The Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion has urged Nigerians to shun drugs and save themselves from their monstrous effects.
The Most Rev Henry Ndukuba, Archbishop Metropolitan and Primate, Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, gave the advice in Abuja at the annual Divine Commonwealth Conference 2021 with the theme “Quit You Like Men’’.
Ndukuba, who took his reading from the scriptures in first Corinthians chapter 16 verse 13 which says `Watch ye, be vigilant, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong, said the message was a call not be afraid because God was with them.
According to him, drug abuse was sapping Nigerians of their money, resources, and mental health.
“If you drive around this city, you may see or know of spots where drugs are openly peddled and they are patronized by all and sundry cutting across classes.
“It does not matter where, even in the rural areas, drugs are also having a field day dehumanizing our people and as you may see the primary school children, young men and women, even married women are also addicted to drugs.
“This is one thing that does not respect class, that man that was killed by a lady in Lagos, the issue is that they had drugs, so you find out that even CEOs can still be drug addicts.
“Do we talk of the security organizations, in fact, most of the crimes that we suffer in Nigeria, including banditry and other things are rooted in drug addiction?
“Deal with drugs, deal with gun control and you will subdue and most of our problems,” he said
Ndukuba, therefore, said that the Church of Nigeria had taken this as a challenge to sensitize people, to tell them drug is bad, it is evil, it dehumanizes, it eats up finances, and robs them of their dignity.
He said that the most painful aspect of it was that the sponsors of drugs in Nigeria were high up because the ordinary young boy in the streets made the seller would not be able to pay his air ticket abroad or know how to process heroin.
He said that there was a need to rise up against the monster eating up people which was drugs to say that “ our people should not be enslaved or sold for a pittance because somebody wants to make money quick ‘’.
Ndukuba also called on politicians to back to their primary responsibility.
This, he said, was to cater to the people, provide security and the essential necessities of life, and provision infrastructure in order for the people to carry out their legal legitimate duties.
“Nigerians are not asking too much, every ordinary Nigerian is not begging you for food, what we are begging is for security and the environment that will make us be able to fend for ourselves.
“We are not lazy, the ordinary Nigerian is not a beggar, and so we want to ask them to do what they should in order to create an environment that will make our people thrive to feed themselves, we are not asking too much,” he said.
Ndukuba frowned at political parties not being controlled by ideologies adding that as far as politicians were concerned, there was no permanent political party as they cross the carpet to get their interest.
“So we are not policy controlled and ideology controlled people, we are stomach infrastructure people that is what is controlling us until we get it right
“Until we are ready to stand for something and die for something, our political system will be for the highest bidder and those who have the opportunity,” he said.
Ndukuba also urged Nigerians to be alert about their mental health adding that in spite of the challenges of the nation they should not give up hope.
He said that he believed God that at such a time when the hearts of men failed them, at such a time when people did not know where help would come from, it was better to look up to the Lord.
He said that although the problems might look enormous, Nigeria may seem as though she was engulfed but the word of the Lord to the nation Nigeria was courageous, because “this is a passing time.’’
According to Ndukuba, God is saying `Be courageous, I will be with you, I will not leave you nor forsake you, no matter the challenges.’’
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He said that God is warning people to be careful the way they live, to make sure they are in faith, to make sure that they are working with the Lord in obedience to His word.
Ndukuba said that the conference started in 2011 and it was meant to be a gathering to just sit at the feet of the Lord.
He said that this was to listen to God’s words, to be encouraged, to draw inspiration and encouragement from the word of God, and to pray for families, the church, and the nation. (NAN)
