 First, my gratitude to the Catholic Bishop of Abuja, his Eminence, Archbishop Kagama, and also President of Rekor, for the kind invitation to be here today to join you at this opening ceremony of this very important conference. I bring you also the very warm greetings and special felicitations of our president, President Mohammad Buhari, who I also have the privilege of representing here. My Lords, the founding fathers of the economic community of West African states, Echoes, envisioned a West Africa that would be a zone of free-flowing commerce and travel in which people would co-mingle and migrate freely, thereby overcoming the problems that have been associated with colonialism in the past and the barriers that have been created by colonialism in the past. The truth is that since the establishment of Echoes, we have made considerable progress towards establishing the Echoes of our dreams. We have introduced the Echoes passport and we have implemented it. We have protocols that allow us to travel from country to country and to stay for 90 days in each of our countries. We also have the special trade agreements that allow our 15 countries to trade with preferential treatment for various categories of trade. We also have done several protocols. We have signed several protocols that have enabled us more or less to establish the sort of Echoes that we desire. But all our efforts and our greatest efforts to integrate our community have been floated not just by external causes and concerns, especially around sovereignty of our nations. But they've also resulted in a situation where social conflicts in our nations and around our borders have critically affected our capacity to truly integrate in the way that we wish. Internal prices and social conflicts around our borders have created a situation where today our region, we will say, is passing through a season of considerable political and economic and social turmoil. Terrorism and violent conflicts, banditry, affect many of our nations, and especially in the Sahel. In the aftermath of COVID-19, the pandemic, many of our economies have been weakened, while unemployment has escalated and poverty has been deepened. Since 2017, there have been 12 military coups in Africa, and half of them have occurred since 2020. Historically, in times like this, parochial prejudices are heightened, and the fabric of cohesion of society becomes frail as people retreat into ethnic, religious, and other nativist camps. Those that do not speak a language or subscribe to our faith come under great suspicion, and soon they become scapegoats for all our challenges. And ethnic, religious, and separatist conflicts arrive. In all of these, the ideal of an integrated, peaceful, and prosperous subregion then remains and seems almost impossible. Peace cannot reign in our region if it does not first reign in our communities and our countries, which is why I think that the theme of this summit is especially about Fratelli Tutti, a path to build brotherhood and sustainable peace in West Africa. Fratelli Tutti is the powerful notion on which is holiness, the Pope of Francis, and calls his most recent encyclical, titled Fratelli Tutti. And the concept here is a concept of the brotherhood of all humanity, the idea that fraternity and social friendships are the ways to build a better, more just, and peaceful world with the commitment of all peoples and institutions. The encyclical proposes some of the boldest and most radical ideas on securing human unity, peace, and security. In the despair and blickness of the times, these ideas that offer hope and renewal are very much needed. In answer to the challenges that many of our societies face in trying to meld diverse, ethnic, and religious communities under one flag, the encyclical offers, and I quote, if every human being possesses an inalienable dignity, if all people are my brothers and sisters, and if the world truly belongs to everyone, then it matters little whether my neighbor was born in my country or elsewhere, end of quote. Indeed, as people of faith, we look upon the diversity of our people as a gift of providence, not as a cause of conflict. We are gratified that the church has stood out and continues to stand as a powerful voice for ecumenism all over the world and is committed to doing so in our region. By offering concrete prescriptions on building brotherhood and sustainable peace anywhere, the encyclical Fratelli Tutti rightly takes the position that it is not merely the business of governments and political institutions to find means of securing peace. It must also be anchored on our civil societies of which our faith communities are an important constituency. So the role of the church in this enterprise is settled. Indeed, the Catholic Church and the bishop's conferences have established a reputation for speaking truth to power in consonance with the highest prophetic traditions and by continuing its illustrious practice of inspiring social action by the lay faithful. Over the years, the church has modeled profound approaches in challenging the impunity of some state actors and errant power. But my lords, I believe that the times also call for speaking to the growing numbers of non-state actors, violent non-state actors, some propagating genuine causes, but with mindless violence, often leading to the disruption of lives and property. In answer to tendencies that promote violence, force and war in the propagation of even the best ideas, is holding as the pope takes the view and he takes the view, especially quoting Augustine of Hippo. Augustine of Hippo, as you know, is the one who says that there might be justifiable war. He forged the concept of a just war, but he's also the one who says that it's a higher glory still to stay war itself with the word than to stay men with the sword and to procure or maintain peace by peace, not by war. End of quote. This body, this country, this body, this conference can supply a moral and spiritual consensus that underguards the very project of integration. In doing so, I believe that we can also look to the idea of the common good, which is perhaps the cornerstone of the Catholic social teachings. By one definition, this concept of the common good, is said to consist of shared values about which we owe one another as citizens who are bound together in the same society, the norms we voluntary abide by and the ideals we seek to achieve. Again, this finds support in the allusion of Pope Francis in the Encyclical, so the story of the Good Samaritan. And this story is the theological core of the Encyclical, the story that the Lord Jesus Christ told and that story raises sacrifice and concern for the well-being of others over self and it establishes the truth that the love of our neighbor is perhaps the greatest expression of our faith. Concern for our neighbors is the moral foundation of social welfare. It is the moral foundation of social security for the poor and the vulnerable. Schemes that ensure that none is left behind and that no citizen in these blessed West Africa nations needs to go to bed hungry. That we must prioritize universal healthcare while also ensuring free and compulsory basic education. That we must create the environment for millions of young and restless people within our borders to find good paying jobs and live decent lives. For our own part, the government of Nigeria remains committed to collaborating with the church and all well-meaning actors in promoting peace and security. And as you begin this conference, I urge you not only to explore ways of strengthening the bonds of faith between your communities but also building bridges across every divide that threatens to fracture our nations. It's my hope that you will conceptualize the ways of bringing the full weight of the immense moral authority that the church possesses upon our nations and in this sub-region as a whole. It is evident that we cannot create fraternity and harmony in West Africa without our faith communities. On this note, may I then add my voice, the warm welcome that you received already and to say welcome home to all of our West African brothers and sisters who are here. Let me also encourage you to enjoy the ambience and the culinary delights of Abuja. I wish you very fruitful decorations. God bless the federal Republic of Nigeria. God bless all our nations. God bless Echoos and God bless you all. Thank you.