Revisit Restructuring to Fix Nigeria’s Myriad of Problems- Bishop Akinfenwa

The Bishop of Ibadan Diocese of the Church of Nigeria Most Revd  Joseph Akinfenwa spoke candidly to those at the corridors  of power to  urgently fix Nigeria’s myriad of problems by looking at the nation’s fundamental  defects which needed to  be addressed.

Delivering his two hours Bishop’s Charge  at the Second Session of the Twenty Fourth Synod on Friday 5 April 2024 at the Anglican Church of the Ascension in Ibadan, Bishop Akinfenwa said these defects were crippling ” our political ,economic  and security structures”.

He pointed out the age long deceit which “is on paper that Nigeria  is a  Federal Republic  while in the real practice we are unitary state.”

This he said had hindered “our progress in very important areas”..

He declared: “Unitary which means  one -cap-fits- all policies in a diverse and complex nation like ours can only cause confusion and set back”, This he said   had for ages   been our story .

” Instead of allowing the federating units to harness their respective  potentials and play to their strengths, we have unwittingly created a situation whereby many of them are held back by the shackles  of a unitary , federal might that is insensitive to the local but stifled.

This he said   had encouraged “the culture of going to Abuja cap- in- hand for handouts which has become deeply entrenched “

As a matter of urgency the Diocesan said at this point to redress this anomaly “the government in power should revisit Restructuring”

Nigeria, he said must return to a truly Federal structure.” where the centre  ceases to hold back any of the federating Units from true development according to their priorities “

Most Revd Akinfenwa not done yet said  another endemic destroying Nigeria and crippling it was that of corruption.

He reiterated that “No amount of economic stimulus scheme will work, and  no development agenda will fly if the funds injected continue to end up being stolen”.

He admonished: ” If we make good progress in the fight against Corruption, we can surely make progress on all other developmentl fronts”.

He cited that electricity, roads , telecommunications and most importantly security were in despair because of endemic corruption.

He therefore appeal to President Bola Tinubu in his first year in office to double his efforts to  quickly alleviate the pains of ” Nigerian masses” and move quickly too to correct the fundamental defects killing Nigeria as a Nation.