In light of the current issues that threaten the unity and continued existence of the nation, the Foursquare Gospel Church in Nigeria has emphasised the need for a paradigm shift to evolve a new Nigeria.
The General Overseer, Rev. Sam Aboyeji, made this known at the 10th Public Lecture and the 68th Annual Convention of the church in Lagos, with the theme ‘Paradigm shift: Panacea for a New Nigeria’.
Aboyeji, noted that as a church, one of the tenets of faith which members hold strongly and are committed to is civil government.
He said “Paradigm Shift: Panacea for a new Nigeria will be of immense benefit to the nation, government and all citizens. He also reiterated the importance of the Church, he stated that through unity of purpose, the Church has progress.
“The annual public lecture is for the purpose of contributing to the wellness of Nigeria because the progress of Nigeria should not be left in the hands of politicians. Nigeria is blessed with natural resources and its great diversity. Therefore all must be involved and engaged in nation building.
“Over the years, self-interest due to the nature of Nigeria’s diversity has shaped the initial purpose of our Nation giving birth to bigotry, nepotism, tribalism and ethnicity. Nigeria is going through economic hardship, the youths are leaving in droves.
“We believe and preach that as responsible citizens of this great nation Nigeria, we have a duty and an obligation to partner with the government at all levels and other relevant stakeholders in the building of our dear nation.
“Our Public Lecture, the 10th in the series this year, forms part of our contribution to the discourse on nation-building.
In the words of Bob Casey Jr, “Nation-building is not a spectator sport. It takes every one of us to get engaged and to get the work done.
“This year, we have chosen an apt topic ‘Paradigm shift: Panacea for a New Nigeria’. Nigeria is a nation of diverse cultures and ethnic nationalities that have co-existed side by side for over a century.
“We have recorded remarkable and enviable achievements in the past, however, our narrative seems to have changed, with the projection of individual, group, political and ethnic interests over that of the self-seeking leaders and individuals.
On his part, the guest lecturer, Prof Oyelowo Oyewo said “Nigeria had hope of being the giant of Africa but what happened?, Nigeria is considered by other nations to be a failed and fragile state. Insecurity, infrastructural deficit, bad roads, economic downturn, galloping inflation uncontrollable exchange rate, and Japasm among our youth.
“Paradigm is a model or pattern of how something should be done. Our colonial masters do not build nations, they build states. We existed as diverse nations and sovereigns before they came and colonized us. Though we lived together since the problems arose. Nigeria’s unity is a British intention. Our leaders used our ethnicity and religion to their own advantage and caused more division among us.”
The Chairman of the occasion, Chief Olusegun Osunkeye noted that there has never been any success in the system of governance since independence which has impeded the social, political and economic growth of the country.
He emphasised that 63 per cent of Nigerians are multi-dimensionally poor while adding that food insecurity, personal insecurity, lack of access to clean energy, housing deficit, poor healthcare system, lack of portable water, and poor sanitation have become the norm of the day.
“Paradigm of Unity in diversity must shift for a paradigm of nation building,” he said.
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