By Agatha Emeadi
“Nigeria is at the crossroads, so if we get the wrong people elected to offices again, that will be the end of Nigeria. Nigeria is about to knock engine. We cannot survive three bad governments and another one; so, we have to get the right people into government now.
Dr. Mark Igiehor is a lawyer with solid experience in the Oil & Gas Industry, and currently a pastor in the Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG, in Scotland. Through his non-governmental organisation, Successful Nations and Government Institute (SONG), Dr. Igiehon is passionately shaping the future of young people, teaching them to be faithful citizens, who will help their communities and nation when they become leaders.
In this interview, he explains why Nigerians cannot afford to make another electoral mistake in the 2023 election and put bad, corrupt, visionless leaders in office.
Please give us a snapshot of yourself?
I was born in Benin City, the Edo State capital. I did all my schooling in the state, studied Law and graduated from Bendel State University, then called Ambrose Alli University. Thereafter, I went to the Nigeria Law School, when it was located in Lagos. After being called to the Bar, I served the mandatory national youth service at Ibadan. We had the orientation in Ede, which was then in Oyo State. That was in the days of the old Oyo State, which we enjoyed. As a young lawyer, we did some work with the Ministry of Justice, where we wrote old laws into new laws. After that, I visited Lagos briefly before I proceeded to Kano which was a very fascinating experience for me. It was in Kano that my faith in Christ really grew.
Where and how did you encounter Christ?
I was brought up in the Baptist Church and gave my life to Christ when I was a student in the university, but it was when I was in Law School that I started following God seriously and my faith grew stronger while I lived in Kano. You see, I had a lot of personal questions for God about life and its purposes. One particular Sunday, someone invited me to The Redeemed Evangelical Mission (TREM). While worshipping I had a sense of heaven, being in His presence was my own personal moment, not the word.
How did the Kano experience enhance your knowledge of professional legal practice?
During those days when I was practising in Kano, my principal was MD Wali. I was thoroughly exposed to litigation and Corporate Law practice. I still remember some of the appeals we did, but the most significant one was about a community in the East that had a long dispute for many years. It was an eye opener to me, as to how generations of families could be entangled in a land tussle, which could end up at the Supreme Court. From Kano I went to London for my master’s degree. While pursuing the master’s programme, I stumbled on Oil and Gas solutions and got interested. I wrote to the university and got a scholarship for the programme. When I returned to Nigeria, I was invited by Shell BP join the firm in Warri. The city was very peaceful then until the Ijaw/Itshekiri brouhaha broke out. Before then, Warri was great. We were there for almost one year, but later I was transferred to Port Harcourt where I spent four years before I was posted to United Kingdom. While I was in Port Harcourt, I grew spiritually alongside my profession. I was with The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) as a minister and pastor of a church. When I was leaving Nigeria to take up a position abroad, RCCG tasked me to start a mission work which I have been doing since then. My ordination in RCCG was in 1999.
Was it like growing up?
I grew up in Benin City which was so beautiful then. We grew up when public power supply was stable and pipe-borne from the Water Corporation flowed freely from public taps. We had a telephone line from Nitel, which worked, and life was so sweet. I remember that during the holidays, the Benin Library had the children’s section, where children’s movies were projected for us to watch, free. Most parents brought their children and we felt that communal living. It was a different country from what it is now. Even during the first year in the university, back then, we paid 50k for each meal of the day and of course, it included chicken. It is a mystery how things got to where the country is now.
What prompted you to establish SONG?
While in Port Harcourt I was driving to Benin one day. At Yenagoa junction, I switched on my radio to listen to a broadcast that featured one of the former governors from the South-south. The topic was the 13 per cent derivation allocated to oil producing states. The governor was asked what he would do with all the money. The then governor had a long laughter and said, ‘If they give me all the money in Abuja, it will not be enough for what I want to do.” But he could not mention one thing he could do, and it dawned on me that the problem we have in Africa is not only corruption but that most leaders have no idea, have no inkling of what government and governance is. It dropped in my spirit that these same leaders have no plans and no preparation. That has been the motivation over the years. Then the one that led to this movement was in 2013, when I came to Lagos and was around until 1st October. A friend of mine who has a church in Lekki invited me to a midweek prayer service to say something to us. I asked the Lord: ‘What do I tell your people? The Lord said, “tell them that I have heard the prayers of Christians in Nigeria, but I do not have people to use. I will not come down to become governor, senator and leaders in Nigeria. I have sent many people, but they go there and do their things.” So, I told them that it is not as if God has not heard the prayers of the people, but who shall go for us? There was also a message from God about a former president when they had crisis in one of the parties. What that president needed was people who would help and build the next generation that would not fail. So, this former head of state called me in Aberdeen and acknowledged the message. That was how it all started and in 2015, we launched SONG in Aberdeen. It is an African movement meant to use Africans in the Diaspora to collaborate with the government and salvage nations, raise worthy leaders and ambassadors who will not fail their countries. It has been noticed that all African complaints are the same, though some are a bit better, but a great number of them are complaining seriously. And for many of them, Nigeria is the problem because Nigeria is the first born of the African race who should raise hope for others. Therefore, we started this movement with a motto that says, ‘Stop complaining, start organizing; Stop agonizing, start organizing.’ We are giving the platform to those diasporans who are passionate about Nigeria, how they can contribute without physically being in government. Secondly, SONG is shaping the future of the young people to be faithful, help their communities and nation during their own time. We call it ‘shape the future, shape our future.’ That is the reason we have been holding seminars, workshops, webinars in campuses where we can find the young ones. We are already teaching them the principles of government and how one can make change while there. Again, there is need to work with the church and faith-based organizations. Africans are people of faith generally, and have an organized place called church where people are, but we are not making the much impact that we should make. While we pray, we need the church leaders to impact government to be more successful. At SONG therefore, we train church leaders on their mission and goal, hold them accountable and support them in prayers. We also train people and have relationship with those in government and that is why it is called fellowship.
Are you interested in politics?
I am interested in influencing those that are going into politics and various offices but not contesting any election. If half of them have a clue of what they want to do, then we are in a better place. The other thing is calling a blueprint programme in different countries both Europe and Africa like we saw rolling plans as young ones then.
What kind of president should Nigerians elect next years?
Nigeria is at the crossroad, so if we get the wrong people elected to offices again, that will be the end of Nigeria. It is not a vision, but one can tell when a car is about to knock engine. Nigeria is about to knock engine. We cannot survive three bad governments and another one; so, we have to get the right people into government now. The kind of president I want is one that will know how to articulate his vision and dream. Early this year, I asked God, why is it that Nigerian leaders travel abroad, own properties, get quality education, yet will not copy and replicate what they see in their own countries? And the Lord likened the situation to that of Moses who saw the Promised Land but never got in. A lot of leaders cannot take one to where they have not gone. A leader should be like a tour guide who has the knowledge of the tour environment already. But in Africa, we have leaders who have no mental vision and therefore cannot take us there. We need leaders that have strategic visions, big dreams that they can articulate, see those dreams to fruition, and have around them people who will work to achieve those dreams and turn things around.
You are the pastor one of the biggest RCCG churches in Europe. In 2013, you opened a parliament in Edinburgh, and you still remain humble. Is it a reflection of your personality?
I suppose it is because that was how I was brought up. The nature of God’s kingdom is humility, one focuses not on his achievement but what is ahead to achieve. The church has grown but there are still nations to be brought up. When one realizes that there are a lot of things unattended to, then one understands there is nothing to be proud of. Secondly, every achievement that God gives us is a platform to continue.