“Palliative Is Not the Answer”: Pastor Ashimolowo Advises Govt on Tackle Poverty in Nigeria
- Pastor Matthew Ashimolowo expressed concern about poverty in Nigeria during a special crusade organized by Christ Compassion to the Rural World (CCRW) at Igbogbo Stadium, Ikorodu, Lagos
- The cleric criticised the government's palliative measures, calling for a focus on creating an enabling environment for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to thrive
- Ashimolowo urged the government to empower SMEs, provide land and loans, and prioritize promoting small businesses over supporting a few wealthy individuals
Legit.ng journalist Nurudeen Lawal has years of experience covering the intersections of Nigerian politics, government policies and religion
Ikorodu, Lagos state - A prominent Nigerian pastor, Matthew Ashimolowo, has lamented the level of poverty in Nigeria, stating that the government’s palliative initiative is not a lasting solution.
The senior pastor of the Kingsway International Christian Centre (KICC) said this on Saturday, November 11, at a special crusade organised to provide succour for the poor at Igbogbo Stadium, Ikorodu, Lagos.
Source: UGC
The crusade is an initiative of the Christ Compassion to the Rural World (CCRW), a brainchild of Pastor Ashimolowo.
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Nigeria’s poverty level and the palliative
According to the World Poverty Clock, over 71 million Nigerians, 32% of the country’s population, are living in extreme poverty.
The recent removal of fuel subsidy has worsened the situation, further pushing many Nigerians into poverty.
In a bid to address the situation, the federal and state governments introduced some palliative measures. These include the distribution of bags of rice to the poor, the introduction of wage awards, etc.
Palliative is not the answer, says Ashimolowo
Speaking with Legit.ng and other news platforms on Saturday, Pastor Ashimolowo said the government’s palliative cannot effectively solve the poverty problem.
He, therefore, called on federal, state and local governments to create an enabling environment for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to thrive.
This move, according to the pastor, will strongly tackle the poverty in the country.
His words:
“Honestly, palliative is not the answer, I think palliative is short term, I don’t call ours as palliative because the dictionary definition of palliative is something you give to a man who is sick as temporary relief. Ours is not that, ours is to bless. We are not government; we are here to show the compassion of Christ.
“Empower small and medium enterprises, that is the power of Nigeria. If you leave this Stadium now you will not see any house without a shop. Government calls that place setback, there is no set back, Nigerians are entrepreneurs.”
Ashimolowo also urged the government to give Nigerians land and loans to strengthen their businesses.
“If you empower 10 million SMEs and hire five people each how many people are hired? That’s a lot of people. Then, long-term industries must be encouraged,” he added.
Promote small businesses, not a few billionaires, Ashimolowo tells FG
Speaking further on how to address poverty, Pastor Ashimilowo also urged the Nigerian government to prioritise promoting small businesses instead of a few wealthy Nigerians who can only hire about 1,000 people.
He reiterated that empowering small businesses to succeed will yield more meaningful impacts than promoting a few wealthy individuals.
It’s not easy to do business in Nigeria, says Ashimolowo
As of 2020, Nigeria's ease of doing business ranked 131st worldwide, with a general score of 56.9.
The previous Muhammadu Buhari-led government said it made significant efforts to improve the business environment in Nigeria through the implementation of ease-of-doing-business reforms
However, Pastor Ashimowo said the problems persist as it is not easy to do business in Nigeria. The cleric said it’s a lie to say it’s easy to do business in the country.
“They say that Nigeria is a place where it is easy to do business, it is a lie, “ the cleric said.
“It is not easy to do business in Nigeria because you are harassed. Inland Revenue Service is harassing you, every week.
“You are getting letters from the Federal Inland and local Inland Revenue. Every day they say they want to visit, but in the United Kingdom where I live, it is not like that. They only visit where necessary once in five or 10 years, but here in Nigeria, they visit every time month,” he added.
Ikorodu crusade: How crowd turned up
Pastor Ashimolowo also spoke on how tens of thousands of Nigerians turned up for the special crusade to receive free foodstuff, clothes and medical treatments.
The clergy spoke at the Igbogbo Stadium, where a medical fair was organised for the residents of Igbogbo and its environs.
“It was exhilarating, exciting… expected and yet unexpected. When we were coming, we knew we would be overwhelmed by the size of the response but it was beyond our imagination," he said about the week-long crusade.
He said his pastor friends in Ghana, whose own (crusade) he observed before launching the crusade in Nigeria, said the crowd was 20 times more than theirs.
“The word in town is that if there was adequacy in the nation, there wouldn’t have been a need for (such experience)”.
The cleric thanked Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos state for providing security throughout the duration of the crusade.
Ashimolowo gives foodstuffs, funds surgeries in Ikorodu crusade
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Ashimolowo showed his love for the people by giving 30, 000 households foodstuffs and clothes during the outreach in Ikorodu.
The cleric said 2,000 people gave their lives to Christ even under the rain on the first night of the crusade.
“Two thousand souls gave their lives to Christ in the middle of the rain. This morning I think we have served about 20 to 30,000 people with food and clothing," Pastor Ashimolowo said at the media briefing attended by Legit.ng.
Source: Legit.ng
