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By Christy Anyanwu
Bishop Steven Adegbite is wearing many caps. He is the chairman, Christian Association of Nigeria, Lagos State chapter, executive secretary for the Nigerian Christian Pilgrims Commission and the bishop of Methodist Church, Diocese of Ikeja.
In this interview with Sunday Sun, he spoke about the state of the nation and his vision for the Nigerian Christian Pilgrims Commission, among other issues.
What is your assessment of the President Bola Tinubu administration?
The administration of His Excellency, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has been forthright. They are ready to work and they have a lot of wonderful people put together as a team because from what he was able to do in Lagos, we know he has good intentions for Nigeria. And by the special grace of God, Nigeria will soon see the dividends of real democracy and, with great commitment, he is going to deliver. What we need to do is to know that a lot of things have happened in this nation before, and when something is destroyed to rebuild it is going to take a lot of time because you are starting from the foundation, and when you are starting from the foundation you are not just putting soil upon the dry soil, you have to dig, you have to put iron, you have to cast and when you do that you know it will take some time. Apart from that, you can also liken it to somebody that has a fracture that goes for surgery; whatever surgery you might experience, it will take time for such to heal. But Nigerians don’t have the patience to wait and see what will happen. If something is destroyed for many years, it’s not something you fix in a few days or months, but with the commitment of the Federal Government, with the spirit of the president that we know for over 30 years, he has good intentions for Nigeria. The First Lady has good intentions for Nigerians. They don’t want anybody around them to suffer. People in Lagos can testify to that. The time he left office as the governor of Lagos State, whenever people go to their house crying, they laugh and rejoice when coming out. That is the man Asiwaju Bola Tinubu is, and that is what he’s going to be for the rest of his life. What we need to tell Nigerians is to be more patient and give him time. If people are not allowed to farm, how can you get food? If people are driven from their homes, how can we have peace? We must appeal to people who are inimical to Nigeria to ensure that they allow peace to reign so that we can have a greater time together. What is happening now is not peculiar to Nigeria. There is generally economic meltdown in the world. Every country you go to, people are making serious demands on their government. It is not only in Nigeria, it is not limited to Nigeria, but the government of Tinubu has good intentions and must be given more time to fix Nigeria.
But the hardship is too much and people are tired of promises and calls to have patience/renewed hope. Is that what we should be hearing from him?
He’s speaking with a sincere heart. When you look at it, it’s not the money that Asiwaju is looking for to rule Nigeria. He knows the problem of Nigerians and he’s ready to solve it and people must cooperate with him. There are people that are not happy. They believe they have been sidelined. People that believe government and governance is their birthright. There is no way they will be happy with him. They want things to go the normal way and he’s approaching it the unusual way; so, things are not as usual and that is the reality we have to face. If you are given a responsibility, you must be alive to your responsibility and if you cannot do it Asiwaju will get you out because if you want to work with him, you must be up and doing and you must deliver without any excuse. He’s not going to take excuses from any of us that he has appointed. We must do our work well.
With growing hunger in the land, some people want the borders opened, what is your take on that?
It is possible for us to reopen borders, but some conditions have to be in place. You don’t just open borders for borders’ sake. What are the merits and demerits of reopening the borders? If people are sincere, if truly it is beneficial to open the borders, why not? If it is on the notion to take things that belong to Nigeria out again, I say, no. How many trucks were returned to Nigeria fully loaded with food, and people are crying there’s no food, and they are taking our food to neighbouring countries to sell them at higher prices? So, let us do the right thing and ensure that we have what it takes for us to be a nation and not to be under any intimidation from anybody.
What is your view on state police, considering what is happening in the nation?
