A renowned Catholic priest and founder of the Catholic Institute for Development Justice and Peace (CIDJAP), Rev. Fr. Prof. Obiora Ike, has warned that the world is already witnessing a Third World War fought through multiple regional conflicts.
He declared that Nigeria’s worsening insecurity, kidnapping and governance crisis reflect the collapse of the rule of law.
The cleric said the country’s growing lawlessness should force Nigerians to confront what he described as a fundamental question: “Are we serious?”
Ike spoke in Enugu during the recent launch of the Southeast Human Rights Bureau and an Open Source Reporting Platform organised by the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC), where he urged civil society organisations, government institutions and citizens to take the defence of human rights and justice more seriously.
According to him, the gathering represented more than the inauguration of a new human rights initiative, describing it as a collective commitment to confront impunity in Nigeria despite growing threats to democratic institutions across the world.
Drawing from biblical history, Ike argued that humanity has always struggled to obey laws and uphold justice, saying the tendency to break rules dates back to the story of Adam and Eve in the Book of Genesis.
He said, “Human history shows that we do not want to accept a rule or a guide. Those of you who are parents know what you experience in your families. Tell children not to touch something and the first thing they do is to touch it.”
He also cited the story of Moses receiving the Ten Commandments, saying people have historically sought ways to evade accountability rather than obey the law.
“The people even wanted an eleventh commandment: ‘Break any law, but do not be caught.’ That is exactly what we do in our societies today,” he said.
Turning to current global affairs, the cleric rejected suggestions that the world remains at peace, arguing that a fragmented global conflict is already underway.
“If I jump the Old Testament and come into more relevant times, the tragedies of a World War, of a Second World War, of an impending Third World War that has started in small, small patches… Because you cannot tell me we don’t have a World War now,” he said.
“There’s no central front, but there is a war in Nigeria. Everywhere, there is insecurity. There is a war in Niger, in Mali, in Chad, in Sudan. You can look at the entire African continent. You can go to Europe and focus on Russia and Ukraine. You can go to the Middle East and focus on what’s happening there.”
He added that global institutions established to protect justice and peace were themselves coming under attack.
“The fact that impunity has become a way of life, the fact that the United Nations that was set up to guarantee rights and peace and rule of law is being undermined by those who should uphold it, that is the current situation,” he said.
The priest also criticised attempts by some countries to undermine the International Criminal Court (ICC), saying judges appointed under international conventions were now facing sanctions and restrictions for carrying out their duties.
“How could you be a judge set up by international courts, giving judgments on things that abuse human rights and human dignity, and people who should be supporting you are saying they will deal with you? Countries are now withdrawing from that court. That is the level we have reached,” he said.
Applying the same concerns to Nigeria, Ike said insecurity, corruption and widespread disregard for justice had turned the country into what St. Augustine once described as “a band of robbers.”
Quoting the fourth-century theologian, he said, “Without justice, without law, are societies and states nothing else but a band of robbers put together?”
“When security has collapsed in a nation and every day we think we are going forward while kidnapping, banditry and other crimes continue to increase, it is because a rule of law that should guide society is absent.”
He compared Nigeria’s kidnapping crisis to a modern version of the transatlantic slave trade.
“Five hundred years ago, people were captured and sold. Today, you sell yourself and buy yourself. People now pay ransom for their own freedom, and sometimes even state actors are alleged to become part of the sharing of the money. That is where we have reached,” he said.
Reflecting on a recent encounter with children during a church service in Enugu, Ike recounted how a young girl summarised Nigeria’s challenges in a few words.
“I asked the children why they thought things were not going well in our country. A little girl, about six or seven years old, took the microphone and simply said, ‘Ndi a erogho serious’ (These people are not serious), dropped the microphone and returned to her seat,” he said.
“I have repeated that story many times because that child captured the essence of our problem. The question remains: Are we serious?”
Despite his concerns, Ike expressed optimism that committed citizens and civil society organisations could still reverse the country’s decline.
He cited CIDJAP’s legal intervention programme, revealing that the organisation had secured the release of more than 600 inmates through bail applications in the first half of the year while resolving over 2,000 disputes through alternative dispute resolution.
Source:
Sahara Reporters
