From Ogbonnaya Ndukwe, Aba
Nigerian leaders have been challenged to evolve better ways of healing the wounds inflicted on the citizens by the rising cost of living instead of subjecting them to further hardships. This is as public office holders elected in the 2023 general elections across the country, line up programmes to mark their second anniversary on May 29.
Anglican Archbishop of Aba Province and Bishop, Diocese of Isiala Ngwa South, Abia State, Most Rev Isaac Nwaobia, made the call in his presidential address during this year’s Sixth Synod of the Diocese, at St Mary’s Church, Mbutu.
He said many Nigerians now feel abandoned, caught in the widening gap between promise performance by the country’s leaders and pleaded that nepotism, corruption and disregard for public accountability must not be encouraged to find comfort in the seat of power.
“Leadership is a sacred calling. The mantle you wear is not merely political, it is deeply spiritual. The book of Romans 13 reminds us that leaders are God’s servants for the good of the people.
“Good governance is not measured by political victories or international diplomacy alone, but by the welfare of the poor, the protection of the vulnerable and the preservation of truth.”
Nwaobia, who doubles as leader of the Southern Nigeria Anglican Bishops Conference, urged the government to reflect justice, stressing that anything short of that becomes tyranny under a different name.
He charged the judiciary not to allow itself to be compromised, adding that justice must be done and seen to be right.
“The judiciary, when compromised, becomes a dagger to the heart of democracy. Justice must not only be done, it must be seen to be done. Our courts must not become tools for political manipulation. When courtrooms lose their moral compass, streets are filled with frustration and trust in institutions decay.”
He concluded by urging the leaders to do so with conscience that allows the common man to breathe, the farmer to thrive and the market woman to be able to smile again, noting that reforms should have compassion, strategy and accountability.
While assuring President Tinubu and other leaders that the message was borne out of love, prayer and patriotic concern for the good of the country, Archbishop Nwaobia, begged that, “We must not balance the books by breaking the backs of the poor.”
Over 20 top clerics and laity from the Anglican family across the South East, South West, South South and other parts of the country and beyond, attended the Synod with the theme, “Transformational Leadership: A Panacea for Total Development, Philippians 4 verse 8.”