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From Noah Ebije, Kaduna
Bishop, Diocese of Kaduna, Anglican communion, Timothy Yahaya has expressed worry over money politics and imposition of candidates on Nigerians by political parties ahead of the 2023 general elections, saying it is against the tenets of democracy.
To this end, Bishop Yahaya called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure free, fair and credible elections.
The Cleric also appealed to other key actors in electoral process not to impose candidates on the people as winning votes belong to the majority.
In a message to the nation during the 2nd session of the 22nd Synod of the Anglican Communion which held on Sunday at St. Paul’s Anglican Church, Bishop Yahaya however expressed the hope that the socio-economic woes befalling the nation will be over in 2023.
“Today we see naira and dollars rains because election is at the corner. Is it democracy for sale? The money of the people pulled from the people, used to buy positions in our country. You mean the entire intelligent agencies in this country cannot trace where these monies are gotten from, and people arrested and brought to book?. Are we just going to fold our arms and let it go this way?.
“There is only one seat in Aso Rock, there are no ten seats in Aso Rock. We call on INEC to follow every word of the electoral Act, to be seen to be independent, to be free and fair to conduct a credible election where everybody will be happy.
“I call on the political parties to stop imposing the candidates. In democracy it is the majority that have the votes. But from our own position, some cabals decide who become our leaders. They collect naira, they collect dollars to appoint people who cannot lead anywhere. Nigerians are getting wiser and I call on Nigerians to get their PVC but don’t vote religion, don’t vote tribe. Don’t vote mediocrity. Whoever you are going to vote, ask yourself what has he done for Nigeria. And find out his antecedents before voting for him.
“If anybody says he is going to give you clothes, look at the one he is wearing. It is our prayer that by 2023 our tales of woes as a nation will be over.
“We should not lose hope because God is still on the throne. Because we are human, we tend to think that everything has given way. We encourage Nigerians that God is still on the throne.
“Our message to our leaders is that, number one, they should fear God. Why are we saying that they should fear God; we are saying they should fear God because there is a day of judgement. Everything we do, there is a day of judgement, a day of reckoning.
“Another message to the nation is that if Dangote can build refineries of 160,000 barrels capacity, and our own refineries, have 450,000 barrels per day, I think we should quit as a nation. The oil industry anywhere in the world is independent. We cannot run oil industry like political offices. Politicians don’t interfere in oil industry. But since we decided to remove the account of the refineries from commercial bank to the central bank, our refineries today are moribund. Bureaucratic system should not be seen in the oil sector.
“And again government is saying loudly we don’t have money. Some of us get confused, when billions of naira and billions of dollars are carted away. People who are supposed to safeguard this country are failing the country.
“For God sake, in Nigeria we are religious people, but we are Godless people. If we have God in our hearts, we will not be doing what we are doing. We read the holy books, we go to places of worship, but we don’t have conscience.
“Our religious leaders should be careful. They contribute to the problems of this country. I call on religious leaders to fear God and let them be agents of peace. Let them be agents of change. If they see wrong, let them call it wrong no matter whose ox is gored”.
Speaking on the abducted passengers on Abuja-Kaduna bound Train in March, Bishop Yahaya said, “I want to plead with the federal government to ensure the freedom of the Abductees from the Abuja-Kaduna bound train two months after they were abducted. I have never heard a brief from the corridors of power about what is happening to our children in captivity. Does it mean that life does not matter again in Nigeria?Today the most popular thing is kidnapping, Kidnapping and kidnapping. No wonder some persons are saying Nigeria is a failed State.
“We are shocked, we are dismayed by the law that is going to be promulgated in the National Assembly that when government failed to secure kidnapped citizens, and the citizens are helpless, and their relations pay ransom, they should go to prison. Any right thinking Nigerians will not accept this proposal by the National Assembly.
“Security agencies must sit up. Any time there is kidnapping, there is a jurisdiction where a DPO is in charge, where all the security agencies are in charge. If kidnapping takes place more than three time under a Commissioner of police, that Commissioner of police should be reprimanded. They collect money to secure the people, but the more money they collect, the more insecurity we have”.
The Anglican Clergy also spoke on ASUU/Federal government disagreement, saying, “Today the future generation that are supposed to be the hope and architect of this country are at home because of ASUU strike. Any country that knows the value of its future will not toy with the education of its youths. So we are calling on the Federal government and ASUU to sit down and look at other climes how they run their University education.
“Political appointment of Vice Chancellor in this country is rubbish. It is rubbish because I have studied how Vice Chancellor are appointed in other countries. You go for an interview,bring your business plan on how you run a University. If you have the best business plan that turn around the university, you are appointed a Vice Chancellor. But here in Nigeria we have Vice Chancellor that lobby, get appointment for appointment sake.
“We have professors in our country without industries, we have research papers that others will come and steal from this country to make money, export back to this country, and make millions of naira. The brain drain that is going on in this country is shameful.
“All the brains that have left this country, when they go to another country they make that country great. The greatest asset of any nation is human capital. If the WHO is saying that there is going to be deficit of health workers, the Federal government should train more doctors and health workers without delay.
“The rate at which Nigerians are killing Nigerians, it is like we need to visit psychiatric hospital. I challenge our security agencies to go to the internet to see the level of hate speeches there. People are talking about killing.It is only in a country where there is no leadership that people who instigated killing will be allowed to go Scot free.
“We want to plead with the leaders, citizens and statesmen of this country that all hands must be deck to make Nigeria great again. And to our politicians, the election is at the corner, they should take it softly”.
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