By Adeyinka Adeniran
The Presiding Bishop, Victory International Church Worldwide, Taiwo Adelakun has called on the government to take advantage of the present situation in the country to effect the changes the people are clamouring for.
Noting that the nation is sitting on a keg of gun powder if the level of agitations and protests are just swept under the carpet, the cleric called on President Muhammadu Buhari to investigate the shootings at the Lekki Toll plaza to calm frayed nerves.
Adelakun spoke over the weekend during the state of the nation press conference where he gave the stands of the church on the issues going on across the country in recent time.
The cleric who declared his support for the call of the youths to ending impunity and oppression especially by the police however appeal that caution must be exercised in the way the demands are made.
He also called for an end to the brigandage, vandalisation and crisis that has been trailing the protests across the country, saying the use of force on harmless and peaceful protesters stand condemned.
He said “The EndSARS protest was born out of genuine grievance against some bad eggs within the police force, tarnishing the image of the generality of the police.
“The youths calling for police reform and an end to impunity and oppression, to my view, is a welcome development because they are rising up to hold government accountable. We keep saying the youths are the leaders of tomorrow and they have the right to air their opinions and to embark on peaceful protests according to the dictates of our constitution.
“However, the use of excessive force on harmless protesters is highly condemnable and unacceptable in any democratic setting or civilized world. It is considered an act of recklessness in the use of arms resulting into the killings and wounding of young protesters and allowing the miscreants and hooligans to hijack genuine desire for reform, leading to the burning of property, looting, arson and killing of innocent members of the public.
“And one will expect a prompt investigation by those in power, such investigation cannot take one month, or even one week because it is an emergency situation and one would have expected that that would be the centre of the broadcast of the President.
“I want to state clearly that the power of the people is stronger than the people in power. The reason is because the people in power are put there by the people. So, as a matter of urgency, the October 20 attack or massacre should be investigated and those that are found to be culprit should be sanctioned.
“I believe strongly that there are many things that need to be reformed in Nigeria, not only the Police.”
He said the government must listen to request for state policing for a more effective and coordinated community policing, adding that the reform the nation needs must be all round in all areas of polity reforms.
“There have been calls for state police, for effective policing of our nation because policing is a communal thing. A person that does not understand the terrain of an area cannot police that place effectively. So, the call for state police, the call for true federalism, the call for restructuring of our polity, these issues have to be at the front burner for any progress in our nation.
“Our overdependence on oil cannot help our economy. The cost of government is too high and that is why everybody wants to be in a political office and wants to be there forever. It is not a call to service any longer but a call to enrichment.
“We have issues in our nation that we need to face and begin to sort out one after the other. But first and foremost, the unfortunate incident of October 20, 2020. That day has become an important day in the history of this nation, whether anyone likes it or not.
“We relate with people, the masses. We understand their plights and if we know that if things will go right with this nation, then Nigeria need to reform, not only police reform, we need to reform in the areas of economy and our polity. We need to face the problems headlong and stop dancing around the problem”, the cleric added.
