By Sunday Ani and Gabriel Dike
Presiding Bishop of The Redeemed Evangelical Mission (TREM), Mike Okonkwo, has endorsed the call for the restructuring of Nigeria.
This is as expressed disappointment at the socio-economic and political situation in the country, blaming it on political leaders, who he said have refused to learn from the past.
Bishop Okonkwo, who spoke at TREM Headquarters in Lagos, on Monday, at a press briefing to herald the celebration of his 80th birthday, noted that all it takes to restructure Nigeria is the will power. He described Nigeria’s current political situation as embarrassing, stressing that the country needs to be restructured to provide a level playing field for everybody to aspire to any office, irrespective of religion, tribe or region.
“Nigeria needs to be put in such a way that anyone from any part of Nigeria or from any tribe can aspire to any office in the country without being afraid. Nigeria needs to be restructured as a country where no region will hold the country to ransom. Why should some people think that without them somebody cannot aspire to rule the country?”
He bemoaned the humongous amount of money that political aspirants are expected to spend to get into offices, arguing that such conditions predispose politicians to stealing public money to recoup what they had spent during the electioneering process.
“Somebody, recently, during an interview, was telling us how much it would cost to run for different offices. It will cost this billion to run for this one and that billion for that other position. So, how can anybody expect a new and better Nigeria with this type of thing? It will never happen because if it will cost me billions to run for one office, won’t I look for the money when I get there? I must look for my money.
“So, why can’t we put things in place, so that it will not cost such a huge amount of money for somebody to run for an office, so that we get credible people into the office? Is it that there are no credible people who are brilliant? What are we doing? Look at Burkina Faso of yesterday which is like a backyard for us in Nigeria. What are we doing? We are not there, and let me tell you, it will take a long time to get it right the way we are going,” he warned.
He lamented that politicians, rather than provide the dividends of democracy have chosen to blame the military for all the woes in the country. “Our political leaders have learnt nothing. They blame the military for having spoiled everything in the country; but we now have democracy and things are getting worse instead. We are playing politics with people’s lives. That’s what it is,” he said.
The octogenarian cleric also expressed disappointment at the role of the religious leaders, stressing that most of them preach sin instead of righteousness, hence, leading their followers astray.
“The church has failed. Most men of God are not preaching the gospel, but their opinions. I don’t think there’s any place in the world that would have such a number of Christian gatherings like we have in this country. Prayer times and all the stuff, but there is nothing to show for it. Is there any place where God has raised dynamic, strong leadership in church like in this country? Yet, our nation is the way it is. It embarrasses me as a leader in the body of Christ,” he said.
He decried the level of insecurity in the country, and the insensitivity of the National Assembly to the incessant killings in the country. He cited the case of Benue State, where people were recently massacred, following the herdsmen’s attack; a development that has turned the state into a killing field while the national assembly kept mute.
“If what happened in Benue State in the past weeks should happen in developed countries, their national assembly or their congress will shut down until they find a solution; but here, we don’t care. No one cares about any person,”
He urged politicians, particularly the president, governors and members of the National Assembly, to concentrate on delivering their campaign promises to the people, rather than engaging in campaigns for reelection just two years into their tenure. He noted that if a politician performs very well by delivering his campaign promises, he doesn’t have to bother himself campaigning for reelection as the people would be begging him to re-contest. He stressed that Nigeria requires drastic surgery.
“Let me tell you, our politics requires drastic surgery. It’s not about individuals or parties. I just pray that God will give us a leader who will have the willpower to perform this surgery for us. That’s where we are,” he submitted.
On the possibility of Nigeria relapsing into a one party state following the spate of defections by politicians from different opposition parties to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), he said it would not happen because Nigeria is too multifaceted.
“Listen, if anyone attempts it, there will be an implosion in that party. It can never be. Forget about all that is going on, it can’t be. It cannot work in our time and, more so, when people have become enlightened. It’s not like before when there was no information; it will not happen. Let them forget about it. It’s all a joke. Nigeria cannot have a one party system,” he said.
Bishop Okonkwo equally thanked God for attaining the age of 80 in good health. He said: “I consider myself blessed that God has allowed me, in his infinite mercy, to come to this age. And not just coming to this age, but coming to this age and not falling apart. As you can see, I am healthy and strong and still active.
“So, there is no way I can quantify my gratitude to God. It’s something I do every day. One of my regular sayings is that when you wake up in the morning, and you are able to go to the bathroom yourself, you are able to dress yourself, and you are able to urinate, don’t take it for granted. It’s something that you should say, ‘Lord, I thank you because it’s not by our power’. Many times, we, as human beings, want to take such things for granted.
“We think, oh, it’s normal when I sleep I wake up. There are people who have gone to sleep and never woke up. So, I really have nothing to say other than thank you to the Almighty God.”