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By Isaac Ngumah
Founder of Power On The Rock International Ministry also known as Rock Chapel, Pastor Adekunle Richard has expressed concern over the pervading hunger in the country calling on the government to come to the aid of ordinary Nigerians.
He expressed the concern in a recent chat with Church Times.
Adekunle said, “There is no way people will be hungry that there will not be insecurity, when you solve the problem of hunger, insecurity will go. Many factories in Nigeria are down, companies are going to other countries because our currency has lost its value. What attracts people to any nation is the value of its currency.
“At the moment our currency has lost its value. But the main issue confronting us now is hunger. When you talk of insecurity, let us talk about food security first. When people can eat then they can begin to talk of other things”
He noted that some of the economic policies of government are neither here nor there. “I believe the country must not rely on the economic policies of World Bank and IMF. As it is many of the economic reforms are not having a positive effect on the people rather it is pain upon pain”
The church leader said he had envisioned what is happening today because he believed the right person was not elected. “I had rooted for Peter Obi in the last election, unfortunately, the forces against him were too much. So let us endure whatever is happening today. I told them a man ordained by God has not been allowed to lead. You cannot start building from the roof you start from the foundation.
“When the foundation is destroyed what can the righteous do? The righteous cannot do anything. So people are crying and shouting. This is unfortunately just the beginning. We can only now be praying and hoping that things will get better.”
While urging Nigerians who are comfortable to remember those in need he said, “We must learn to be our brother’s keeper. The first rule of nature is humanity” he said, adding however that people “should go into farming and also people should restrict most of their movement and do some meetings on phone which can reduce what they spend on transportation.
For those who have children in school, he said, “They should send them to schools which they can afford to pay. The only thing people can do now is to apply wisdom to life and no one should waste resources. Be discreet and prudent. They should not take the challenge to heart so that their blood pressure will not rise.”
He blamed President Tinubu for bringing former President Mohammdu Buhari to power because according to him, Buhari further plundered the nation’s economy.
He said further that the current APC-led government has not done well. “The first impression matters a lot. You said you removed the subsidy. Did you have plans before removing it? Did you have plan B? Did you provide anything on the ground before the subsidy was removed? He did not. The masses have been at the receiving end of the harsh economic policies”
Corruption, a serious matter
He noted that corruption in Nigeria has become a serious matter “It is hard to find somebody in Nigeria that can tackle corruption because corruption has become an ideology to most people in Nigeria.. It has become a way of life. It will be difficult to kill it. It is in the blood of those in authority.”
The anti-graft bodies according to him are not living up to their billing. “What we are experiencing with them is that they work against those in the opposition party and against those who are not in the same religion and business with them. The antigraft agencies are not working in Nigeria at the moment. They only go after the opposition. They are selective in their methods of arrest. We have seen that over the years. They are not working for the good of Nigeria. Until things are put in order, they will remain so.”
He however charged Nigerians to keep hope alive “We face new challenges everyday. The good news is that no mountain is insurmountable before GOD.. As we draw closer to God we find solutions to our problems.”
