Bishop Nwakanma
The Bishop, Methodist Diocese of Awka, Rt Rev Moses Nwakanma has regretted that the more the masses talk, cry, complain and agitate about the prevailing economic strangulation in Nigeria, the more the rulers develop hard skin.
The Bishop noted this in Awka on Saturday during the plenary session of the 2024 synod of the Diocese.
He said that the ruling class had become quite unimaginable and insensitive to the sufferings and plights of the people.
Bishop Nwakanma said this had been the situation despite the fact that the country is so abundantly and richly blessed with both human and material resources.
“Yes, I am aware that many people will quickly remind me that the country has been a paradox of a real country. Just look at how divinely endowed and blessed the country has been yet it has turned into something close to curse.
“The country is economically, politically, religiously and socially bedevilled with myriads of man-made crises and I began to wonder if there’s still remain any humanity in our beings at all.
“I said this against the backdrop of the fact that just ten months ago, they bamboozled us with the claims that they have removed subsidy and they tactfully succeeded but this unilateral decision has just roundly crippled the country.
“The claim was that trillions of naira would be saved from the fuel subsidy removal and it is getting close to one year since it was propagated that Nigeria would be better once subsidy is removed.
“If I may ask, where have the monies being saved channelled to?
“Health, education, infrastructure or salary increments? Where are employment opportunities? Are we faring better now as a people?
“Ironically, pains, agony, frustrations, hunger and anger have been the portion of the masses instead, “the Bishop said.
The Bishop said he heard again that they were withdrawing what he described as so-called subsidies on electricity when people had not recovered from the ones they removed from fuel.
He noted that the masses had not seen any gain except that few had more than enough money to share and to waste in luxury.
“I appeal to those whom we voted in, as it were, especially in the South East, from the state house to the green and red Chambers to please get back to their constituencies and make the masses feel the dividends of democracy.
“How would Nigerian manufacturers compete with their peers when you increase their payment for epileptic power supplied to them? Imagine diesel at close to N2,000 per liter, is it not a license for manufacturers to wind up business? It is provocatively painful. We need God’s intervention, “he added.
He said that a brazen way killers, bandits, kidnappers and other violent criminals were operating showed that the country was under siege. He said it baffled him why security apparatuses in the country were overwhelmed by the activities of the violent criminals.
He also noted that justice in Nigeria was no longer for the poor. He said that the Nigerian court now appeared to become the most hopeless place to go for in search of justice especially as a poor person.
At the state level, the Bishop commended Governor Charles Soludo and his deputy, Dr Onyekachukwu Ibezim on their quest to make Anambra state a secured and clean environment.
He also noted that the Governor had not relented in paying the workers as and when due.
He, however, said the Governor needed to do more especially in the area of ridding the state of touts.
He promised that Methodist Church, Awka Diocese would continue to partner with the state in all the ways she could to make Anambra a better place to dwell.
In this year’s conference with the theme, “Arise and Build”, the Bishop charged the ministers, the various categories of leaders and members of Methodist Church Nigeria to love the Church.
“We must nourish this Church; we must believe in ourselves. I call on all of us to rise, let us rebuild this Church. Let us make it the Church of our dream. The Diocese of Awka has come to stay. This Diocese was created for the purpose of expansion of the gospel of the kingdom. The Diocese was created to bring leadership and pastoring closer to God’s people.
“This Diocese was created that we might have a pride of place in the comity of nations, comity of Churches and denominations in Anambra and in Awka, particularly.
“This Diocese was created for a platform to serve God better, a platform wherein people can come together, irrespective of denominations and feel free to worship God together. Let us arise, come together to build this Diocese, “the Bishop added.
Chairman of the preliminary session was Sir John Ajuga, the Aba Archdiocesan and Diocesan Lay president who read the keynote address of Sir Johnson Chukwu, Uzuakoli Diocesan President.
