The Anglican Communion, Church of Nigeria, Kwara and New Bussa Diocese, during the week disclosed that the nation is currently undergoing multifaceted challenges marked by insecurity, economic difficulties, and underlying political tensions.
The Archbishop of the Anglican Communion, Bishop Israel Afolabi Amoo, said Nigeria is besieged by a variety of security threats, including banditry, terrorism, kidnapping, and general insurgency.
Speaking at the church’s two-day 26th provincial council meeting at Offa, Kwara State, the cleric maintained that the nation has witnessed unprecedented farmers/herders conflicts that have caused untold hardship to many communities.
“Many families have been rendered homeless and their means of livelihood completely disrupted. This has impacted negatively on the overall Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the nation.
“The inflation index is in a soaring state and unemployment is rising, which has left a significant number of citizens struggling to meet their basic needs.
“Unfortunately for us, we cannot see any serious attempt by the government to improve our livelihood. Right from the first day of this government, it has been woes upon woes, with promises that were never meant to be fulfilled,” he stated.
According to Amoo, who spoke at the church Ecclesiastical Province of Kwara, the abrupt removal of the petrol subsidy without proper economic controls was a direct hit on the average Nigerian.
He was concerned about what he described as poor implementation of government policies and the unfortunate compromise of key arms of government. “More especially, the Legislature has further brought us to a more sorry state,” he lamented.
According to him: “The last general elections and the manner of conduct in ensuring election tribunal activities showed that the judiciary is no longer the hope of the common man. All of this has climaxed our hopelessness as a nation. It has been bad before, but now the situation is both hopeless and unbearable, to say the least.
“It is very disheartening how visionless some of our political leaders are. Some of them are not even thinking of how to address some of these unfortunate situations in our nation, or how to save the nation from anarchy, but only on how to win in the coming elections.
“There are lots of internal party tensions, cross-carpeting, backstabbing of political opponents, and abuse of the constitution of our nation, all in the bid to hold power endlessly.
“The youth no longer believe that they are the leaders of tomorrow, as those in government have refused to leave office. What we see is the recycling of the same old people with a change of portfolios and political nomenclatures.
“Our survival as a nation is only in the hands of God, as every index of a sustainable nation has disintegrated,” he stressed.
Amoo said no sector of the economy is functioning as it should. “Education is at an abysmal state, industrialisation is slow-paced, with the country virtually importing every product in the market.
“There is no access to stable employment or social support systems, fostering a climate of discontent and political upheaval, with the average Nigerian being the worst hit.
“We in the faith-based ministries are not left out because we depend on the free will of members of the church. If the members of our congregation are suffering and their welfare is not taken care of, they cannot give beyond their means. They can only give what they have. And this has also worsened the challenge of missions and world evangelisation, further weakening the moral fabric of the nation,” he hinted.
The legal practitioner, however, advised every Nigerian to fight corruption head-on, assuring that this would reinforce the mechanisms of good governance.
“These are imperative steps towards restoring public confidence and ensuring stability within the nation. The challenge of developing a state or nation is not a leadership challenge alone. Both the leadership and followership are involved in this,” he added.
“There is a need for good collaboration and synergy between the leadership and the followership. Everyone must resolve to eschew corruption in all its ramifications. However, as it is often said, everything rises and falls on leadership. It is our prayer that God will arise and do something for us. We will keep praying for the nation and play our roles as people of God.”
Meanwhile, the church’s National Church Standing Committee, acting for the General Synod, approved the creation of five full-fledged and ten Missionary Dioceses.
