6th September, 2012
The controversial plan by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, to inject N5,000 bank notes into the Nigerian market by January 2013, may push the country into a deeper recession as hyperinflation will affect the economy, the General Overseer of Mekadishkem Ministry, Iyana-Ipaja, Lagos, Rev. Dr. Godwin Ogbeweken, has warned.
Speaking from the Kenyan Capital of Nairobi, Ogbeweken argued that the introduction of the N5,000 bank note and the conversion of three other legal tenders to coins will, without doubt, so much crash the economy that the Senate must reject it.
“I see no reason for the introduction of a new higher denomination in the country. What is the CBN Governor, Mr. Sanusi Lamido Sanusi out to achieve? He should strengthen the naira against all odds. My fear is that Nigeria is a country with weak institutions, where government pays little or no attention to the proper running of the affairs of the state. And with the conversion and minting of the coins, have they thought of the amount involved? It will amount to wastages as Nigerians will reject them outright.
“Aside the inflation, the burden of carrying coins around is another reason Nigerians are against its introduction,” the clergyman said while preaching on the theme “The Vision Must Speak,” Habbakuk 2: 2.
Ogbeweken also advised the Federal Government to desist from discussing with the Boko Haram group, saying that any dialogue with faceless terrorists will harden many other groups with a similar agenda.
In the Niger Delta, the clergyman argued, dialogue with the militants was made possible because their leaders were known, saying that Boko Haram’s leaders have remained faceless.
Niger Delta militants, he said, wanted the government to address the degradation of the region which was a direct consequence from years of oil exploration and neglect.
“What has the Federal Government taken from the sect to warrant dialogue?” he asked.
The clergyman advised the Federal Government not to show any sign of weakness in handling the group.
Government, he said, should step up its security modalities in the fight against Boko Haram and other societal vices confronting it, calling on Christian faithful to remain peaceful in spite of the Boko Haram attacks on churches.
“Christians are traditionally peaceful and law-abiding, but whosoever that is attacking them should know they have the right to self defence.
“While we pray for the unity of Nigeria and peaceful co-existence, we must not behave as foolish lambs led to the slaughter that opened not its mouth,” he advised.
He called on President Goodluck Jonathan to put smiles on the faces of Nigerians by improving on their standard of living, security and stability of the nation.
Ogbeweken advised Nigerians to desist from destructive criticism, but rather they should give their positive advise on the way forward.
—Ufforth Shalom