A Gospel minister and founder of the prayer and Christian Missionary Oriented Ministry, The Throneroom (Trust) Ministry, Apostle Emmanuel Nuhu Kure has taken a critical look at the state of the nation with the verdict that “Nigeria is dying slowly and quietly.”
Apostle Kure, one-time National Secretary of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) told newsmen in an interview, shortly after he delivered a public lecture earlier today (Wednesday, October 2), that the foundation of the country was faulty from inception without its leaders having national interest for the benefits of the citizenry.
In the lecture which was organised by the management of Kaduna State University (KASU) was titled; “Reconfiguring The Nigerian University Landscape: A Critical Exploration of Pioneering Solutions for Sustainable Educational Reform,” Kure noted that the nation’s educational system has been bastardised and that unless urgent reform is carried out in the system, future leaders might not be turned out any longer by the Ivory Towers in the country.
The cleric also called for abolition of distance learning introduced in the country, saying that reading through the internet to obtain a degree is not proper education and knowledge.
“The truth is that everything has come to a standstill in Nigeria. And right now the leaders and followers need complete reorientation. Like I said in the public lecture, the foundation on which this nation was founded from the beginning was faculty.
“It has been based on selfish interest, regional interest, everything is based on personal interest. The only interest that was not included at the birth of Nigeria is Nigeria itself. So we need to redevelop a nationalistic orientation towards the country as a country, seeing ourselves as one entity and that every part of the country is important and can contribute.
“The government needs to stand back and please hear the cry of the people. Things are terribly bad and the response of the government so far, I must be sincere with you, has not been encouraging. It is not enough to bring peace to us. Nobody seems to be responsible for the problem, to the cry of the people.
“There is only reassurance from the President that things will get better. That is not what we want to hear. What are you doing to get better? We have started step A, B, C, and by the time we finished step D, you will see the results. Somebody needs to speak up because Nigeria is dying slowly and quietly and I don’t know what will happen next,”. Kure said.
Earlier, while delivering the lecture, he said: “Our universities should be, and it used to be where men and women are moulded in character, discipline and knowledge for future leadership. Religion impacts education through discipleship by Christians, and Almajiricin by Muslims. It is the kind of Almajiricin that the Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi went through that made him a very useful leader. He did not only study the Quran in Nigeria, he studied in Sudan and other countries. When you have the combination of this education, you are a “dangerous person”.
“That is why Sanusi can talk to Christian leaders and Muslims leaders as well as the government. He is also an economist. If you want to catch him here, or there, he will slip through another way. Education makes him so. Education can make you a leader in society. So ask yourself, are you educated?.
“We have Christians who went to Muslim schools and we Muslims who to Christian schools. Schools like Ansarudeen in the western part of the country were so much involved in the education of the youths and development of the communities. Those who went to those types of schools are more grounded today and they have an understanding of Christian religion. Some of them who are Muslims will even enter church and take chorus correctly and Christians will even get confused.
“So if you grow up as a student with this background, you have no reason not to mix freely with one another irrespective of religion and tribe. I grew up in Lagos, I began my primary school in Lagos. So I can speak a small Yoruba language. I went for my secondary school education in Okene, Kwara State then. And because I came from Kaduna, everybody believed that I am Hausa. One day I felt sick and I was admitted to a hospital where I have no father or a brother. The Yoruba people there took care of me as I am their son. They gave me food in the morning and in the afternoon.
“And they are people of different religions, and I am a Christian. In those days we had faith in everybody. But nowadays if you give me water to drink I have to pray. Sheikh Gumi once told me when he visited my camp where Muslims confessed to him that they were being treated nicely, “I have met a Christian”. As you get educated, your perception gets widened. Education makes a leader any time, where. We need to reconfigure our university system for understanding and exposure.”
On distance learning, Kure said: “We should stop distance learning because nobody gets educated through reading on the internet. You read on the internet and write exams and get a degree. It does not challenge your intelligence. You passed through the internet to write the exams. But the education does not go through you. The real education is a teacher talking directly to his students like I am talking to you now. Muslims and Christians stay in one class, share ideas and pick from each other’s brain.
“There is a formal lecture where you get to understand more of the environment. If you are Yoruba man schooling in Kaduna, you are going to understand more about Hausa people in Zazzau emirate, they are not JuJu, they are not masquerade, they are not difficult people, they are human beings just like you. You cannot learn this under a computer. Acquiring distance education does not make you educated. You need to be exposed to the environment. In those days graduates were held in high esteem by the people in the villages whether they have jobs or not. But not now.”
