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From Jude Owuamanam, Jos
The Anglican Bishop of Jos and Archbishop of the Ecclesiastical Province of Jos, Church of Nigeria Anglican Communion, Rev. Benjamin Kwashi, has identified cheating, lying and stealing, as the vices hindering the growth of Nigeria as a nation.
He said what Nigeria needs at this difficult time are transformational leaders, who will translate Nigeria’s dreams into reality.
Speaking at the Maiden edition of Youth National Conference on Social Justice organised by the International Organisation For Peace Building and Social Justice (PSJ) in Jos, the bishop said it was only the younger generation that can drive the process.
He said Nigerians were no longer interested in people who would always remind them of their problems, but on those who can lead the process of solving them.
Dwelling on the holy scriptures, Kwashi said the nation progresses anytime an honest man is on the throne because honesty exalts a nation but sin is a reproach.
“We are not looking at people who will always tell us our problems because we know them. We are looking for the people that will solve our problems. We are looking for reformers and transformational leaders.”
He admonished the youth that it’s not enough for them to seek to take over political power through vying for political offices during elections, but to also strive to occupy sensitive positions in ministries and department of government establishments.
He said that through this, they’ll be able to position themselves in positions of authority as decision makers, adding that if youths pursue education and become lawyers, accountants, engineers, and so on, they will frustrate efforts by corrupt politicians to always set the nation back through their corrupt practices.
The cleric said the present day politicians have not only succeeded in destroying the country, but have also divided citizens along the religious lines to further actualise their aim of perpetuating themselves in power.
Kwashi noted that one of the tools to break the circle of these wicked politicians is to get the youths educated and informed of these evil devices, insisting that education remains one of the positive ways to liberate the youths.
He said when today’s youths become reformers tomorrow and occupy the judiciary, even when merchandising politicians rig elections for their children and cronies, the orientated judiciary will sack them from office.
He decried the fact that Nigerians don’t have regard for life, saying majority of those killed in Nigeria were poor people.
“Seventy farmers were killed in Zamfara and nobody raised an eyebrow. But, in France, six people were killed and world leaders gathered. On September 11, 2011, 3000 were killed in the US and the government made sure it never happened again, but on September 7, just two days before 9/11, more than 500 people were killed in Jos, and since then thousands of people have been killed in Jos. The killings haven’t stopped.”
The keynote speaker, who is also the Vice Chancellor of the University of Mkar in Benue State, Prof. Zachary Gundu, said it is time for the youths to begin to think for themselves rather than allowing the present day politicians to think for them.
Gundu said the country is where it is today because those who were supposed to chart a new course for the country were filled with greed and selfishness.
“We are allowing people to think for us and when we allow them to think for us, it is certainly not in our interest.
“We must get the youths to begin to imagine the type of world they want to live in; a world that will be fair to everyone.
“When we get the youths to think, they will begin to create the foundation they want to see in their families, and the country at large,” he said.
Also speaking on the topic, ‘The Role of Women and Youths in Nation Building,’ an activist, Khadijat Abdullahi Iya, said there was a need to probe the progeny of most politicians.
She said it was unimaginable that some politicians steal for generations they never knew would be born.
“We need to ask who the mothers of these politicians are because I can’t imagine what their mothers tell them when they bring stolen money home.
“There’s a spiritual element to stealing and looting and that’s why I recommend that leaders should have a psychiatric test, while seeking elective office. I don’t see why somebody will steal for generations he does not even know will be born.
“It’s also good to know the parentage of such leaders by asking who their mothers are. Who are the mothers of those stealing and what do such mothers say when they come home with such monies?”
The Executive Director of the International Organisation for Peace Building and Social Justice (PSJ), Ishaya Inuwa Durkwa, said the goal of the conference was to provide a platform for knowledge sharing, collaboration and networking, among civil society organisations, academics, government representatives, and other stakeholders.
