The Church and Entrepreneurship – Hope for the Youth in Nigeria

The informal sector is termed to be vibrant because it accounts for one-third of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and creates 90% of new jobs globally. In Nigeria, the situation is not different, yet the government has failed to effectively harness the potentials of entrepreneurs (those who work and own businesses in this sector) and link them to the real sector. This continues to undermine the potential for economic growth and relegate the youth who often seek refuge in this sector. The main thrust of this paper, therefore, is to challenge the Church as a model and vital social institution to use its gifts, resources and experiences to help young people become useful citizens. The recommendations that were made include: (a) that the church should facilitate the on-going reforms in the financial sector with the aim of reducing the obstacles in obtaining soft loans. The church should influence government policy to properly stream-line an efficient process of registering a business or enterprise with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC)

Hope and people living without Hope: An Old Testament and Contemporary Perspectives

In the Old Testament, there are countless incidences and record of experiences and conditions that led many into depression. People with debilitating diseases like leprosy (Lev.13), loathsome sores (Job 2) and other ‘strange’ diseases suffered considerably. Their pains included not only the effect of the affliction but the attitude of the people among whom they lived which involved stigmatization and rejection. Just like those who became hopeless as a result of health complication and disease, many in the Old Testament Jewish society suffered quite remarkably. In juxtaposition with the contemporary Nigerian society, the condition of the aforementioned group seems to be very similar. Now and then, disasters, religious and ethnic riots, militant insurgence, youth unrest etc have left many Nigerians in utter hopelessness. Terminally ill patients and others with serious health problems have not faired any better in our society today. Many are in a very deplorable state with shattered hope of survival. It is based on the foregoing submissions that this work has among other salient things, dialectically examined the efficacy of hope in the lives of the hopeless. Suggestions on how the therapeutic cum ‘placating’ concept (hope) could be harnessed and utilized became one of the major thrusts of this paper