That is the way to go. I know there are people that do not want to accept it, but that is the way to go. If we have state police, you know my brother, you know my sister. Growing up, in our villages and our towns, everyone knew where to go. If there is state police, there’s no way we won’t know ourselves; because once you accept state policing, you are starting with the local government, you are coming to the wards, and you are coming to each locality. So, if we do that, we know one another and we know the criminals and other elements. If we want to go after them, everybody will go for them. If anybody just enters Lagos or any city anyhow, you don’t know how they come in and they perpetrate evil, you can’t trace them. But if you have state policing, people will know where they are going, they will follow you to your destination and report to people that you are going to see that you are coming. That is what they do in Britain. There are elderly people that are paid to do that. You see them peeping through the window to monitor who is coming and going. Once they see strangers coming to a house, before you know it, the police will come in and they will profile everyone in that house.
We have no choice than to go for state police, if we want to combat crime and criminal elements in our society.
Then are you of the opinion of having the country restructured?
Restructuring might be imminent in our nation, if people don’t want to accept that we are one. If people want to believe that they are the only ones that must rule Nigeria then there is no way that we won’t restructure. But if we support each other despite the difference in tribe and religion, then everybody will have a sense of belonging and we believe in one nation and one Nigeria. But the moment some people believe it’s their birthright to own Nigeria, other regions will also say, no, you are not the only owner of Nigeria, we own Nigeria together. When we get to that point, everybody will say, “To your tents, O Israel. What portion do we have in David? We have no inheritance in the house of Jesse.” We should not get to that point. But if we see that we are one, support whoever is there, after eight years another person will come.
Once we cannot live in harmony and peace, with what we have in Romans, chapter 12, verse 18, then parting ways might be imminent. That is not what we should advocate at this time; but if that is the way forward, what can we do?
If you are together with Mr. President, eyeball to eyeball, what would you say to him about Nigeria and the happenings in the country?
I will pray for him and I will tell him he’s on the right path. I will tell him to continue with what he’s doing, but we must look out for any of the cabinet members that are not doing the right thing and such should be fired. Any one that wants to bring disrepute to the name of his administration must go. If you are appointed to man an office, you won’t expect Mr. President to do it for you. You have been given an opportunity to deliver, you must deliver; that’s the point. And if you know you can no longer deliver, you must throw in the towel and tell the populace that you are sorry, you cannot continue with your portfolio. That is courage. And you go in peace and that is better than asking you to go by force. When I see Mr. President face to face, I will pray for him. I will tell him that I don’t envy his office because I know what he inherited. He inherited a lot of problems, many things that have been put on the ground, but he will succeed. I have no doubt in my mind because he faced the same challenges in Lagos State and he succeeded. Lagos was not given allocation for many years and Lagos State remains the richest in sub-Saharan Africa as a mega state and the leading economy in Africa.
Let’s talk about insecurity in Nigeria with kidnapping on the increase. Why is it getting worse?
It’s part of the handiwork of mischievous people, it is the handiwork of saboteurs because they don’t want anything good for Nigeria. If it is not wickedness or unreasonable thinking of any sensible human being, how can you go and kidnap children? You don’t think of the trauma these children will be passing through. The trauma their parents will be passing through. They are children and not adults, they don’t know anything about the government or about governance, and you have kidnapped them, taken them into custody, torturing children. We must discourage this, we must love one another. We are in the Lenten season in Christendom, Ramadan is going on in the Muslim world, so how can we not come to our senses and behave rationally as human beings for once and let’s have the love of one another at heart and the love of our nation at heart? How can we take people from their schools and take them to the jungle and demand ransom on the life of these children to the extent that some of these children were shot when they were trying to escape? When did we degenerate to this level? Growing up, we went to the farmland with the herdsmen with their cows, and none of them ever attacked us. Their wives gave our mothers the native medicine for malaria and other sicknesses. Their cows never went to our farmlands to destroy our crops. But because of what is happening today, we are witnessing all these. We must work in unity and love one another.
Some people are tired of this government already and are clamouring for military takeover, what is your word on this?
These mischievous people are the ones behind this propaganda and military taking over is not the solution. What magic would any military officer offer now that would solve our problem? Why are we deceiving ourselves? The worst civilian government is better than best military administration. When the military takes over, the Constitution is suspended, decrees will come to stay and with decrees we cannot go to court.
