…As Ibadan diocese beings 61st synod
The Prelate, Methodist Church Nigeria (MCN), His Eminence Oliver Ali Aba, has said it time to build a strong and united country in Nigeria, saying all and sundry must join hands together in building a new nation, where youth will be encouraged to stay back in the country and contribute to national development, instead of finding all means to travel out at all cost in the massive wave of brain drain syndrome.
He made the disclosure in his address sent to the four-day 61st annual synod of the Methodist Church Nigeria, Diocese of Ibadan, being hosted by Ekotedo Circuit of the denomination in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital. The theme of the synod is: Contending for the Faith, taken from Jude 1:3.
The synod, which began on Thursday 13th April, will be formally declared open on Friday 14th April, 2023 morning by the Archbishop of Ibadan, Most Rev’d Olumuyiwa Odejayi, at the United Missionary College, Molete, Ibadan by 11:00a.m. Critical review of the state of the nation, and Oyo State among other germane issues would be done, position will be taken, and pieces of advice will be given where necessary during the synod
A press statement issued by the Head of Media Department of the diocese, Rev’d Adebayo Dalamu, stated that the synod will be attended by delegates from all the churches of the denomination in the diocese, including clergymen and lay members of the church, led by the Lay President for the diocese, Sister Olasumbo Anifowose, and the Synod Secretary, Very Rev’d Olumide Aluko.
According to the Prelate, “For posterity’s sake, we must build a strongly united country, where each Methodist must be ready to join hands with others in building a new nation, where our youth will be encouraged to stay back and not emigrate overseas (‘japa’). While most Nigerians are united in their criticism of political leadership across the land, we must not forget that leadership is a reflection of who we are as citizens.
“As the first church that pre-dates the founding of our nation in 1914 w believe that the coming together of over 400 ethnic nationalities to form the nation, called Nigeria, is not an accident. It is the work of God. It is the work of God, which each Methodist and Christian in Nigeria must uphold with prayers, hard work and personal commitment.”
Ali applauded the government at different
levels for trying to sustain governance, adding that the church is not happy about
issues that led residents and citizens of Nigeria to queue endlessly across the nation, for fuel at filling stations, new naira notes at banks.
“As a church, we have a duty to pray for our country to be a better place for us all to
live in. At the same time, we have a duty to speak the truth to the authorities and
ourselves in a country that we can all lay equal claim to. The Methodist Church
Nigeria prays that God will grant our civil, political and business leaders knowledge
from above to alleviate the sufferings that our people are presently facing.”
On the 2023 general elections, the Prelate noted that Nigerians had high hopes about the polls, and “we note with dismay that there are reports of alleged rigging in all
the six geo-political zones of the federation and pockets of violence leading to lapses
on the part of the alleged actors (citizens, the umpire and security forces).
“As Methodist people, we consider the 2023 elections, work in progress. We appeal that in subsequent elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC( must do better. Methodist Church Nigeria is of the view that, like any other human institution in Nigeria, with INEC, there is room for improvement in future elections.”
