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Ngang: Restructuring won’t solve Nigeria’s problem

Prof Sunday Ngang,

Prof Sunday Ngang,

In this interview with TAI ANYANWU, Prof Sunday Ngang, the Provost of the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) Theological Seminary in Jos, Plateau State, speaks on current developmental issues in the country

 

What is your overview of insecurity in the country?

 

I am very saddened by the unabated and increasing rate of insecurity. Of course, corruption, impunity and bad governance, religiosity without morality (godliness) are responsible for the increasing insecurity.

 

The current insecurity is an indication that our beloved country, Nigeria, is a failed state. Ironically, in spite of the many churches and mosques we have in Nigeria, many Nigerian politicians are extremely godless. They are consumed by self-interest and the will-topower (i.e., domination).

 

They specialise in the art of pitting the poor against each other in order to help them maintain the status quo. They pretend to be religious but they lack godliness (morality). The insecurity is providing the elites with an opportunity to steal or siphon money into their private accounts.

 

Consequently, Nigeria has become the riskiest place on earth because of insecurity, which is the fruit of bad governance, godlessness, immorality, corruption and impunity! President Muhammadu Buhari has predicted that, “If we do not kill corruption, corruption will kill us.” And that is what is going on now: Corruption and impunity are killing us!

 

How do you see the apparent incapacity of President Buhari to handle it?

 

I do not think it is about whether or not President Buhari is incapable of handling the insecurity in the country. Rather, it is about his lack of the political will to do it. To some extent, he has allowed religious fanatics to overwhelm him to the point that his ethnic and religious self-interests and the will-to-political power have trumped his national interest.

Otherwise how can one explain how he has knowingly appointed the likes of Isa Pantami, a pro–terrorist ideologies, as Minister of Communication and Digital economy? Pantami is handling a very sensitive area of the life of our nation: NIN. Every communication network in the country is under his power.

 

So, what magic can the service chiefs perform in confronting the Boko Haram, bandits, kidnappers and the Fulani herdsmen when their member is the one in charge and on top of all the plans of the service chiefs; and could easily leak them out to the terrorists?

 

What is your view about daily carnage, kidnapping and closure of schools? Our beloved country has become a banana country. An ethnic group has turned our country into a battlefield. In spite of the fact that the country is under their rule and control, they are still not satisfied.

 

Their economic exploitation is full scale now.

 

Their political elites and their poor masses are determined to destroy the country economically, socially, and intellectually by embarking in holistic exploitation and oppression of the Nigeria peoples and the fabric of their economic life. What is the way out? There is no way out than the need for us to focus on the Lord Almighty, the God of all creation and all beings. In the first place, all Nigerians need to grasp the history of the human condition: that all humans are capable of tremendous good and equally capable of doing tremendous evil.

 

If we get this fact right, we never give up on the Boko Haram, the bandits, the kidnappers, and the Fulani herdsmen or on our corrupt and godless political elites.

 

The truth is that, although they are now doing tremendous evil in our country, they are still capable of doing tremendous good. For God the Creator created all of us good. However, the Fall of Adam and Eve brought evil in the world. So, our common enemy is Satan and his pride. The church has a way out for Nigeria: A life of moral virtues, love, and genuine prayer for our enemies, for peace and for national forgiveness.

 

Do you believe there is a conspiracy of external kind against Nigeria? Of course, we live in a global village. So what is happening has both internal and external manipulators and saboteurs.

 

Some have said we have a spineless National Assembly which has failed to do its job. How do you see this?

 

That may be true, but not the whole truth. It is not about failure to do their job. Rather, it is about their willingness to sacrifice the interest of the masses that elected them by replacing it with the interest of their ethnic groups, region, religion, party loyalty, and so on.

 

Do you support the call for President Buhari’s resignation or impeachment?

 

I don’t! His resignation or impeachment is not the solution. He must stay and deal with the problem he and his cabal has created. What he has sown over the years is what we are reaping. So, he needs to deal with it himself.

 

Recently, a trailer load of ammunition was found in Onitsha. What is your view about this?

 

I have no full information about that. So, I cannot provide any verified comments on it.

 

Do you support calls for restructuring of Nigeria?

 

Well, restructuring Nigeria is not going to stop the present horrific predicaments. Nigerians need to face the reality: Without genuine love, respect for human dignity, honesty, truth-telling, humility, patience, hard work, and unity, restructuring will not change Nigeria for the better. Without religiosity with godliness, restructuring will not transform and reposition Nigeria to the Nigeria God wants us to have.

 

Resources available to the government are falling in the face of corruption. How do you see this?

 

The sole owner of Nigeria, God has given us all the resources that we need. But greed and obsession with amassing wealth has caused our elites to deny the poor masses access to our God-given resources.

 

 

What’s your impression about insecurity in the South-East considering that some people are of the opinion that politicians have a grand plan to distabilise the region?

 

Of course, wherever there is insecurity, you can be sure that the political elites will do everything possible to make the ruling party unpopular by causing widespread violent conflicts. Thus it is possible that agents of the Federal Government have a grand plan to destabilise the region while deliberately putting it on IPOB and ESN.

 

Pastor Paul Adefarasin last Sunday advised his members to find Plan B and prepare to escape out of Nigeria for safety. What is your take, what are advising Christians to do in these trying times?

 

That is absolutely his opinion. I do not subscribe to that viewpoint. Nigeria is God’s country! Although things are horrible now, the God of love, justice, mercy and compassion wants us to trust in him alone.

 

What’s your advice on whether or not people should take COVID-19 Vaccine and why sir?

 

As someone who got infected and has already taken the vaccine, I will advise Nigerians to ignore all the arguments against taking the vaccine.

 

How can the church assist the state in ensuring stability and good governance?

 

First and foremost, the church needs to help her members to grasp the fact that they have a concrete responsibility to society. For example, the purpose of God for creating marriage is so that we will raise godly offspring and have a godly society.

 

To do so, Christians will have to focus on building and developing a family with character virtues—love, justice, righteousness, faithfulness, truth-telling, patience, compassion, forgiveness and so on.

 

Christians need to specifically inculcate intellectual carefulness, intellectual courage, intellectual curiosity, intellectual tenacity, intellectual fair-mindedness, intellectual honesty, and intellectual humility in their children. This concrete focus will help us transform and reposition Nigeria to the Nigeria God wants us to have.

 

What does this insecurity portend for 2023 elections?

On the one hand, one of the many reasons for the current insecurity is to make the ruling party unpopular so that it will not be elected in 2023. On the other hand, the insecurity is a political ploy to scare those who may want to vie for any political position at any level.

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