Matthew Ashimolowo, Senior Pastor of Kingsway International Christian Centre (KICC) has x-rayed the problem with Nigeria and recommended what he feels could restore the country to a glorious path.
The cleric on Tuesday visited The Sun Publishing Limited in Ikeja, Lagos, and noted that there is a lot of disequilibrium in the land, positing that the structure of Nigeria required total reworking.
He called for an overhaul of the 1999 Constitution, restructuring and devolution of powers to the regions, and involvement of youths in politics.
Ashimolowo stated that it was an anomaly that in spite of the fact that the South produces majority of the resources that sustain Nigeria the region remains neglected in the distribution of infrastructural development.
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“Why should the South produce all the resources and a railway is built to Niger Republic when the South remains underdeveloped? It does not make sense. It is very clear and obvious that there is a disequilibrium,” he said.
“You cannot blame the person, who sees resources leaving his area and going somewhere else. There will be agitation and you cannot stop these agitations by mere military presence. Rather you empower them, create employment and systems in the area that will make the people stop the agitation.
“You also have to change this system in Nigeria where you either go to Abuja or Lagos for work. In England, the Ministry of Works is in Stanford, the Ministry of Environment could be in Leeds, some other ministry could be in Kent. This means that every part of the nation has an equitable distribution. In Nigeria, everything is concentrated in the hands of an oligarchy that has created a system for themselves in just two small corners of the world.
“You cannot blame the person, who sees resources leaving his area and going somewhere else. There will be agitation and you cannot stop these agitations by mere military presence. Rather you empower them, create employment and systems in the area that will make the people stop the agitation.
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“When there is employment and people have opportunities, it will change everything. Lastly, nothing that is feudal, tribal, and does not agree with modernity should be married with modernity. You cannot say cows should come and graze in my land when it is a private business. Let the owner of the cow create his own cattle ranch.”
Ashimolowo revealed what he would tell President Bola Ahmed Tinubu if he was to advise him, concerning the development in the country.
“If I were the president or if I was to advise the president, my counsel would be not to just go to a place like Imo and start throwing bombs at people who are agitating. The first thing to do is to empower the people by creating industries, and then make them guardians of their own economy; you do not destroy what is your own land,” the man of God said.
