From Priscilla Ediare, Ado Ekiti
The planter of Christ Apostolic Church, BOANERGES, Worldwide, Prophet Ade Ologbonyo, has advised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu not to appoint old politicians as members of his cabinet but to engage only young and brilliant Nigerians who can bring something to the table.
The prophet who said President Tinubu should scout for competent hands noted that having competent people to work with the president will ensure the development of the country.
Ologbonyo stated this while addressing newsmen after the concluding session of the ministry’s 14th-anniversary programme in Ise/Orun Ekiti, Ekiti State.
He also told the president to call the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) Nnamdi Kanu and Yoruba Nation agitator, Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho to a roundtable meeting to unite the country.
The man of God explained that the country is blessed with both human and natural resources with lots of qualified individuals that can deliver.
“With very young and vibrant people, Mr President can sit down, sleep and put people in positions and offices and the country will be running well. Go anywhere in the world you will see Nigerians doing well. Our youth are strong and not lazy. We need to give these good Nigerians a platform and enabling environment to operate.
“Not those that have been politicians since 1960 and they are still being recycled in power. They are old let them go. Let us have fresh, vibrant, brilliant people, they can do a lot. He should allow and give them the opportunity to serve.”
The cleric who prayed to God to give the president the wisdom to choose the right people as members of his cabinet said “If you look at the time he was the governor of Lagos state, the set of people he appointed then were better. The people that worked with him did their best. We are praying for him because he is now President of Nigeria and not Lagos. We are having over 250 ethnic groups in Nigeria and over 300 languages.
“Every available group within the system would want to have influence and adequate representation. Lots of influence will be coming from politicians, traditional rulers even religious leaders too. We need to keep praying for him that God will guide him right to appoint the right people as members of his cabinet. Proverb 29 verse 2 said when the righteous are on the throne, people will enjoy but when the wicked are on the throne, the people mourn. I am not a politician and I will not be unless God said so. But the body language of Mr President and most of his since assumption of office indicated that we have a hope that if he continues like this without deceit, things will get better.
“Recently, he invited traditional rulers from across the country to talk to them. Those are the steps a good leader should take. He is not the president of just APC or PDP but the president of over 200 million people, he needs to carry everybody along.”
On the need for the President to dialogue with Kanu and Igboho, he said, “I wouldn’t mind if the President can invite and negotiate with those that are agitating for a nation of their own to forestall unity in Nigeria. If it is Nnamdi Kanu that is agitating for instance in Igboland, Sunday Igboho in Yorubaland, he should call them to a roundtable and talk to them. If that is what is going to unite the country, he should do it. If they have to be offered something, they should be engaged to provide security in their regions so that there will be peace and unity and the agitation will stop.
“To lead requires wisdom. This is what God says, it is my personal opinion as a citizen and as a person who wants his country to move forward. That was what late president Yar’Adua did for those Niger Delta boys when he gave them amnesty and they immediately sheathed their sword. The people locking people in and holding them hostage in a democratic dispensation is not right, we are not in a military era. I believe within this short while if we are patient with Tinubu and praying for him and he has good advisers around him because he can’t be all in all, having good ministers to work with and state governors are supporting him.”
Ologbonyo who urged the new administration to cut down the cost of governance said “One of the things I want this new government to do is to cut down the salaries and the money that is going into politics.
“The money being expended on politics and politicians is too much. How can you be paying a professor less than four hundred thousand naira and the school certificate holder will get 15 million naira at the end of the month? Let us make the positions a part-time thing and start giving them a 20 thousand naira sitting allowance. It is because of the huge salaries and other entitlements, that is why some are ready to kill to get to the position. Ditto for the governors, after leaving office, they get houses, and cars, and take gratuities and pensions for ruling for eight years, this is outrageous and bad. If they want to rule us let them rule and leave not that when they leave they will continue taking away our resources. The state and national assemblies are working toward having the same thing.
“I believe that this government has a lot of work to do, Though, we don’t expect magic or anything sudden. Let’s give the government time to see what they want to do.”
He accused the suspended Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefele of subjecting Nigerians to untold hardship with the new naira notes policy.
“In the course of pains, he still added another pain making you use money to buy your own money. I don’t know where such a policy came from. Now that he has been suspended, it is a relief to Nigerians He caused the people’s psychology torture with the policy.”
The prophet who urged the government to come up with palliatives to cushion the effects of the subsidy removal on the people, however, said that President Tinubu was in haste to do something.
“Because, if you look at the 2023 budget, this subsidy of a thing stopped in June. I think the time he said the subsidy is gone should be the time he should start negotiating with labour so that by the time the subsidy is legally gone, he would have gotten a plan to cushion the effects of the removal.
“Those are the things he should have done first because if you have the understanding of the budget subsidy automatically is gone before its arrival. He was just in a hurry to let people know that. It is good that he pronounced it to the common man who doesn’t know what is going on in the budget, this thing is gone fine, but the elites knew that the subsidy is ending by June. So telling us is gone is right but I thought he could have negotiated palliatives, discuss with people and increase workers’ salaries. Infact, labour doesn’t need to fight for that. Nigeria is one of the poorest in terms of civil service in Africa. They pay them good salaries in other African countries, go to other African countries they are paying them more than Nigeria.”
Speaking on the role religious leaders should play in society to stamp out crimes and criminality in the country, he said”To sustain and give the people of the country a better life is not the responsibility of the government alone.
“And if you look around here now, we are playing our own role. We have a school here at a very cheap rate, we also have a hospital here that could be accessed free of charge. We also give stuff like grinding machines and other stuff out to empower people so that they won’t go around begging. So if I have pastors of like minds in this environment, we have made our own contribution.
“And the kind of message we are preaching, on Preaching of prosperity, sudden wealth must be changed. Somebody who is not working and has a known source of income suddenly buys cars and builds houses.
“They will bring you money you will not ask where they got it from and you will be prophesying they will get more tomorrow saying the source will not run dry. You are only encouraging internet fraud, kidnapping and other criminal acts.
“Religious leaders should be wary of the message they preach. Sometimes what some people hear makes them do what is not right. Preach what is right for our youth to be able to live the life that is acceptable to man and God and for them to know that making it in life is not a day job.”