Posted by By Chidi Nkwopara on
THE Federal Government has been reminded that the alleged heavy indebtedness of the country to creditor nations and financial institutions is not enough excuse for the reverse in development and abject poverty afflicting the citizenry.
OWERRI - THE Federal Government has been reminded that the alleged heavy indebtedness of the country to creditor nations and financial institutions is not enough excuse for the reverse in development and abject poverty afflicting the citizenry. President of the Owerri Catholic Archdiocesan Whelan Research Academy for Religion, Culture and Society(WRAC), Monsignor Theophilus Okere, stated this in a message delivered on his behalf by the Coordinator, Rev. Dr. Anthony P.C. Njoku, at a press briefing in Owerri.
"Heavy indebtedness seems today to have become the major cause and excuse for the reverse in development and the abject poverty into which the African countries and peoples have sadly sunk, with no relief in sight", Okere stated. The cleric argued that 'the debt" has replaced the slave trade, the scramble for Africa, colonialism and imperialism, as the evil nexus connecting black Africa and the West, where the latter has preyed on the former as a blood-sucking parasite.
It was his considered view that the so-called indebtedness of Africa to the West needs to be more critically examined and re-examined because evidence suggests that there is more to it than meets the eye. "In recent times, this issue has also been spotlighted on the global scene, especially in view of the issue of cancellation of debt/debt relief for Africa, featuring in the G8 countries at the Gleneagles summit", the Catholic cleric stated. He said that the establishment has decided to mount a workshop in Owerri to discuss the issue, stressing that the effort would be their contribution to the vexed issue of the alleged debts and debt forgiveness.
"The Academy has therefore invited eminent scholars, politicians, economists, philosophers and theologians to give the benefit of their best reflection on Africa's international debt, to sift the myth from the reality, to probe the causes and genesis of the problem, to bring the searchlight of morality to bear on this very human issue and perhaps look into the future relations between black Africa and the West", Monsignor Okere explained.
While disclosing the chief executive officer of Diamond Bank, Mr. Paschal Dozie, would deliver thekeynote address, Okere also said that the Catholic Archbishop of Owerri Ecclesiastical Province, HisGrace, Most Rev. Dr. Anthony J.V. Obinna, will also be the chief host.