People that are calling for military coup in Nigeria do not know what they are saying, because it will be worse than what they are thinking. There’s nobody that is a fool. Everybody knows where this clamour is coming from. Nigeria belongs to all of us and we must accept the power shift and we must admit that, for now, we must live with the present administration and they must be given time to fix Nigeria. The Villa is not the birthright of any tribe. It is the birthright of all and everyone owns it. Some people ruled before now and nobody complained. Would anyone say we didn’t have problems in the last eight years or in the last 10 years? But those of us who are here, we accepted our fate and we are moving with government, and it got to a time that the power had to shift, and it has changed hands. So, why are they calling for military coup now? Why have they not called for military rule in the last eight to 10 years? What is happening in Nigeria now is not peculiar to Nigeria alone. Go to Ghana, ask about the cost of living. Go to Britain that our people are ‘Japaing’ to. What are they doing in Britain and their experiences in Britain? All the nurses that have gone, how are they faring? Go and ask them. Some of them are returning home because it is not what they thought it was. You will sweat before you get a pound. Have you gone to Britain and seen them dashing you money? How many can dash you £100, where would they get it? The highest they give you is a cup of tea. Or is it America you go to, do they pluck dollars from the tree? I was in America last year and I travelled from New York to New Jersey, a journey of 45 minutes. I paid $180 for a cab. Where will I be going in Nigeria and a driver would tell me to pay N250,000? From morning till night if I engage a taxi,, will I pay N250,000? It is not possible.
I slept in a hotel in New York for $250. No dinner, no complementary breakfast; which hotel will I sleep in in Nigeria and I pay N300,000 and I will not be given food in the night? They will even serve me in the morning in my room. I will live like a king. But that is what people are passing through over there. People who are here are saying we are suffering, there’s hunger. Nobody is saying there is no hunger, nobody is saying we don’t have a challenging period, but we are saying it is not only Nigeria and we are not the worst off. Many nations too are affected. I saw Japan’s uprising and they said, no, we don’t want it. In Britain, salaries were not increased, but taxes were increased. In America the same thing is going on. So, all we need is to pray to our God to bring peace to the world. The war in Iran, the war in Iraq, the war in Afghanistan, the war in Ukraine, the war in Israel and Gaza must come to an end. All these affect many things in the world and we are going to get out of it, by the special grace of God.
As the executive secretary for Nigerian Christian Pilgrims Commission, what are your plans for the office?
We want to take pilgrimage to another level. When people go on pilgrimage, they believe it is a jamboree. Some believe it is a tourist experience and they see themselves as tourists, but it’s not tourism, it’s a spiritual journey, and it’s time to meet with the Lord. For you to have the opportunity to walk where Jesus was born, where he died, where he resurrected and where he ascended is a great experience. For the past 23 years, there is no year I travel on pilgrimage that I don’t have outstanding testimony. I was in Jerusalem when the war started. October 7, I was in Bethlehem, Palestinian territory. I led the Nigerian delegation. I never knew I would be the executive secretary. I led the Nigerian contingent and I brought everyone back home, to the glory of God. Also, beyond pilgrimage, we are to foster good relationships with people of other places to ensure that peace is something that will be in Nigeria. And also look into agriculture and improve our agricultural sector and use the platform to show young people that they can also be part of the pilgrimage but they must return to Nigeria and with the experience you see in a desert that has been turned to gold, let us do it here and it’s doable and it’s possible. And everyone will be satisfied. The pilgrims will be satisfied, the air carrier will be satisfied, the government will be satisfied and the commission will be satisfied. We are not going to shortchange anyone or shortchange Nigerians.
How will you cope with Nigerians who might want to Japa in Israel?
hat is why we are saying we will not tolerate abscondment. I had meetings with the management staff yesterday, that if anybody absconds or tries it that person will go to jail. Anyone that is going with you and you append your signature, he must return to Nigeria. We are going to lay more emphasis on that. There’s nothing you are staying back to do in Israel. I have been there 23 times and I can tell you that it’s better for me here. It is better to stay in Nigeria. We have the best climate all over the world.
