By Ene Asuquo
The Bishop of Anglican Diocese Communion of calabar, Prof. Nneoyi Onen Egbe has faulted a recent bill before the House of Representatives seeking to establish National Council for Christian Education.
The Anglican Bishop in an interaction with newsmen made the disclosure at the Eleventh Synod of the Church of Nigeria, (Anglican Communion) Diocese of Calabar.
He decried the abandonment of viable projects by successive administrations both in the State and Federal levels of governance, said it was wrong to regulate Christian education in Nigeria.
According to him, “no man can regulate God or what aspects of God are to be taught”.
He was of the opinion that if any religion should be regulated, it should be the one that has groups that have no tolerance for the common good and have violated several communities in the name of holy wars.
Subsequently, he called on the Government to discard the idea, but rather concentrate on germane issues currently confronting the Nation.
“On paper, this looks good. But we live in a country where high handed deception and power play are the order. It is not clear what the motive for this bill is, but we are watching. While we watch, we need to make clear to all sponsors of the bill that no living mortal can direct what the Divine wants to be taught. God cannot be locked in a classroom.
“Consequently, sponsors and operators of this legislation must note that they cannot really regulate Christian Education. Christianity is about man’s relationship with God and must not be seen as a regular religion that is man-made. No man can regulate God or what aspects of God are to be taught.
“The Government should concentrate on more serious things and completely drop this idea. If any religion should be regulated, it should be the one that has groups that have no tolerance for the common good and have violated several communities in the name of holy wars”, he said.
While speaking on infrastructural development, the Bishop decried the deliberate abandonment of projects, especially among successive administrations in Cross River State.
He reminded political leaders that governance is a continuum, hence the need to always complete whatever project inherited from their predecessors in office in order to avoid wastage of scarce resources.
Adeleye said: “We have observed the trend over the years of each Government running its own agenda, often abandoning the projects of the preceding administration. We wish to implore the new administration of Cross River State and even the nation, to leverage on and complete whatever the last administration had begun to save the state the colossal losses from abandoned projects. Government is a continuum.”
On the state of insecurity in the country, he appealed to President Bola Tinubu to re-consider the agitation for the creation of state police in order to tackle the menace.
“This has been a recurring recommendation from us as one of the ways of solving the security problem in the country. We wish to still appeal to the Government to put this matter on the front burner to demonstrate its commitment to resolving Nigeria’s security issue”, he added.