The Serving Overseer of the Citadel Global Community Church, Pastor Tunde Bakare, lamented on Friday that the economic hardship is forcing some Nigerians to loot warehouses to avoid going to bed hungry.
Bakare raised concerns in the keynote address he delivered at a symposium in Abuja to celebrate the 70th birthday of Pastor Chinedu Ezekwesili, husband of former Minister of Education, Dr Obiageli Ezekwesili.
He attributed the current economic hardship to corruption and bad governance.
There were multiple reports of how hoodlums broke into warehouses and stole foodstuffs and other valuable items in the last two weeks.
Bakare, who blamed the development on bad governance, also described it as a reflection of systemic failure.
While warning that a failed institution can’t resolve the filth of corruption in any society, the cleric said it would be ridiculous of Nigerians to expect the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and other anti-graft agencies in the country to do it alone.
Bakare said, “Somewhere in the equation, something has to be done, whether in the homes that produce the fabrics or even in the institution of states that have failed to liquidate this criminal enterprise and facilitate alternative pathways for young people; somewhere in the societal equation where corruption and bad governance are crippling the economy, leaving no fewer than 133 million Nigerians in multidimensional poverty and 26.5 million in acute hunger across the country.
“With families going to bed hungry, a citizen is forced to take to the streets and to loot warehouses in their quest for survival. It means somebody has failed in his duty. In other words, somewhere in the governance equation is where we have the real issue. The good news however is that man has the capacity to reverse the situations. With the help of his Creator, man is himself a creator with the ability to recreate his world.
“This is a mission and purpose of every man. No citizen deserves to sleep under the bridge in a nation that has government. Until the righteous people are appointed into office, we are wasting time. There is only one antidote to fight corruption. EFCC and ICPC cannot fight it alone. Anybody that sits on the committee to investigate corruption who is corrupt himself can’t fight corruption in Nigeria.”
