Our country is once again caught in the excitement and the histrionics regarding the Federal Government’s budgetary proposal for 2020 fiscal year. Many experts have expressed very strong negative opinions, stating their belief that the goals espoused by the government would not be achieved through the new budget.
Like most Nigerians I am disturbed by the parlous state of the economy, massive youth unemployment and the continuing emergence of new forms of social vices. The enormous challenges confronting our nation need the committed participation of all citizens and a clear demonstration of visionary leadership by President Muhammadu Buhari, who has been holding the reins of political power since May 29, 2015 till now.
Each time I hear the sound of my generator, I think of where China was about 39 years ago (way down the economic ladder with a huge, hungry and poor population) and where it is today. The greatest obstacle to real and massive industrialization of Nigeria is power. It is the biggest problem plaguing the country.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo gave Nigerians ability to use mobile phones by implementing the digital telecommunication policy through the global system for mobile communication (GSM) and the economy just exploded. Banking services became modernized. What Obasanjo did and the growth that resulted from data services made it possible for the Treasury Single Account (TSA) initiative conceived by the Goodluck Jonathan administration to take off under Buhari. No matter what anybody can say about Obasanjo’s shortcomings, his name is written in gold for the enormous benefits which digital telecommunication brought to Nigeria by that visionary move. In the past, if you wanted to call a relation overseas, you would go and queue at NECOM House, Marina. Today you do the same thing while lying on your bed.
I hold the very strong opinion that President Buhari should focus his second term on solving the power problem. The government should allow the people who can really do it to get involved. When NEPA (National Electric Power Authority) was unbundled, the resulting companies were sold to people that lacked the financial and technical capacity to deliver on the commitments they made. If the President Buhari is able to solve the problem of power, he will become a hero and write his name in gold.
In the same vein, it is my view that the church should begin to equip with employable skills. There is also need for churches to review the way they operate. I somewhat agree with the assertion that some churches are building walls rather than bridges. For instance, if all that a church does takes place within its premises, and it does not relate with the host community, then such a church is not building bridges but walls. It is shutting out people in the host community. How the church can build bridges is to engage in corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the immediate vicinity. We should go out there and identify the needs of the community. Doing so would be a good bridge and a way of removing resistance to the gospel. This will not distract them from preaching the gospel; it is more like wetting the ground for the gospel. It is part of spreading the gospel, because the bible said that “Jesus went about doing good.” He fed the people and healed their infirmities in addition to preaching the gospel to them. So churches should go back to doing good works; that is a sure way to take territories for Christ. Churches need to sow seeds of good works in communities. It is a process that may take awhile before the door of their hearts will open. They invest the time, resources and effort needed to build bridges into communities. Then the people would be able to walk across the bridge, to come into the church and be won into God’s kingdom.
• Dr. Bola Akin-John, President of International Church Growth Ministries, wrote from Lagos