do not live to eat but we must eat to live. Remarking that hunger for a blessed nation like Nigeria is a sign of systemic failure and lack of leadership, the priest opined that we have what it takes to feed ourselves as a nation.
Digressing, the reverend gentleman argued that as much as food is important, there are other forms of hunger – for love, for eternal life, for God. “Despite having all our material needs met, there is still emptiness and restlessness and a search for fulfilment. Truly, man does not live by bread alone but on every word that proceeds from God (Deut 8:3),” he concluded.
