Christian leader alerts President on nation’s crises: “We are sitting on a keg of gun powder”

(Fred Itua, ABUJA)

Prominent Christian leaders in the country have raised the alarm over possible consequences that might arise from the current economic crisis in the country, warning that if something urgent was not done about it, it could lead to a breakdown of laws and order.

The leaders who converged in Abuja at the weekend during the inaugural meeting of retired leaders of major denominations in Nigeria under the auspices of the After Service Leadership Forum (ASLF), said the insecurity, hunger, despair and hardship in the land was becoming unbearable.

They also vowed to resist any attempt by the Buhari administration to “Islamise”Nigeria, warning that the aftermath could lead to a religious crisis in the country.

The immediate past Prelate of the Methodist Church of Nigeria, Sunday Makinde, who spoke to journalists after the meeting, specifically accused President Muhammadu Buhari of being biased in his recent political appointments.

“The general situation in the country is very tense right now. Nigerians should be patient. We have been preaching it for so many years. You do not expect something that has been battered for so many years to be fixed immediately. Let us assist this government in prayer,” Makinde said.

“I will advice the President to listen to voice of Nigerians. He should not be partisan in his appointments. He should avoid religious or political partisanship. He has said he does not belong to anybody. Let us see that statement in practical terms. Nigeria belongs to all of us. Nigerians voted for him.

“It appears Buhari belongs to some people that he favours. Let him consult before he makes appointments. Consultation is very important. I am not interested in appointments. There is poverty in the land. There is frustration, insecurity and hunger in the land. People are in despair.

Cautioning the Federal Government and the ruling APC party to be fair in the fighting against corruption, Makinde said: “APC is part of the corruption in the country. They are not fit to be there. They must handle the issue of ‘padding’ very carefully. We are sitting on a keg of gun powder. The day it will explode, it will consume us. So many graduates are not employed. Unemployed people are the people behind the militancy in the Niger Delta region.”