Social interventions must go beyond mere tokenism —Bishop Aladekugbe

Following the launch of various programmes aimed at the welfare of the citizenry by the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration, Bishop of Oyo Diocese, The Right Reverend Williams Aladekugbe, has called for such interventions to move beyond mere lip service.

He stated this in his charge delivered during the second session of the fifth synod of the Anglican Diocese of Oyo, on Friday at St Mary’s Anglican Church, Iyalamu, Oyo.

“Government has launched several safety net programmes. However, these programmes in practice are simply instruments of political patronage. They never really go round, and in fact cannot – given the magnitude of hunger in the land. Our social interventions must go beyond mere tokenism and must be all encompassing.

“We suggest that government should listen with sincerity to the private sector, and do the needful to make Nigeria a most desirable destination for investment. Nigeria, as it is currently constituted, cannot do without foreign investment, and without a market economy, it is difficult to attract meaningful foreign investment. Meanwhile, with sufficient investment inflow, even if oil price/production suffers a setback, the economy will continue to thrive, and government can mine resources from a vibrant business community or private sector. As we have seen again and again, no government can decree growth into existence. Economic growth is a product of good policies and committed implementation over a long haul of time,” Aladekugbe stated.

He appealed to the federal and state governments to be more humane in their approach to finding solutions  to the present economic situation and called for more investments in sports, entrepreneurship, economic diversification, among others.

“Our contribution to the discourse of the economy, especially the forex crisis, is to appeal to our Federal Government to be more humane in its approach to finding solutions to our financial crisis. It is true that our nation – and by implication, previous administrations – failed to save for the rainy day. However, if we expose the citizenry fully to the consequences of previous omission, and refuse to offer palliative measures, belt tightening may translate into noose hanging.

“Economists argue that the Buhari administration is toeing the path of economic nationalism, but we must put a human face to our economic nationalism. It is desirable to produce by ourselves and not import, but the first step is to acquire the tools and the know-how, and then to create an enabling environment for local production, before going ahead to shut the door against alternatives,” he stated.

While lamenting the wave of kidnappings and calling for urgent measures to arrest the situation, he commended the present administration’s efforts in fighting Boko Haram, as well as the efforts of security personnel, noting that “guerrilla warfare is usually very difficult to overcome, but if we keep up the tempo, victory is certain.”

Bishop Nathaniel Ogundipe of Ifo Diocese preached at the opening service on Thursday, while Bishop Titus Olayinka of Ogbomoso Diocese will preach at the closing service today.

Speaking on the choice of the theme for the synod, Reconciliation, Bishop Aladekugbe stated that “we chose that theme because of our immediate need in Oyo Anglican Diocese. Before we assumed duty, a section of the diocese pulled out and since then, we have been focusing on ways to bring us back together. Our first synod centred on unity, the next one focused on forgiveness, while this year’s is on reconciliation. We are looking at reaching out to all aggrieved parties.”