New Telegraph

Churches sit on factories, as Nigerians pray for employment- Blame govt, not Churches –Fr. Godonu

Nigeria’s manufacturing sector is depressing with churches now sitting on sites of collapsed factories/industries. What is your comment on the trend?

 

 

It is very unfortunate to have this kind of situation. For a hungry man is an angry man.

 

Don’t you think the Church should take some of the blame for failing industries?

 

I don’t think the churches are to blame for the collapse of industries. It’s the government that has failed its people. What were the reasons why the factories had to fold up? Power (electricity) and bad government policies made many companies relocate to neighbouring countries.

 

What effect will the trend have on the growing unemployment rate in the country and the nation’s GDP?

 

Negative effects of course! As it’s today, the inflation rate is above 17 per cent and the food inflation rate we were just told as at today (March 17, 2021) is above 20 per cent. Which country can have good and stable GDP like this? The government has failed us. At

 

the moment what percentage of the workforce are the churches offering employment to people and what is the statistics of church employees?

 

At the moment, I cannot give you the percentage of the workforce employed by the Catholic Church. Meanwhile, let it be categorically stated that the Catholic Church has in the past and even at the present known for robust social palliatives helping people out of both spiritual and physical poverty through education, skills acquisition and empowerment, and of course, outright employment.

 

Would you say that the church has proved to be better economic managers and therefore should in addition to soul hunting begin to champion economic development where government and manufacturing sector have failed to perform?

 

Well, that will be discussion for another day.

 

Should churches sit in factories while Nigerian go to churches to pray for jobs that ought to have been provided by the closed down factories?

 

The Catholic Church that I belong to has never at any point in time bought over any collapsed factory or industry. At least, none that I know of.

 

Most of the acquired factory sites now house mega churches. Is the trend not contrary to the Scriptures because families of retrenched staff of collapsed factories are thrown into penury?

 

However, the churches have the right as corporate entities to invest in social infrastructure and business that can mop up the teaming growing youth population thereby reducing unemployment and by extension reducing crimes.

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