The Presiding Bishop of Rhema Christian Church and Towers Dr. Taiwo Akinola has called for selflessness and commitment to strategic measures to make Nigeria great again.
Nigeria, he said, is redeemable provided leaders are willing to give up perks of office and followers committed to joining hands to make the nation work.
Akinola told reporters last Friday that building a great, working nation calls for sacrifices as well as strict adherence to rule of law and order.
He spoke ahead of the Rhema World Convention of the church, which holds from November 1-8, with the theme “Abundant rain.”
Lamenting the worrisome inflation rate and contraction of the economy, the former university don said: “The economy is bleeding, with the attendant effects of the gross falling living standard at homes, almost across the board.”
Rather than ease the burdens on Nigerians, he carpeted government for piling up taxes and charges, stating “it’s rather better to cut down on the huge cost of governance than passing the burdens onto the ordinary citizens who are just struggling to hold up their heads above the murky economic waters.”
He praised youths for the level of coordination displayed during the #EndSARS protest, saying it was fuelled by years of systemic failure, which is frustrating to the younger generation.
Akinola called on the government to meet all the demands of the protesters to safeguard the future of the country.
He condemned the anarchy and recklessness looting of public and private assets, declaring “lawlessness serves nobody’s interest.”
To beat rising insecurity occasioned by kidnapping and banditry in many parts of Nigeria, Akinola called for community policing, which he said will improve intelligence gathering and safety of neighbourhoods.
With youth unemployment at almost 60 percent, the cleric said the development was a time bomb that government must address with an aggressive generation of jobs for the teeming youths.
On corruption, he said much will not change until public offices become unattractive. He urged the government to fix leakages in the system wondering “how can we be complaining of lack of funds to invest in public infrastructure cum social services when there are lots of public funds allegedly going into private pockets?“
Some of the guests expected at the one-week convention include Archbishop John Osa-Oni, Rev Kunle Adesina, Bishop Victor Akilla, Bishop Abiodun Akinteye, and Bishop Israel Alaya.
