•Shocking Things He Told City People Last Week
The Senior Pastor at CLAM Church, Pastor Wole Oladiyun is very, very angry right now. He is very angry with the situation of things in Nigeria and he has been calling on all well-meaning people to rally round and correct all the anomalies in society. He was our Guest a few days back on City People TV Instagram Chat where he spoke about how to fix Nigeria. He is angry right now that NIGERIA is in a mess and all our leaders need to decide to correct the abysmal state of affairs. Below are excerpts.
How do you see what is happening in Nigeria today?
I want to say God himself will help us out in Nigeria. As a Priest and a stakeholder in Nigeria, someone who loves Nigeria passionately, I want us to look at the issue of Nigeria holistically.
What is happening in this nation is not normal. If I want to talk about Nigeria, I must profile somethings.
No 1, Nigeria is a nation blessed of God and endowed with much abundance. We must take note of that. We are a nation with diverse resources that are inexhaustible. There is no area you turn to in Nigeria that you won’t find minerals, you won’t find good things. Nigeria is a nation with world class technocrats and people who are very cerebral. All over the nation of the world, Nigerians are making waves.
Nigeria is blessed with great people. Nigeria is blessed with evergreen vegetation, enviable landscape.
We are rich in nature. Nigeria is a nation with immense talent and human resources beyond measures. A nation that refuses to break in the face of strange happenings, meaning that God loves Nigeria. Nigeria is a nation where there is extreme wealth for a very few people and extreme poverty for some countless masses.
It’s a nation where so-called godfathers are playing games with the destiny of the masses, where the politicians are playing games with the destiny of the masses. It is a nation where the looters and thieves were been celebrated and hailed. Nigeria is a nation that the leaders only react when things have gone bad without a solution. It is a nation with water but the people are tasty. A nation where money politics is the other of the day. A nation rich but yet poor. A nation without electricity. As we are talking, we are dependent on a generator. If we are intentional we would have electricity in Nigeria, it shouldn’t be a problem. Very many leaders have come, Syphoned money and go, and without power, Nigeria will not be industrialised. We are a nation without a functional refinery. We don’t respect the rule of law. I would say Nigeria is a nation that does not respect the youths, and it is heartbreaking. Everyone who is above 70 to 75 should be in advisory position, they should go home, and let the people in 25, 30, 40, 50 at most 60 to 70 rule. A nation where good people are not allowed to rule. We have vagabonds squandering our resources. A nation where leaders pride themselves in occultism, sexual vices and extravagant lifestyle.
People who went into politics because they didn’t have the means to buy a jet, now they went into politics, they bought an aeroplane, they came out of politics, they retired as Senator, they made that senate their political burial ground. These are the people to be tried and sentenced to jail, to prison, they are there and we are hailing them, what a nation?
A nation that is being used as a dumping ground for used items, where corruption is working on 4 legs everywhere. A nation without a single national airline. It is a pity. We have been asking questions without answers in Nigeria, it is very painful. Why did Nigeria Airways die? Who are the people who killed Nigeria Airways. So many strange things are happening in Nigeria, we can’t go on like this, God must intervene. Having painted that scenario, there are fundamental things we must do in Nigeria. There is nothing we can build on the foundation of Nigeria that can stand. The foundation of Nigeria must be overhauled.
Because the present system does not portray true federalism. So what we need to do in Nigeria is to now look at our constitution. We must do away with the present constitution, it does not favour us uniformly.
The Constitution of Nigeria as at now is a big fraud. That is No 1. We need to have a new constitution. The cost of governance in Nigeria is humongous, too many parastatals. The federal character should be cancelled, I have said it severally. If we have a national team with 11 players and the 11 players are from Nassarawa, and they are the best in the country, let them represent Nigeria and bring the honour to Nigeria, don’t say because of federal character somebody who is from Ondo State should be there. Federal character is killing us in Nigeria. Like I said No 1, we need a new constitution, I am not asking to review it but do away with the former one. We need to look at the grievances of all ethnic groups and do some analysis. For me as a person, who is 61 years old of age, I can speak as an elder, as a pastor and a stakeholder because I love this nation with passion, and I want peace in Nigeria. We have 6 geopolitical zones. Let’s have a zero party system.
