From Geoffrey Anyanwu, Enugu
The Anglican Bishop of Nike Diocese, Rt Rev Christian Onyia, has slammed the Federal Government for the escalation of insecurity and unemployment which have rendered many Nigerians hopeless.
He also berated the government for the economic woes of the country insisting that those making and managing Nigeria’s economic policies were incompetent and needed to be changed.
Onyia who spoke at the weekend in his Charge at the Third Session of the Fifth Synod of his diocese held at St. Peter’s Church, Thinker’s Corner, Enugu, expressed regret that Nigeria since Independence had never faced the current level of polarisation and unmitigated security crisis.
‘It is particularly troubling that this is taking place under the leadership of a retired military general. Sadly, it seems that the president and the governors have lost control of the situation. No part of the country is spared by insecurity, ranging from terrorism, extremism, insurgencies, jihadism, kidnapping for ransom and extra-judicial executions of citizens by the state actors,’ the bishop said.
‘Sadly, the activities of Boko Haram and Fulani extremists appear to be a decoy to achieve other predetermined missions.
‘Nigeria has also witnessed unprecedented endemic assassinations, looting of communities, and abduction by Fulani extremists, posing as herdsmen. The people and communities now live in fear. Travelling in Nigerian routes is worse than being on the war front. People’s fears are aggravated by their perception of the government’s failure to act in the face of the threat.’
The bishop, speaking of Nigeria’s economic woes, stated that ‘the country has gone from happiest people in the world to the saddest people and the very difficult economy has contributed greatly to this situation.
‘This trend shows that those who are making and managing Nigeria’s economic policies are incompetent and should be removed and replaced with better and more competent managers. Nigeria is vast and rich in human resources. It is possible that the president’s policy of drawing almost all his managers from one part of the country to the exclusion of others may be contributing to this high level of incompetent managers of the economy and other aspects of Nigeria’s governance. This policy must be discarded to move the country forward.’
Further on the state of the nation’s current political economy and its implications for its citizens, the cleric said that ‘to address the problems and challenges facing the nation, Nigeria needs restructuring anchored in true federalism and resource control. It would stimulate healthy competitions among regions/states.’
He stressed that for Nigeria to meet the challenges of food insecurity, she needs to focus on how to increase yield per hectare, reduce post-harvest losses, and improve food processing and preservation.
‘To prevent, mitigate and reconcile the looming crisis, Nigeria needs a policy to leverage its population for national development. Investments should be made in agriculture, not the current subsistence farming, but modern agriculture that must include post-harvest storage, utilisation, and management of agricultural produce.”
Speaking on the theme of the Synod, “Church: Mission through social action,” the Bishop noted that “the Church is a religious and social organisation, guided by spiritual, ethical and social principles contained in the fundamental teachings and doctrine of Christian faith.”
Stressing that the Church was expected to play a vital role in stimulating and influencing social change and in the improvement of the value system of society, Onyia said, “To reduce the unemployment, poverty, misery rates in Nigeria, and the insecurity associated with these social deprivations, Diocese of Nike set up cottage industries, farms and other agricultural processing industries in the communities.
‘In the Diocese of Nike, our focus is more on rural communities, because our diocese is 30 per cent urban and 70 per cent rural. Most importantly, rural missions based on social action and rural development are our objectives. During this Synod, there were medical outreaches even as the Church dedicates new cottage industries, hospitals, and vicarages.’