Upgrading the Slums: Empowering the Urban Poor People of Lagos, Nigeria
by Godspower P Ugboh
June 1st, 2012
This dissertation addresses the issue of 鈥淯pgrading of slums: Empowering the聽urban poor in Lagos, Nigeria.鈥� Questions such as, 鈥淲hy are the slums in deplorable聽conditions? What are the churches, parachurch organizations, NGOs, public/private聽sectors and the government doing to transform the city of Lagos, Nigeria?,鈥� received聽paramount attention as they generated many responses from the interview conducted聽during the research. To address issues raised in the process of carrying the research, the聽following constituted part of the discussion:
1. Cities are intentionally designed by God as strategic places of meeting with聽people who otherwise could have not seen any reason to draw closer to God either聽as a result of affluences or due to abject poverty.
2. Considering Luke 4:18, it is expedient that God鈥檚 desire for the poor in the cities聽is to liberate them, show them love and deliver them from the power of the devil,聽giving them the shalom of God.
3. All Christians should pray and seek the shalom of the cities where God has聽located them. It is important to seek the peace of the cities in which Christians聽live, because in the peace of the city such Christians would have peace (Jer. 29:7).
4. Christians are identified in the Bible as city changers and sustainers, therefore,聽they are charged with the responsibility of transforming the cities to the glory of聽God.
5. Transforming the cities and, slums and empowering the poor who dwell in the聽cities is an urgent need facing society today. City transformation is important if聽Christians are to combat crime, injustices and give hope to poor.
6. City changers must be intentionally agents of transformation in all ramifications.
7. A theology of the city that does not take into consideration the sovereign plan of聽God for the salvation of the city dwellers is a faulty 聽theology.
8. The Church exists as an agent of transformation and as such, it is a requirement聽that the Church interacts with the society around her. Living in isolation of the聽needs of the surrounding society of the Church defeats the plan of God for the聽expansion of his kingdom and hope of the common man.
Incarnational and holistic ministry that is focused on total transformation of lives聽should be the integral message of the Church in this age.
All the points made above have been adequately supported in the dissertation through the literature reviews, research and interviews conducted. The need for the聽transformation of slums and empowering the urban poor cannot be replaced by anything聽else. It is both a challenge and an obligation to the Church of God who happened to be the only spiritual representative of God here. If God is love, then the Church should be聽able to show love to the needy and the poor in the cities. Parachurch bodies, NGOs,聽private and public sectors and the government are all called to do likewise. When all the major groups in the city come together in a network that is intentionally structured and聽plan and hold consultations for the city, then transformation is inevitable.