If you want to contest, come out, present your manifesto, and select them based on their intelligence and pedigree. We have many of us that can contribute to Nigeria without collecting a dime. There are many things I can profile for Nigeria, many data, that can move Nigeria forward. I don’t need anything from anybody. We have several people like that but they won’t allow them get there. We should have zero party system. Then the youths are rotting away, we should get them involved in politics.
Let’s introduce quality governance into our curriculum from Nursery School, and teach people about governance literacy. Let’s have a system of government whereby we would have one President, then 6 Vice Presidents from 6 geopolitical zones, so, from each geo-political zone there will be a representative. Then instead of 36 states, which some of them are moribund, picking money from the centre; we will now practice regional government. People from my state, Ondo will develop in Bitumen.
Ekiti will develop their minerals and others. Then we will contribute the percentage to the centre and then percentage to the state. We should contribute to the centre instead of taking from the centre. Thank God the oil is showing everybody pepper now. This act of 36 governors at the end of the month going to Abuja to take money is a fraud, it shouldn’t be so. People are going into government with the intention to steal not to better the lives of the people. It is not good.
When we do that, the 6 Vice Presidents will be able to monitor what is happening in their geopolitical zone I tell you Nigeria will be better. We have so many things to develop our zones. We just need to make them work.
We must also make our Judicial system to work. If our judiciary has not interfered with most of these ex-government officials and politicians must have been tried in the law court and when they found them culpable, they must give them the accurate and commensurate sentences.
Some of our leaders should be rotting in Kirikiri right now, but they are still walking about. They believe they can settle with money. This is not the Nigeria we want. Then, there is something that is cogent; the local government reform is important.
The Covid-19 has exposed the government of Nigeria, that in the Health sector; we have not done well. In Education; we have not done well. We have 774 Local Governments in Nigeria. I am advocating Operation 774. How? In the 774 Local Governments, let us have the same world-class hospital, the same pattern in all the 774 Local Government. If we have that the death rate will be very low. Look at what is happening now. Then 2, we should now revive our education. The curriculum we are using is moribund. We need a hands-on tertiary institution, we need hands-on secondary school. We need hands-on primary school in all the 774 Local Governments.
My son is studying Civil Engineering in England. In his very first year, he did 4 courses that are relevant, 2nd semester, 4 courses. Now the counterpart is doing 14 courses in 1st and 2nd semester. It is an aberration.
Somebody who is studying Civil Engineering you are teaching him how to draw Grasshopper, what does he need it for? We should do away with our old curriculum. Enough is enough.
When you are putting people in-charge of education put someone who is versatile, who has an update. Don’t go and put a Medical Doctor to be the Minister of Education. Then in that Local Governments, we should set up cottage industries, then we should make all the roads okay, the rail line okay so that people in the rural area can bring their things. It’s very easy to govern this country. Then, let’s allow the youth to have a sense of belonging, let them know they have a country that values them. The destinies of the youths are crying.
Let’s make this place a home for them. The parastatals we have in Nigeria are too many. The salary of the Senators are abnormal. Use the money to develop our Local Governments. If we can be honest to go into the foundation of Nigeria things we fall in places.
Until we have capital punishment in this nation nothing will change. Let us ban the importation of generators, let us all be in darkness for 1 month, 2 months, that, will make our leaders know we must have electricity in this country.
All these companies selling generators should be banished, and let there be capital punishment. That is when Nigeria can change. But those who should enact the law, to enforce them are the ones violating it.
For your Currency to have weight in the international market you must beef-up your purchasing power parity. How! No 1, reduce importation to the barest minimum. No 2, increase local production of certain essential commodities, beginning from toothpicks.
Let us start producing toothpicks, let’s start from there. Some years ago, we gave Singapore Palmkernel, now we are importing Red oil from Singapore, it’s a shame. Many companies are grounded because we don’t have light. Every day our money is being devalued because our purchasing power parity is low.
We also need aggressive agriculture. God told me 14 years ago, that oil will go down then we will fall back on Agric and Mining. It has happened.
As a church, we have acquired land 8 years ago and we are working on the land now. Mining is there. There is no place you turn to in Nigeria, scratch the ground you will see minerals, but we refuse to mine them. Ajaokuta Steel rolling is a big fraud for over 30 years.
We are not serious in Nigeria and it is very terrible. We must encourage nationwide small scale industry. Our banks are not doing well.
–To Be Concluded
