The arrival of the Vice-President, Yemi Osinbajo, for a colloquium on Nov. 4, 2016, in Lagos, was heralded by an unusual spectacle of number of cars of various brands on the street.
There was no heavy presence of security personnel. Not even on a thanksgiving Sunday has the “Guiding Light Assembly’’ on Layi Bembe Street on Park View Estate, Ikoyi, Lagos, attracted such vehicular traffic.
He arrived to a waiting audience in the church’s premises at about 10.45 a.m. The expression on their faces and the silence that pervaded the air spoke all they had in their minds.
They looked concerned! They were worried! They have kept quiet long enough! It was time to speak out; it was time to ask questions on the state of the nation; find out whether the Muhammadu Buhari Government is the change they voted for.
The occasion was a colloquium on “The Way Forward for Nigeria’’, organised by Christian leaders under the aegis of the “Coalition of Nigerian Apostolic Leaders (CNAL)’’.
CNAL is an affiliate and the Nigerian arm of the International Coalition of Apostolic Leaders.
The audience, mostly Christian leaders, were already seated by 9 a.m. on the fateful day. They were waiting for the number two citizen of Nigeria.
Even before the arrival of Osinbajo, the participants had compiled a list of questions they required answers to.
The vice-president arrived in company of the Minister of Information, Culture and National Orientation, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, and the representative of Gov. Akinwumi Ambode of Lagos State, Mr Akinyemi Ashade, Lagos State Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget.
Popular Cleric and the Presiding Apostle, NCAL, Pastor Wale Adefasarin, fired the first shot in his welcome address.
“Nigeria faces daunting challenges with attendant job losses, closure of industries and loss in Naira value etc. Will Naira regain its value? How will our youths get jobs?’’
He expressed concern that the economic hardship under the Buhari administration had made many citizens to ask: “Is this the change we voted for?’’
Adefarasin, the Convener of the colloquium, was, however, optimistic that it is not over for Nigeria. He believed that Nigerians could still have a country of their dream.
According to him, the church has a role to play in the realisation of this dream Nigeria.
“Church members are financial gurus, technical experts and professionals in diverse trades, but who all share one thing in common — their love and commitment to God and their neighbours which transcends everything else in their lives.
“It is this church that will be the arrow head in the struggle for national transformation.
“Our mission here is to have a real conversation. Where are we going? What progress have we made so far? What can we do to support our government on this journey?
“Our goal is to leave here with clearer understanding and a real determination to see the Nigeria of our dream,’’ Adefarasin said.
Rev. Moses Iloh, the Presiding Steward of Soul Winning Ministries did not mince words either.
According to him, Nigeria needs divine intervention in all aspects of its life.
Iloh asked for God’s forgiveness on Nigerians to enable divine rescue.
The cleric also prayed that Nigerians eschewed bitterness, forgive one another and work with one mind to achieve the goal of national transformation.
The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) also expressed the willingness of the church to partner with the Federal Government on the new Nigeria enterprise.
CAN, represented by Bishop Sola Ore, who is the Chairman of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, said the church desired effective flow of information between it and government on activities of the latter.
According to him, adequate information on government activities will enable the church to know what to pray for.
“There is a place of divine direction from prophetic words,’’ he said.
The Minister of Information, Culture and National Orientation, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, agreed with Ore that communication of government activities to the citizens remained vital.
According to him, government activities are as important as communicating them to the people.
“That is why this government places premium on communicating its activities to the people.
“We have had sensitisation campaigns on three broad issues that form the plank of this administration — the fight against corruption, the fight against insecurity and revival of the economy.
“We have held town hall meetings. We have launched `Change Begins with Me Campaign’. It is about all of us. We must be the change we desire,’’ the minister said.
Mohammed, however, expressed the worry that efforts of the government to communicate effectively with the citizens were being thwarted by unpatriotic Nigerians who countered government information on social media.
“They counter us, using social media. This is a challenge. They fill the atmosphere with their own version of information,’’ he said.
The minister noted that Nigeria was undergoing economic recession but expressed satisfaction that CNAL opted to join the search for solutions rather than sit back and complain endlessly.
