*A WELCOME ADDRESS BY THE NATIONAL PRESIDENT NIGERIA CHRISTIAN GRADUATE FELLOWSHIP, PROF CHARLES ADEYINKA ADISA AT THE FIRST ECONOMIC FORUM/OPENING CEREMONY OF THE 42ND ANNUAL NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF THE FELLOWSHIP HOLDING AT THE SWISS SPIRIT HOTEL & SUITES, PORT HARCOURT ON THURSDAY AUGUST 24, 2017* .
Your Excellency, the Executive Governor of Rivers state
The Chairman, BOT, NCGF
The Honorable Minister of Finance
Your Excellency, former Governor of Ondo state
The chairman, CAN, Rivers state
Chairman, BOT AVTHS
Distinguished Resource Persons
My Lords Spiritual & Temporal
Gentlemen of the Press
My Dearly beloved brethren
It is my pleasure on behalf of the National Council of the Nigeria Christian Graduate Fellowship to welcome you all to this august gathering in this month of August. Let me start with thanking God for the privilege of life given to us all, the good health and the journey mercies granted to all. We appreciate the enormous sacrifices you all have made to honor our invitation. It is our prayer that the Lord will bless you all for your interest in our nation.
Our gathering today is unique. This is the first time we are using one stone to kill two birds- the opening ceremony of our 42nd annual national conference and the holding of a national economic forum to deliberate on ways to steer the nation out of her economic predicament.
The theme of this economic forum which also doubles as the theme of the annual national conference is ‘Dew in the midst of adversity (Micah 5:7)’. This is born out of our belief that there is hope for the nation in spite of her daunting challenges. We chose to isolate the economic issue out of the myriads of national challenges for discussion because it is our considered view that behind the sociopolitical challenges, the economic factor is the last straw that can make or mar the fragile polity. And if the economy is fixed and the operators run our systems with sincerity to the benefit of the citizenry, much of the agitations in the polity will fizzle out with time.
There is no doubt that what triggered the current political agitations threatening to disintegrate the nation is the collapse of the economy which has increased the unemployment rate, threw spanner in the growth of business and deny workers their means of livelihood coupled with seeming non listening posture of government. These and other factors have made the youths to become ready tools in the hands of professional trouble makers.
We are confident that our God is able to turn around the nation if we all are willing to take the necessary steps under God to ensure the restoration of both the economy and the politics of the nation. Our experience as a nation is not unique, biblical history is fraught with times of famine, drought and political upheavals. Nations that accepted God’s guidance and took to the part of justice and equity by putting round pegs in round holes overcame their challenges. Example is ancient Egypt which survived economic hard times by going for the best instead of mediocrity. Even in modern times, there have been several world economic recessions with some nations terribly hit. It took determination, humility and sincerity of purpose by the use of available intellectual endowment without bias to steer such nations from the economic doldrums. A nation like Singapore comes readily in mind in this circumstance. It is for this reason that we in Nigeria Christian Graduate Fellowship in fulfillment of our divine mandate decided to bring together the economic experts with our Christian faith background who have the understanding of the times like sons of Issachar and wisdom of Joseph and are willingly to seek God and proffer solution to the nation’s economy. We are confident that these world-class economists with proven experience in economic policy formulation and implementation as resource persons in this forum will proffer solutions to the intractable economic challenges. We at this juncture enjoin the federal government ably represented by the Honorable Minister of Finance to take ideas and suggestions that will emerge from this forum serious. We are confident that if suggestions are implemented the economy will bounce back. This on its own has the ability to cause a spiral effect whereby the improved economy will guarantee food on tables of Nigerians. The available food will check hunger, whereby the hungry man will no longer be angry; but rational in thinking and responding to calls for disintegration.
This is not to say that other issues fueling the embers of disintegration should not be discussed. We in Nigeria Christian Graduate Fellowship throw our weight behind the calls for restructuring of the socioeconomic & political strands of the nation as a panacea to peace and stability of the nation. The present structure that has lent itself to injustice, marginalization, and enthronement of mediocrity, tribalism, nepotism and religious bigotry cannot guarantee the sustainability of the nation. It has become obvious that any seeming panacea that does not contain the ingredients of justice, equity and fairness cannot assuage the present hunger for restructuring. Government and the ruling party are advised to place the survival of the nation above partisan and sectional interest by acceding to restructuring.
Let me also draw attention of this august gathering to the dangerous trend in bastardising our educational system with humanistic and Islamic indoctrination of the basic educational curriculum. This is an ill wind that will do damage to the fabric of the nation than political domination. A situation where the moral fabric of the nation is being eroded by the systematic sexualisation of our minors spells doom to the nation. Similarly, the deliberate and surreptitious enthronement of one religion, above others in a multi religious society through the educational curricula amounts to planting a time bomb that will blow the nation an ill wind. We, in the Nigeria Christian Graduate Fellowship are of the opinion that the two religions of Christianity and Islam should be returned to pre current curriculum position in our educational system and we sincerely appreciate the Federal government and all the relevant agencies for heeding our call to return Christian religious studies to its former status as an independent stand alone subject.
We however call on the Federal government and the Nigeria University Commission (NUC) to desist from plans to foist a foreign language (Arabic language) as a compulsory course to be taken by undergraduate students in 12 different management /accounting disciplines in our Universities. This to us amounts to the promotion of one religion /foreign language at the expense of others. This is unacceptable.
Finally, I call on all our guests to relax and savor the hospitality and beauty of the garden city. At the end the Lord will grant us a successful deliberation and journey mercies in Jesus name. Amen.
Prof Charles Adeyinka Adisa
National President
No comments:
Post a Comment