The Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Most Rev. Matthew Kukah, on Friday said religious leaders should not only preach environmental conservation but also emphasize that exploitation of nature violates divine trust.
Kukah said this in Lagos, noting that religious leaders were not spectators in the environmental crisis but custodians of moral clarity.
He spoke at the 24th Chief S.L. Edu Memorial Lecture, organized by the Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF).
The lecture had the theme: “To Have and to Hold: Faith and Care of the Environment.”
According to Kukah, a state forfeits moral authority when ecological funds are diverted, environmental impact assessments are treated as mere formalities, and regulatory institutions are weakened or politicized.
“When state laws and rules lose their meaning and resonance, citizens disengage and survival replaces solidarity. We then witness a diffusion of violence—one against all and all against one.
“This is where religion and religious leaders must step in. This is where the devil must be called by his right name. Moral clarity becomes a substitute for subterfuge and dubious synonyms.
“The need to pronounce a clear verdict becomes urgent. Religious leaders, therefore, are not spectators in the environmental crisis; they are custodians of moral clarity. Their mission is to interpret the mind of God,” he said.
Kukah stressed that exploitation must be regarded as a violation of divine trust.
“Faith demands restraint in consumption, equity in distribution and accountability in governance.
“It insists that progress without justice is regression. Blind accumulation that produces hunger is morally reprehensible,” he added.
He called for increased participation by individuals, groups, organizations and governments in environmental protection, warning that environmental destruction does not occur in isolation.
“It erodes trust, legitimacy and social cohesion among people.
“When communities watch their lands taken, their waters polluted, and their futures mortgaged without consent or compensation, grievances accumulate.
“These grievances are often misnamed, but at their core lies a deeper wound: ecological injustice,” he said.
Also speaking at the event, the Archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos, Most Rev. Adewale Martins, said caring for the earth was not optional.
“Pope Francis reminds us that caring for the earth is not an optional concern. It is a moral, spiritual and social imperative.
“It is closely linked to respect for human dignity, the protection of the poor, and the pursuit of the common good.
“The Catholic Church in Nigeria, and the Archdiocese of Lagos in particular, are deeply committed to this call to ecological compassion,” he said.
Martins added that environmental degradation and social injustice were interconnected, stressing that the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor must be heard and addressed together.
The Director-General of the NCF, Dr Joseph Onoja, told journalists that the religious community was large and must be actively involved in environmental conservation.
“Almost everyone is connected to a faith. That is why we brought in an erudite speaker—to show that there is a faith-based obligation to care for the environment.
“We have also invited the Sultan of Sokoto to speak on a similar subject from a faith perspective. This will be a continuous conversation because much more needs to be done,” he said.
Earlier, the Chairman of the NCF National Executive Council, Justice R.I.B. Adebiyi, said the theme of the lecture was timely.
“With the growing threats of deforestation, pollution, climate change and other unsustainable human activities, the foundation of our existence is under pressure.
“Considering that many of us are people of faith—Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and adherents of traditional religions—this lecture reminds us that conservation is not only the responsibility of governments or organizations like NCF. It is a shared duty.
“It calls for collective action to protect and preserve our natural environment and heritage for present and future generations,” she said.
