Matthew Ashimolowo, the prominent pastor of Kingsway International Christian Centre (KICC), offered insights on navigating Nigeria’s current predicaments during his visit to The Sun Publishing Limited office in Ikeja.

The pastor called attention to the significant imbalances in Nigeria and strongly advocated for an overhaul of the 1999 Constitution, power devolution to regions, and fostering youth engagement in politics.

Highlighting the economic disparities, Ashimolowo expressed his concerns about the south, which produces the lion’s share of Nigeria’s resources, yet continues to grapple with underdevelopment. He questioned, “Why should the South, being the major resource provider, remain underdeveloped while resources are channeled elsewhere, even as far as Niger Republic?”

Ashimolowo stressed the importance of local empowerment rather than forceful intervention. “Instead of combatting agitation with military force, the key is in community empowerment, job creation, and making residents custodians of their own economies.”

He further criticized the centralized nature of employment in Nigeria, emphasizing the need for a more equitable distribution. Drawing a parallel with the UK, he highlighted the dispersion of ministries across various cities, suggesting that Nigeria could adopt a similar decentralization approach.

On the role of religion in politics, he conveyed his disappointment in the Christian community’s inability to produce influential northern Christian political figures.

Ashimolowo, reflecting on the Church’s role, stated that it hasn’t entirely lived up to its compassionate mission in Nigeria. Nevertheless, he mentioned his upcoming initiative, a comprehensive medical outreach in Ikorodu, Lagos, aiming to benefit 50,000 residents.

Outlining the initiative, he said, “The Compassion Crusade will encompass free surgeries, spiritual outreach, food distribution, and extensive medical assistance at Igbogbo stadium in Ikorodu.” He estimated the crusade’s cost to be between N300 to 500 million.

Explaining the choice of Ikorodu for the initiative, he reminisced about his time there nearly half a century ago, contrasting the population then with its present count exceeding a million.