(ANS - Rome) – “Nigeria is a country of hope, with about 110 million people under the age of 25, the second largest economy in the continent with rich resources still to be exploited to the utmost.” This is the view of the country that emerges in the second part of the interview with Fr Silvio Roggia, Vice-Provincial of the Province of English-speaking West Africa, and Bro. Paolo Vaschetto, Bursar in the Salesian community at Ibadan .
Fr Silvio, you arrived in Nigeria in 1997. How has the country changed since then?
Nigeria is the giant of West Africa, both in terms of the Salesians and in general terms. In the years I lived there (1997-2005) there was great development. The country is completely different today from when I first went there. At that time there was the dictatorship of Sani Abacha, then gradually a process of democracy began and along with this came many economic and social changes. These can be seen in everyday life, for example in transportation and cleanliness. And in recent years the Internet and mobile technologies have also made a huge difference.
Economically, the main driving force is oil, with 2.5 million barrels extracted per day. Nigeria is a country rich in variety and complexity, with 170 million citizens from different ethnic groups and more than 500 languages ...
Now, as Vice-Provincial, I live in Ghana. Every time I go to Nigeria I have a sense of great potential, especially because there are so many young people. This is an opportunity for us. The name of Don Bosco is well known. This was true even before the Salesians came to the country, in the areas where there was a longstanding Christian presence, and the Preventive System is at home here.
Bro. Paolo, how do you see these changes?
There is really a great evolution. Nigeria is a Federal Republic. Many states have developed on their own, like Lagos, for example, thanks to good administration. The condition of the environment has improved significantly compared to the past. This has led others to follow their example and the results are noticeable.
Socially, the progress has helped the wealthier segments. There is no middle class as yet. Many of the people are really poor and unfortunately the changes have done very little for them. There is still no real plan to eradicate poverty.
In any case, the young people of Nigeria - and the whole of West Africa - are very similar to their peers all over the world, if only for the fact of having a phone in their pocket and being in communication with the whole world. Certainly the American Dream is very attractive to them: emigration to the United States, or indeed any foreign country, is the dream of very many young people in Nigeria, because there is so much unemployment.
We Salesians try to respond through education. Technical education teaches the skills required for middle rank jobs, but there are very few industries. Media education is also important because young people are greatly influenced by the media. We have started courses in social communication: websites, magazines, documentary videos. There is also an article 43 group, with an audiovisual studio, that is going very well, because it speaks to young people in their language and can be accessed and shared on the network. There is also the Youth.com magazine, which seeks to educate young people to values such as respect for life and John Paul II’s theology of the body.
What is the future for the Salesians in Nigeria?
Fr Silvio: for us Salesians, Nigeria is a country that offers great hopes. At present in our province we have 16 novices and 22 pre-novices, most of them from Nigeria. And our presence is taking root in service to the poorest young people. We work with street children, run technical schools and minister in parishes where there are many poor people.
Published 20/05/2014
