By Olayinka Latona

The Baba Aladura Elect of Eternal Sacred Order of the Cherubim and Seraphim, ESOCS, Church worldwide,  Elder David Bob-Manuel yesterday said Nigeria must exploit its diversity to fast-track the social and economic development of all sectors of the country.

Speaking during his official introduction as the Baba Aladura elect of ESOCS, Elder  Bob-Manuel said current secessionist agitations would only roll back what was built for decades and would not augur well for the country.

He also stressed that what Nigeria needed was unity of purpose and political stability to be able to address its developmental challenges.

In his words: “The state of our nation today is very worrisome, we have been facing the challenges of insurgency, Boko Haram, kidnapping and other vices although this is not only unique to Nigeria but we must have faith in God because we believe He has the power to turn the tide around for good for us in Nigeria’

“Nigerians should unite to fight our common enemy, we cannot continue like this, peace is needed in our country, when we are united, there will be peace and this will bring about massive progress in all areas of our economy.”

In his acceptance speech, the 79-year-old cleric stated that he will ensure that the roles of women and youth in the church is improved during his tenure as Baba Aladura adding that he will continue to foster spiritual revival, evangelism, righteous and holy living in the church.