Guardian

THE Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Most Rev. Alfred Adewale Martins and the Anglican Bishop of Lagos Mainland, Most Rev. Adebayo Akinde have urged President Jonathan to prove his commitment to improving the lot of Nigerians in the New Year by practically addressing the myriad of challenges confronting the nation such as insecurity, poverty, unemployment and erratic power supply.

From the Prelate of the Methodist Church, Dr. Ola Makinde, came a call on the Federal Government to initiate policies and programmes that would bring smiles to the faces of Nigerians and help everyone forget the traumatic experiences of 2012.

Referring to the president’s Christmas message, in which he asked Nigerians to expect positive transformation in the New Year, Martins said that the past two years or thereabout was enough time for him to acquaint himself with the numerous problems confronting the nation and come out with realistic solutions, noting that Nigerians were getting tired of listening to endless promises from their leaders without corresponding actions to show for it.

Speaking at a news conference in Lagos Tuesday, the Catholic archbishop said, “issues concerning good governance have been a subject of concern in the nation which has necessitated setting up of various panels which have never come out with solutions.

“Where solutions are proffered, they were swept under the carpet and such reports never saw the light of the day.”

The cleric attributed the problems in the northern part of the country to those he described as selfish leaders who believed they should be in control of what belonged to all Nigerians.

“There should be respect for other Nigerians and people should not selfishly arrogate to themselves what belongs to every Nigerian. They should remember that God is the creator of everybody who created every thing for the benefit of his creatures.”

He advised the Federal Government to invest in agriculture, noting that as long as hunger persisted in any nation, problem would continue to persist.

“Since we have every wherewithal to invest in agriculture, we should not rely on oil alone, but should encourage the minister and commissioners in charge of agriculture to look into this area with a view to doing something positive and help hunger-striken Nigerians,” he said.

Bishop Akinde urged President Jonathan to muster the political will to do that, which will benefit the generality of Nigerians.

In his first church service for the New Year, tagged “Allowing God To Direct Your Steps” held yesterday at the Cathedral of St. Jude, Ebute Metta, Lagos, he urged the president to move closer to the masses and feel the impact of the hardship Nigerians were going through on daily basis.

He said that God had placed him in that position to utilise the resources made available by God in this country to make a difference.

In his New Year message, Makinde said that the people need succour, relief and renewed hope and the only way for this to become reality was for the government to meet the aspirations and yearnings of the people through economic policies that had human face, which would yield immediate dividends.

While speaking to the congregation at the Bible Training Centre, Ayobo, Lagos, General Superintendent of the Deeper Life Bible Church, Pastor Williams Kumuyi noted that the past, the present and the future were in the hands of God.

He added that people could only enjoy the future when they renounced sins of the past and believed God for a new beginning.

The cleric, who spoke on the theme: “The Power For A New Beginning,” assured the congregation that God had something very great and glorious prepared for everyone in the New Year if only the people forgot the evils, the sorrows and fears of the past.