By Olayinka Latona
As activities geared towards the 2023 general elections gathers momentum, Nigerian missionary based in the Philippines and the Senior Pastor of The Evangelical Ark Mission TEAM, Bishop Tony Marioghae has advised Nigerians to use their vote to set Nigeria on the path of peace, prosperity and progress.
Urging Nigerians not to allow the current challenges in the country to push them into despair and political apathy, Bishop Marioghae said, “Our vote is our power to turn our pain into purpose and tests into testimonies of victory that will reverberate worldwide.”
The Bishop charged Nigerians to elect a president with vigour, compassion, knowledge and competence to tackle the many problems of the country.
Describing the forth coming elections as a golden opportunity to salvage the soul of Nigeria and pull it out of the hands of people that have held it down for several decades, Bishop Marioghae, in a statement made available to Vanguard asked voters to vote pragmatic and visionary leader who has a production mindset to meet all domestic challenges and the global and technological demands of the 21st century.
In his words: “A country that has produced many world-acclaimed icons and achievers in all spectrums of life should never surrender its highest office to incompetent politicians and the worst elements in our society. Enough is enough. We must use our votes to send a clear message to the corrupt cabal that Nigeria is not for sale. Nelson Mandela once said, “real leaders must be ready to sacrifice all for the freedom of their people”.
“We should never allow religious and tribal barriers to divide our ranks. We must be resolute with our demands for positive change. We should never allow our sufferings to push us into despair and political apathy.
“Our vote is our power to turn our pain into purpose and tests into testimonies of victory that will reverberate worldwide. Let us elect a president with vigour, compassion, knowledge and competence to tackle the many problems of Nigeria, the person who will never betray the electoral mandate of the people who hired him to serve them.
“To achieve this, we have a responsibility to embrace quality leadership, common sense legislation, accountability and competent execution of meaningful projects. Nigerians should learn to look inward through innovative thinking, prudent planning and thrifty spending habits.
Continuing; “We do not want a flamboyant “emperor” as our president. We need a servant-leader who understands the daunting task ahead of him. It is needful to remind Nigerians of the urgency of the moment with the words of the American Senator from Georgia, Reverend Raphael Warnock, “a vote is a kind of prayer for the kind of world we desire for ourselves and our children.”
The cleric noted that with Nigeria’s vast mineral resources and untapped potential, “our people should never live in abject poverty. We must rely on our shared vision rather than the goodwill of western nations and China to carve our destiny.”
He said the Buhari government has plunged Nigeria into the abyss, “Since the inception of this government, the nation has changed drastically. Still, it was a change that has traumatised Nigerians in all facets of life – with the legacy of corruption, disunity, nepotism, insecurity, terrorism, inflation, gasoline scarcity, food scarcity, and the highest unemployment rate in the nation’s history.
“Nigerians have never experienced anything as terrible as this. Inaction at this crucial time is an irresponsible act of unpatriotism. We must vote to liberate this nation from the claws of the insidious by electing the most competent presidential candidate and qualified lawmakers.”
He counseled that the incoming president of Nigeria should work “towards decentralising and empowering the states and local governments for maximum productivity by assigning more responsibilities to the local units through constitutional restructuring.”
“For accelerated progress, the nation should decentralize and empower the states and local governments for maximum productivity by assigning more responsibilities to the local units through constitutional restructuring.”