Bishop Oyedepo warns against Nigeria doom
Sango Ota - Covenant University chancellor and Presiding Bishop of the Winners Chapel Assembly, Dr. David Oyedepo, has warned of great consequences if the country continues to produce graduates without employment opportunities as there are no jobs for them after graduation, a situation which poses serious threat to the country’s corporate existence.
According to the President of David Oyedepo Ministries (DOMI), “We are producing graduates and there are no jobs for them. The curriculum is overdue for change all over the world. There is a glut of graduates everywhere”, he noted.
Making what looked like a cryptic remark after the 21st Covenant University, Public Lecture series titled “Meaning and Relevance in the Nigerian Traditional Architecture: The Dialectics of Growth and Change”, delivered by Professor Ekundayo Adeyinka Adeyemi, head, department of architecture, College of Science and Technology, Oyedepo said something must be done to effectively tackle this problem so that “this glut does not lead to our doom.”
He acknowledged that the nation is “faced with 21st century challenge and its enormous,” adding, “Covenant University is committed to producing graduates who will be problem solvers, who will provide solutions to our problems.”
According to the chancellor, “the problem of Nigeria is not lack of education but education without integration”. He went further in his words: “Education without integration is the reason for disintegration which may lead to national devastation if not checked.”
While appreciating Professor Adeyemi, who was described as the grand father of Nigerian Architecture for a job well done in delivering the lecture, also not left out were the professors as pillars, thanking them for their inputs which had brought accolade to the university. “It’s one thing to own a football club, but another thing to assemble players.”
Referring to the message contained in the lecture, attention was drawn to the need to recognize and apply the nation’s cultural values in nation building.
“You never come to a tree without roots: It will die. We must place values in our cultural virtues. We tried democratic values to resolve crises in Africa, but situations are getting worse and matters complicating.
The Uganda war is still on-going with so many killings. No solution because we ignored traditional, cultural ways of solving it. We departed from the traditional methods of our ancestors. We should retrace our steps and go back to our traditional heritage”, he said. He noted that herbal medicine that was equated with occultism has now been embraced and repackaged in Europe. “We must believe in the virtues of our values, seek cultural solution to our problems.”
Oyedepo, himself an architect, gave full support to Professor Adeyemi who advocated traditional building materials, because of their cheapness and ready availability offer greater advantages and potentials for increased housing. “Because of the rising cost of cement, more buildings will have to be built with mud and clay as majority of Nigerians still live in mud buildings”, he stated.
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