Founder of the Living Faith Church Worldwide (Winners Chapel), Bishop David Oyedepo, says the problems bedeviling Nigeria are systemic rather than solely a function of government.
Speaking on Friday, at the 5th anniversary of Landmark University (LMU), Omu-Aran, Irepodun Local Government Area of Kwara State, Oyedepo said: “I don’t see the problems with the government. I see them as systemic. You give a job to a contractor; he won’t do it. He will be looking for whom to give money to so as to cut corners. Then the job is not done and nobody can question him. So we are dealing with a systemic problem; it is not an individual problem and we must look for a solution to it.”
Speaking on the prevalent fuel scarcity in the country, the cleric urged President Muhammadu Buhari to come out with a ‘definite position’ on the situation.
He also urged the government to be willing to carry out an ‘informed review’ when its policies are not working.
“People in government are much in touch with some of the issues. See where we are on the fuel situation. What is the reason? Where are we going? What is the solution they are proffering? If they are increasing the pump prices, let us know. Right now, they sell fuel at various prices everywhere. We used to have black market, but it is ‘black fuel station’ and they have the right to sell at any price because they are private marketers. The government needs to come out with a definite position on the fuel situation.
“Where we are today is not where we used to be. The effect of the foreign exchange has a lot do with the small scale industry. And that is where the bulk of the Nigerian unemployment is. Anybody can make mistake. If the people in authority are not sensitive to the plight of the people, we will keep on making mistakes. My understanding is that it is never late to be right. If a decision is made and you discover the decision is not helping the system, we should do an informed review.”
“What I am saying is that things have not been working, and we are all aware of this. Individuals have a lot of parts to play to recover the dignity of our nation. These problems have been coming over the years. For instance, think of power. Since this democracy started, power has been a major challenge. Why is it not working? What is happening? Why are we still largely a consuming nation? Because the infrastructure required to be a manufacturing nation is not there. And nobody can run anything here with generator. It will be too costly.”
“I think government should have its priorities. What are the fundamentals that can move Nigeria forward? If we have the right platforms for investors to come in, we will solve some of these problems. It is not enough to think of the way out. We should go beyond thinking to reasoning- logical, rational and analytical thinking. These are issues and possible ways out. It is all about cost-effective solutions.”
