The Diocese of Abuja of the Church of
Nigeria, (Anglican Communion), has said
that the renewed pipeline vandalism in the
Niger Delta, was not in the best interest of
Nigeria. It therefore urged those behind the
bombing of oil installations in the region to
desist from the act.
The Church called on the Niger Delta
Avengers to cease hostility against the
government while embracing dialogue,
noting that Nigeria, currently engaged in
many battles cannot afford to start another
one with militants in the Niger Delta.
The Primate Of The Church Of Nigeria
(Anglican Communion) and Archbishop of
Abuja Diocese, The Most Rev’d Nicholas D.
Okoh, made this remark in his Presidential
Address to the 3rd Session of the 9th Synod
of Abuja Diocese, held at All Saints Church,
Wuse.
While urging the Federal Government to also
tread cautiously in its attempts to resolve
the growing crises in the Niger Delta, the
Church called on it to seek collaboration
with the host communities in its efforts to
secure all pipelines.
He also urged the Federal Government to
open the space for immediate revival of the
dwindling Nigerian economy by creating
investment friendly atmosphere for more
foreign investors to henceforth, take Nigeria
as a preferred destination.
He lauded the efforts by President
Muhammadu Buhari towards diversifying the
Nigerian economy, urging his government to
initiate more cutting-edge approaches aimed
towards a meaningful engagement of foreign
investors for revival of the economy of the
country.
He based his talk on the theme of the this
year’s Synod, “The Poverty of Riches”,
taken from the book of Revelation, 3 vs17,
stating that notwithstanding the prosperity
that a country enjoys, it may suffer spiritual
poverty and then end up being poor (on the
real in all ramifications) if the leaders and
the led are careless and Godless.
He said, “Creating an investment friendly
environment in the country will more
pragmatically give us what we need.
Factors that investors will need to thrive,
especially security, power and other
amenities should be made available, while
investors would be naturally attracted.
The Primate said the Federal Government
and Nigerians in general should collectively
find lasting solutions to the problem of
insurgency, killings by herdsmen, fuel
scarcity, pipeline vandalism and wide spread
corruption, all he noted, are factors that
often inhibit the growth of economy, and the
nation in general.
On the menace of herdsmen across the
federation, the Primate said, “The Federal
Government should make a policy to
deliberately disarm the herdsmen” as a
means of preventing the springing up of
ethnic militias in all the regions of the
federation in attempts to resist the rampage
by herdsmen”
He advised the government against the plan
to set up grazing reserves for herdsmen
across the country, stating that the Synod
was of the view that such reserves should
be built in regions where the Fulanis are
more familiar.
He said, “The herdsmen are private
businessmen who take away all proceeds of
the business, not sharing with either their
host communities or the government. We
wish to re-echo to the government, state
and individuals involved, the
recommendation made earlier, that ranches
should be built in Fulani localities for
modern animal husbandry”.
“In some parts of Nigeria, people are already
grappling with high population growth and
land does not expand. Nobody’s land should,
therefore, be given forcefully to anybody in
any guise.
“The Synod calls on the National Assembly
to drop the plan to propose a bill on grazing
reserve as the issue has started heating up
the polity whereas such will not do the
herdsmen any good”
Primate Okoh also commended the anti-
corruption war by the President and its
efforts to block all leakages in the country’s
revenue.
He described the war against corruption as
a noble cause, adding, “The Synod wishes to
urge the government to ensure that its
scope is widespread across all the tiers and
arms of government at the Federal, State
and Local Government areas in Nigeria”
He urged the government not to renege on
its promise to give the youths of Nigeria a
ray of hope by providing employment
opportunities in order for them to start
making meaningful contributions to the
growth of the national economy.
