The Chancellor, Landmark University, Omu Aran in Kwara State and president of Living Faith Church, Bishop David Oyedepo, has described the socio-economic challenges in the nation as those caused by systemic failure, and not leadership failure as widely assumed.

Oyedepo was speaking with newsmen yesterday in Omu Aran at the 5th Founder's Day celebration of the university. He said there was no point blaming the political class or individuals for Nigeria's challenges.

He stressed that the challenges had been with the nation for many years, and not just happening now. "Our problem is systemic problem, not political or leadership problem and we must find solutions to it. Nigeria will not go down the drain, we will proffer solutions to it," he said.

Oyedepo urged the present administration to be more sensitive to issues that affect ordinary people, saying things were not working well in the country. "Where we are today is not where we should be. The effect of the forex has a lot to do with small scale industries and that is where the bulk of Nigeria's employment is. Anybody can make mistakes but if people in authority are not sensitive to the cries of the people, we will keep making more mistakes. My understanding is that it is never too late to be right. If a decision is made and we discover it is not right we should do an informed review," he said.

"We have been fighting over the issue of power for many decades now. Government should have its priority. They should itemise the fundamentals that can move Nigeria forward and commit to it. We don't have to have the resources, if we have the platform for investors to come in because they are more in touch with the issues.

"Nigeria's problem is all about cost effective solutions that will come out of sound reasoning. Remember, the people in government are from us. So, we are all in government since they are not foreigners. So, each of us has a role to play. Private bodies should be allowed in all other areas of the country just like we have in the education sector.

"Nigerians also need to take responsibility for our challenges and find solutions to them because we have nowhere else to go. We should not sit down and cast blames," he said.