Mohammed urged the apostolic coalition to sustain the organisation of events such as the colloquium to add to the discourse on the state of the nation.
Pastor Paul Adefasin of the House on the Rock Church said he desired to see many more practicing Christians in governance to contribute their best to nation building.
He was convinced that Christian leaders should bring their leadership qualities to bear on the nation’s governance for more impacts.
Ambode, represented by the Lagos State Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, Mr Akinyemi Ashade, predicted that the economic challenges though painful; could provide an opportunity for the government to re-strategise to build a sustainable economy.
For him, the recent declaration by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that Nigeria had regained its position as the biggest economy in Africa is a harbinger of hope of a new Nigeria.
Ambode, however, called for consistency in policy that would make the best out of the economy.
The vice-president took a long time explaining government programmes, actions and decisions to the audience to persuade them to believe that the incumbent administration meant well for Nigerians.
Osinbajo admitted that Nigeria was going through the worst situation in its history but gave an assurance of a bright future.
He said that the rough times should not make Nigerians, particularly those that should solve the country’s problems to lose vision.
According to him, those that must retain vision include political leaders, intellectuals, entrepreneurs and apostolic coalition.
“The solution lies with us,’’ Osinbajo said, blaming the country’s woes on corruption and fall in oil production due to vandalism of oil pipelines.
“We must address corruption. If we are unable to stop corruption, it is one step forward and two steps backward.’’
Osinbajo noted that vandalism and burning of oil pipelines made Nigeria to lose almost 100 million of its projected 220 million barrels of crude oil daily.
“It is a major shock to the economy. Crude oil accounted for 80 per cent of the country’s earning.
“Every part of our economy depends on foreign exchange, and 90 per cent of foreign exchange comes from oil.
“Oil contributes nine per cent to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Oil still accounts for 52 per cent of the non-oil sector,’’ said the vice-president.
He noted that the loss of N15 billion in Defence contract to looting also shook the economy.
“A lot of money disappeared in Nigeria’s economy. No economy has half of equivalent of its foreign reserve stolen. That is why the government does not have any savings,’’ Osinbajo said.
He said the government had made efforts toward controlling fiscal expenditure, adding: “The Efficiency Unit in the Ministry of Finance has saved a lot’’.
Osinbajo said the Single Treasury Account and the Integrated Payroll System had helped to reduce loss of revenue due to ghost workers and some other financial malpractice.
According to the vice-president, agriculture is at the centre of building the Nigeria of our dream.
“Encouraging the private sector, industry, agriculture, the entire agro-allied business, diversifying our economy and moving away from oil is all what we are going to be focusing on.
“Surrounding that are our monetary and macro policies.’’
He was of the opinion that for the country to control inflation, Nigeria would need to deal with its currency issues
“We will address the exchange rate issue so that we can get investors in. It is not that we have much money chasing few goods.’’
He raised hopes when he announced that the first 200,000 jobs in the Federal Government’s 500,000 Volunteer Job Programme will begin in about two weeks.
“We are trying to create jobs directly,’’ he said, noting that the programme ought to have started on Oct. 31.
“The delay is because we are trying to provide as many equipment as we require. We also want to ensure that we provide opportunities across the states as they come. Close to a million registered,’’ Osinbajo said.
He added that registration was ongoing for the micro credit scheme for a million artisans and market women and equally announced that the Lagos-Kano Rail project should start by the end of 2016.
The vice-president also raised hope of availability of accommodation under the government’s social housing programme.
“It is run by the Federal Ministry of Finance. We are putting together N1 trillion funds. The Federal Government contributes over a five-year period N100 billion yearly. We started this year.
“We are attracting funding from different multilateral and funding agencies. The World Bank is contributing 100 million dollars and AfDB, 500 million dollars. Several agencies are also contributing to the fund.
“We create an opportunity for anybody who can afford to pay N30, 000 monthly to buy a house in Nigeria for N2.5 million. The highest is a N15 million house which attracts monthly N100, 000 re-payment.
“Ten states have given land to this programme, including Lagos State. The developer brings in 20 percent of the cost of the building, while government gives 80 per cent.’’
