Mr Okoh said that Nigeria could actually be a happy country where everyone is committed to doing what is right for the generality of the people.
The Eternal Sacred Order of the Cherubim and Seraphim and the Christian Association of Nigeria have urged the federal government to address issues raised by youths during the #EndBadGovernance protests.
They also highlighted the need to confront modern wickedness with truth, advising leaders to return to bold and unyielding truth in addressing societal challenges.
They made the call at a news conference on Saturday in Lagos to unveil the Cherubim and Seraphim Church Centenary plans, logo, theme and song for the church’s centenary celebration.
The Cherubim and Seraphim Church was established by Almighty God through His elect, Saint Moses Orimolade Tunolase on September 9, 1925.
Prelate of Eternal Sacred Order of the Cherubim and Seraphim Aladura David Bob-Manuel (Orimolade IX), said Nigeria is a nation rich in diversity and resilience, but presently facing socio-economic crisis.
He said, “Millions of families are living in abject poverty. The burgeoning youths are grappling with unemployment and are labelled lazy. There is an incredibly high cost of living; naira has depreciated grossly thereby eroding the purchasing power and fuelling economic hardship and anxiety. Indeed, millions of Nigerians are hungry and angry. Hopes have dwindled and anger is ignited.’’
He urged the federal government to address issues raised by youths during #EndBadGovernance protests.
“Notably, protests, when conducted within the ambit of the law, are the lifeblood of a healthy democracy. It is the expression of the people’s discontent against systemic corruption within various levels of government which has eroded public trust, worsened economic hardship and socio-political differences.
“Due to the communication gap and differences between the government and the governed, there was a massive protest in various parts of the country some few weeks ago. The economy of the country was grounded to a halt,” he said.
The ESOCS supreme head added, “May I humbly call on various levels of government to facilitate critical and realistic dialogue before the situation degenerates or snowballs into total breakdown of law and order, reign of anarchy, chaos and bloodshed.”
Mr Bob-Manuel said that it was the government’s undeniable responsibility to provide subsidised farming materials, promote industrialisation and create self-sustaining agro-business in the six-geopolitical zones.
He urged the government to curtail the rate of its importation and be refining the nation’s products, be it crude oil, cocoa etc. and exporting finished goods.
Mr Bob-Manuel said that this would promote job opportunities for the teeming youths, enhance the value of the currency and promote general developmental projects in the country.
“It is instructive to note that Nigeria is a great country blessed with natural and intellectual resources. Nigerians are creative, intelligent and hardworking people. We have great Nigerians in all fields of human endeavours doing great things. There is no part of the world you will not find Nigerians trailing the blaze,” he said.
According to him, since Nigeria is indeed a great country, it should affirm that greatness not only in words, but in action.
Mr Bob-Manuel appealed to Nigerians to jointly harness these natural and intellectual resources to make Nigeria very great.
Also, the President of CAN, Archbishop Daniel Okoh, in an interview with journalists, called on leaders to be courageous to speak truth to power, ensuring governance was just and beneficial for the majority, including the poor.
In his message, he underscored the necessity of using the word of God to combat deceit, oppression, and troubles, and to guide governance toward the greater good.
He urged leaders to return to the bold truth and address current challenges with the word of God, combating deceit and oppression.
He added, “Like what I said when I was giving my speech, we have a lot of challenges today, but what we must take away from this particular celebration is the founding vision of the founder of this ministry. The founding vision was to come out with the power of the gospel to reduce the level of wickedness in society. We see wickedness manifesting in various ways in modern times, and the church will go back to the same tool that we have, which is the truth.
“There is nothing like bold truth or new truth. Truth is truth, and leaders must go back to pick the truth and address whatever challenge we have now and confront it with the Lord of creation. We must confront all the lies, all the oppression, all the troubles that we have for the word of truth and the word of God. And so we have to go back again to look at how the people of God were able to speak out in truth against all forms of people and to speak truth to power and to make sure that governance is done the right way. In our own time, we must rise with courage and speak truth to power and give guidance to the people in governance. This is so that we can actually have a very happy country where everyone is committed to doing what is right for the generality of the people and for the interests of the poor masses.’’
(NAN)