Anglican Bishop of Awka Diocese, Dr. Alexander Chibuzor Ibezim, on Thursday put the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari on a scale and declared that his performance was not impressive at all.
The eminent clergyman asserted that the economy was collapsing under the Federal Government led by President Buhari.
In an interview with The AUTHORITY, Bishop Ibezim lamented that the high level of hunger in the country had made life miserable for most Nigerians.
He therefore appealed to Buhari to declare a state of emergency on the economy in order to tackle the growing poverty in the land before it gets out of hand. Bishop Ibezim, who spoke with The AUTHORITY at his Paul University’s office, Awka, Anambra State, asserted that businesses had collapsed while ordinary Nigerians were yet to feel the impact of Buhari’s change mantra.
His words: “There is too much hunger in the country and people are angry; the last time I travelled, at the airport you could see sad faces and parents who have children abroad cannot send money to them.
“The naira is falling, hardship is severe among the people, flexible economic measures are needed, and for us in the church, we see all manner of people and pray for them for goodness and mercy to follow them.
They go to their places of work and there is no mercy there. As a church leader, will you be happy? And businessmen will tell you that the goods they are importing are not allowed to be cleared at the airport or seaport or they want to clear them but the duties are too high.
“They (businessmen) are no longer making profits because businesses everywhere are dull. They (Federal Government) need to do something because they came with the change mantra; the people are waiting to see that change. It is our prayer that the change will come quickly.
“They should also know that all the energy of the government should not be focused on fighting corruption because it is not all Nigerians that are corrupt. The percentage of those that are corrupt may be one percent.
“So, you don’t have to leave the 99 percent to be suffering because you are pursuing the one percent that are corrupt.
The traders in the market which act of corruption are they involved in?” he asked. Bishop Ibezim recalled that Nigerians, especially those from the South East, suffered a lot during the 1967-1970 Civil War, adding that no right thinking person will like to fight a civil war again.
Apparently referring to the ongoing agitations for a Biafra State, the cleric said: “In fact, after the Civil War, it took Ndigbo a long time to adjust, because I stumbled on the documents when I was doing my Doctorate degree at the North Western University Africana Library that nearly millions of Ndigbo were killed during the Nigerian/Biafran War.”
“There was no family in the Eastern Bloc that did not lose a member during the war. So, no right thinking person will like blood to flow again in our land.
Then on the other hand, when people are reacting, it is important that their leaders listen to them. The governors must be ready to listen to the grievances of the people.
Are we not practising democracy? And democracy, you know, is government of the people, by the people and for the people and that is what we need in Nigeria.”
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