(Adefarasin)
The Head Pastor of House on the Rock Church, Paul Adefarasin, has said that Nigerians must do away with ethnic sentiment and discover ways to build together regardless of our cultural differences.
The cleric made this statement in an interview with journalists during the annual Project FEED held last Saturday. He said, “For us to rise as a country, ethnic sentiments must go. We must build this into the educational curriculum and institutionalize a nationalist mindset. We must build the country together as long as there is justice and fair play to arbitrate our differences. It is not an overnight business; it is going to take some years.”
In addition, Adefarasin noted that he has a plan to build a tech hub where young individuals would learn STEM and STEAM. This initiative is to make the younger generation to be tech gurus in order to get involved in future technology and the global economy.
He continued, “The property you are standing on would become a tech hub and an incubator to teach technology, engineering and mathematics because, without that, we would not participate in the new economy that is going to grow the wealth of the world. We must not be left behind. This would help to give equal opportunities to all Nigerians.
‘’Nigeria is a land of tremendous opportunities, we have wealth embedded in its soil and the resilience of Nigerians is also a huge asset that can compete in the world economy and in the world markets. We must educate our people.
“The FG only allocates a tiny amount of money – between one and three per cent – to education. We don’t think the government should do it all. The private and faith-based sectors must come together and find creative ways to not only challenge the government but to live by catalytic examples to ensure that we educate the people. If we don’t have human capital, we cannot industrialize. International politics is arranged in such a way that it does not want Nigeria to industrialize.’’
Adefarasin added that if there is no priority on industrialization, the value of the naira will continue to go down. Consequently, it will lead to an increase in the poverty rate in the country.
“If we don’t industrialize, our naira will continue to devalue. We need to build a strong middle class, a strong artisan class. If this is not done, the country will become poorer, and that is what we do not need,” he concluded.
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