The Bishop of Anglican Communion Kaduna Diocese, Timothy Yahaya, has urged Nigerians to be patient and hopeful, while predicting that the hopelessness in the country will soon give way for a better and greater Nigeria of hope.
Speaking in his Christmas message to Nigerians, Bishop Yahaya urged for a level playing ground for the politicians, while tasking them to play by the rules ahead of the 2023 general elections. He condemned the continued usurpation of Police duties by the military, who he said should be back in the barracks and called for the Nigerian security architecture to be rejigged. The message lauded the cashless policy but stated that Nigeria is not ripe for it now due to the poor level of technology support for the policy.
“The message for Nigeria is that Christmas brings hope. For about 400 years in the Bible, there was hopelessness and silence. But the 2022 Christmas signals hope for Nigeria for greater and better things to come and we must not give up.
“We can be the best nation, all around we have the resources to be the best nation in the world. Democracy is canvassing for vote. I want to plead with the politicians to play by the rules of the game. The way things are, it’s like there is no integrity, everybody should be given level playing field. This is a democratic nation and we will overcome,” he said.
Speaking on the high cost of food in spite of government’s interventions in agriculture, Bishop Yahaya said, “government has spent money on anchor borrowers and other agriculture schemes but nobody is following the money to be sure it’s getting to the farmers. Insecurity, technology are also challenges facing farming. Let’s ask questions. When the production level of food is not commensurate with demand for food. I believe Nigeria can feed the whole of Africa because of the resources we have. Any nation that cannot feed itself is not developed.”
