The Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) has said Nigeria’s survival as a nation is only in the hands of God, and called for concerted effort against corruption and reinforcing the mechanisms of good governance.
It observed there is nothing that led to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah by God that has not taken place in Nigeria, but believes that there are a few that are still standing in the gap and standing up for righteousness.
The church in a statement issued at the end of its 26th provincial meeting held at the Diocese of Offa, Kwara State, noted that every index of a sustainable nation had disintegrated in the country, and no sector of the economy is working as it should.
But it noted that the challenge of developing a nation is not a just a leadership challenge alone, as both the leadership and followership are involved in this.
“There is need for a good collaboration and synergy between the leadership and the followership. Everyone must resolve to eschew corruption and wickedness in all its ramifications, these are imperative steps towards restoring public confidence and ensuring stability within the nation,” it said.
It said education is at an abysmal state, industrialisation is low-paced with the country virtually importing every product.
It noted that there is no access to stable employment or social support systems, fostering a climate of discontentment and political upheaval, with the average Nigerian being the worst hit.
The statement made available to LEADERSHIP Sunday in Ilorin yesterday was signed by Archbishop Israel Afolabi Amoo.
The church lamented that Nigeria is currently navigating in multifaceted challenges marked by insecurity, economic challenges and underlying political tensions been witnessed in various parts of the nation, just as the country is besieged by a variety of security threats ranging from banditry, terrorism, kidnapping to insurgency across various parts of the nation.
“We are also witnessing conflicts between farmers and herders, which have brought untold hardship to many communities with many families 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 soaring 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 livelihoods. Right from the first day of this government, it has been woes upon woes with promises that were never meant to be fulfilled. The abrupt removal of the petrol subsidy without proper economic control was a direct hit on the average Nigerian,” the church said.
It noted that the collapse of the exchange rate, poor implementation of government policies and the “unfortunate compromise” of some key arms of government, especially the legislature, had further brought the nation to a more sorry state.
It added that the last general elections and the conduct of election tribunals showed that the judiciary is no longer the hope of the common man.
“All this has climaxed in 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, and to save the nation from anarchy but on how to win in the coming elections.
“There are lots of internal party tensions, cross-carpeting, back stabbing 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 recycling of the same old people with change of portfolios and political nomenclatures,” it added.
