PUNCH
A Nigerian cleric based in the Philippines, Rev. Tony Marioghae, on Saturday, advised Nigerians never to surrender the Presidency to incompetent politicians and the worst elements in the forthcoming presidential election, saying, “this could be the last chance.”
He also warned that the misconduct of a few must not be the yardstick for measuring the integrity of all Nigerians.
While he believed that Nigeria parades hard-working and intelligent people who know how to make the right choices when the occasion demands, the cleric advised that, “we should never allow religious and tribal barriers to divide our ranks; we must be resolute with our demands for positive change.”
According to him, with Nigeria’s vast mineral resources and untapped potential, the country should never live in abject poverty and rely on shared visions, rather than the goodwill of western nations and China to carve the nation’s destiny.
Marioghae, Presiding Bishop of The Evangelical Ark Mission International, Philippines, raised the issues in a statement in Abuja titled, “2023 Election: This could be Nigeria’s last chance.”
He described the coming presidential election as the nation’s most divisive but consequential because people were fed up with the status quo and wanted genuine change.
“The most radical elements in our midst even desire a people’s revolution. After eight years of this present administration, the nation has moved closer to the edge of the abyss.
“One more mistake may cause irreversible damage to our political entity. Nigerians must choose wisely by elevating the nation’s destiny above personal interests and sentiments.
“Patriotism demands painful sacrifices,” Marioghae said in a statement in Abuja.
Marioghae said since the inception of the present government of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), the nation had changed drastically, even though it was a change that had 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.
