Be consoled, be consoled, O my people! says your God”

HOLY MASS IN HONOUR OF THE VICTIMS OF THE DECEMBER 21ST, 2024 MAITAMA FOOD SHARING EXERCISE.

ALSO, THE SUNDAY OF THE BAPTISM OF THE LORD, AT HOLY TRINITY PARISH, MAITAMA, ABUJA. HOMILY BY MOST REV. IGNATIUS A. KAIGAMA, ARCHBISHOP OF ABUJA, 12TH JANUARY, 2025.

Readings: Isaiah 40:1-5.9-11; Titus 2:11-14; 3:4-7; Luke 3: 15-16.21-22

Theme: “Be consoled, be consoled, O my people! says your God” (Isaiah 40:1).

Purpose of visit

Jesus visited the two sisters, Mary and Martha when He learned of the death of Lazarus their brother, and He raised Lazarus back to life (cf. Jn 21: 20-44). I am visiting you today not to perform such a miracle but to pray and to condole with you. Hearing of the very tragic incident of 21st December, 2024, I visited here that same day to share in the grief that was still very fresh, palpable, and visible on your faces because you had just witnessed the unintended death of ten persons and the injury of eleven, in the course of your magnanimous gesture to provide food and other basic needs to the poor and hungry as you have always done successfully for decades, in line with the Catholic tradition of performing the corporal works of mercy. Your inspiration to serve the poor and the vulnerable comes from St. Vincent de Paul, who initiated in 1833, your society which cares for the poor and the needy in an admirable manner. No wonder, every Sunday at church entrances in many parishes, your members stand with their iron boxes clanging them to call attention saying, “Help the poor,” “Help the poor.”

This is in line with the Church’s concern for the poor which led Pope Francis, to declare “The World Day of the Poor,” celebrated on the 33rd Sunday of Ordinary Time since 2017. You may wish to know that the Catholic Church is the world’s largest non-government provider of healthcare services with its over 100, 000 charity and healthcare centres which include hospitals and dispensaries; care homes for people with leprosy; homes for the elderly or the chronically ill, people with disability, etc.

We are all affected

To underscore the importance of this prayer event, I had to cancel my Mass today which I should have held with the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) at their Camp at St. Kelvin Pastoral Area, Kabusa, in order to be here with the Auxiliary Bishop, the Cardinal, the visiting Bishop Bertram Meier, Chairman of the Commission for International Church Affairs of German Bishops’ Conference, and Bishop of Augsburg and his team from Germany. I asked the Chancellor, the Vicars, all the 8 Deans, and representatives of priests and sisters to join us. We invited the Honourable FCT Minister and the FCT Commissioner of Police, to join us too as their presence will be a very significant gesture of solidarity and comfort to those affected.

Empathy, not Negligence

What occurred here during the annual Christmas items distribution was never as a result of negligence. Previous years of distribution took place seamlessly in all the many Catholic parishes in the FCT. However, the distribution at Holy Trinity Maitama in 2024, witnessed an unprecedented turnout of about 5,000 needy and vulnerable individuals, certainly, due to the heightened economic hardship affecting many families in the country.

The large crowd outside the church premises created pressure and panic. This led to a struggle as individuals scrambled to gain entry through the church gate which resulted in the fatalities and injuries. No one should be allowed to die a needless death just struggling for what to eat.

Measures taken

When the sad incident occurred, immediate actions were taken by the Church:

1. The distribution of items was halted immediately to prevent further chaos.
2. The deceased were transported to the mortuary.
3. Injured individuals were promptly provided medical care.
4. The Parish Priest, the President of St. Vincent de Paul, Maitama, and the Chief Security Officer (CSO) of the parish were taken by the police for questioning but released hours later.
5. A letter was issued by the Archbishop of Abuja to commiserate with the affected families, praying for the eternal repose of those who lost their lives and healing for the injured.
6. Those families affected have been visited to express our condolences and to assure them of our spiritual and moral support, and our continued closeness.

Lessons Learnt

While thanking God, we must realize that this unexpected incident underscores the need for enhanced crowd control measures; the need to attempt to pre-register people in order to prevent a similar occurrence; sensitization on orderly conduct before and during distributions can help to minimize panic.

While we mourn the loss of lives, we remain steadfast in our commitment to serve the poor and vulnerable and we will work to ensure such incidents are avoided in the future.

Commendable efforts of St. Vincent de Paul

I thank our members of St. Vincent de Paul, who over the years have championed the cause of the poor and I do not hesitate in declaring the Parish priest of Holy Trinity Maitama, Fr. Moses Jimbili, the President of St. Vincent de Paul of Maitama Parish, Ms Juliet Onwuemelia, and all the compassionate members of St. Vincent de Paul in Abuja Archdiocese as our heroes and heroines of 2024, for their selfless roles in feeding and caring for the poor.

We hope that the government will collaborate with the Catholic Church to look after the poor, the starving, the socially deprived, and others. We should be speaking the language of collaboration rather than blame. The Church has always been a place of refuge and support, and we need to work with the concerned government agencies to address the underlying issues that led to this sad event. It is on record that countries such as Germany, the US, UK, Ireland, and others empower the Catholic Church and other faith-based organizations to provide for the poor. Our Government must do all that is possible so that no one dies of hunger or other artificial causes. Nigeria must learn to use available resources without corruption to save the lives of citizens even if it is one person.

Hope in the New Year Speech of the President

We started the New Year with a heart-warming broadcast by President Tinubu wishing every Nigerian a happy and prosperous New Year; praying that the year will bring joy, success, and good health. He said, although 2024 posed numerous challenges to our citizens and households, in 2025, his government is committed to intensifying efforts to boost food production; inflation will be reduced from its current high rate of 34.6% to 15%. We pray that this will be realized.

Our baptismal commitment to doing good

For us Catholics who today celebrate the baptism of the Lord, we are called to a renewal of our baptismal promises; we must all, especially our political leaders reject the devil who tried to tempt Jesus to a reckless use of power for self and for material gains (cf. Mt 4:1-11).

Christians must draw inspiration from Christ’s example, and as the second reading from Titus 2:11-14, 3:4-7 says, to give up everything that does not lead to God; we must be self-restrained and live good and religious lives here in this present world.

Remembering the poor and needy

Those among us who have the material means should remember that the last judgement will not be based on the knowledge, fame, or fortune we have acquired but fundamentally, on our reaction to human needs: feeding the hungry, giving water to the thirsty, clothing the naked, welcoming the stranger, etc (cf. Mt. 25: 31-46). Like the rich man who ignored the poor Lazarus (cf. Luke 16:19-31), it will be too late to do good by the time of judgement. Therefore, whatever good you can do, especially to ease people’s sufferings, please do it now. Procrastination is the thief of time.

Poverty robs people of their dignity. Our individual actions and political decisions must be geared towards the good of the poor. May 2025 move Nigeria closer to peace and prosperity.
God bless us all.