Archbishop of the Anglican Communion, Kaduna Diocese, Bishop Timothy Yahaya, has lamented how Nigerians are blessed with both human and natural resources but still suffering. He asserted that Nigeria is exporting wealth and importing poverty.
This is just as he advised the federal government to apply what he called civil war strategies against terrorists’ attacks and killings in the country.
The bishop told newsmen on the sidelines of the New Year service that, “My New Year message to Nigerians is particularly to the federal government: people are hungry in a land where we can export food better than Ukraine and Russia. Israel is a very small country not up to one state in Nigeria. It can feed the whole Middle East. What are we doing with the potential of our agriculture? And I dare to say, and I want to be challenged that we did the Anchor Borrower Programme, we didn’t see the money anywhere in agriculture. When we talk about agriculture, we talk about service delivery in agriculture. The money goes to the politicians to share, I pray this government will take a look at that.”
On insecurity, Bishop Yahaya said during Nigeria’s civil war, despite the 10,000 population of the armed forces, 250,000 soldiers were recruited within six months to fight the war.
To this end, he urged the federal government to recruit more soldiers to fight terrorists to a standstill and bring the attacks and killings to an end in the country without further delay.
Bishop Yahaya also advised the federal government to revive the rubber, cocoa, palm plantations and groundnut pyramids to discourage overdependence on oil for national development.
“I am not saying that only arms will solve these problems. We need to call ethnic nationalities, sit down with them, everybody must be a stakeholder. Let us know what their grievances are.
Many years later, by what I see happening in this country, in all parts of the country, not only one part of the country, Nigeria is still a geographical expression like late Chief Obafemi Awolowo said many years back. People don’t feel a sense of belonging in our nation. We need to sit down and ask ourselves; which way forward.
“My message to our national leaders is that they need to sit up as patriotic Nigerians. When we have patriotic Nigerians, I tell you Nigeria will be great again. But when our National Assembly members are calling for cars from overseas in a weak economy, instead of buying Nigeria made cars, that is not patriotism at all, that is not nationalism at all.
How can you be buying foreign cars, a country of wealth importing poverty. This is what we do in this country. Look at the brain drain that is taking place in our country. It looks like it is normal.
“For me as a leader, we treat Nigeria as an orphan. But I pray that the Renewed Hope Agenda will not be hope on paper, not as a propaganda. Let it be a renewed hope for the common man to enjoy the value for his money when he goes to the market. Let it be renewed hope for the common man to go to school and hospitals,” he said.
