……Rues senseless shedding of innocent lives, inflation
By Olufemi Oni, Ilorin
The Bishop of the Methodist Church Nigeria, Diocese of Kwara, Rt. Rev. Joseph F. Osifuwa, has lamented the worsening economic hardship and insecurity across the country, urging President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to urgently address the deepening crises in order to enhance living standard and allow the citizens to sleep with their two eyes closed.
Speaking at the ongoing 35th Annual Synod of the Church held at the Cathedral of Blessing, Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, Bishop Osifuwa expressed grave concern over the plight of ordinary Nigerians, lamenting that over 90 percent of the population are living below the poverty line.
“Life has become unbearable for most Nigerians,” he said, blaming recent economic policies, especially the removal of fuel subsidy and Naira floatation, for triggering severe inflation that has made basic necessities unaffordable.
The Bishop also decried the mass migration of young, productive Nigerians and the continued spate of killings and violent crimes in States such as Benue and Plateau, describing the senseless shedding of innocent body as horrifying and unacceptable.
He said: “Innocent blood continues to defile the land. Enough is enough. The government must rise and decisively crush terrorists and bandits. We cannot allow faceless groups to overrun our nation. Tinubu-led Federal Government must as a matter of urgency take drastic steps to tackle all that stand to discredit his government.”
Bishop Osifuwa urged the Tinubu-led government to revive the economy by engaging competent technocrats, providing jobs for the teeming youths, supporting entrepreneurship through loans and grants, and returning focus unto agriculture for national survival and growth.
He also called for stable electricity, improved road networks, and a functional healthcare system, lamenting that electricity remains a luxury in many communities, saying that high tariffs are unjustified. “Our hospitals are in shambles. People are dying from preventable diseases,” the cleric lamented.
Speaking on Kwara State, the Bishop, who acknowledged the state government’s efforts through distribution of palliatives to cushion the effects of the economic hardship on the people, however, stressed the need for long-term development policies, calling for improved welfare packages for workers, including the faithful implementation of the N70,000 minimum wage, which, according to him, could not even take any worker home in view of the current economic reality in the country.
The cleric cautioned against the growing insecurity in parts of Kwara State, especially in Baruten and Kaiama local government areas, as well as Ifelodun and Ekiti local government areas, that could worsen food scarcity, urging the state government, in collaboration with security agencies, to intensify efforts to nip this public opprobrium in the bud.
Bishop Osifuwa, however, stressed the need for political and religious leaders to promote unity, warning that ethnic or religious division in Kwara could threaten the state’s peace and progress. “Only through tolerance and equal opportunity can we achieve lasting peace and prosperity,” he added.
The Bishop admonished all congregants and members of the Method Church worldwide to key into the theme of the 35th Annual Synod: “He Will Rise Again”, by putting their absolute trust in God alone and also casting all their troubles, worries and anxieties on Him, adding that God would surely answer them and give them a new lease of life that would glorify His name.