Ihedioha says Nigeria’s political class has largely not delivered on its mandate, which is promotion of public good
Former Governor of Imo State, Emeka Ihedioha, has called on Christians in the country to help in rescuing Nigeria’s democracy by tasking the leadership in ensuring the enthronement of good governance.
Ihedioha, former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, said this in his keynote speech in Abuja on Saturday at the 2022 Annual St. Paul Lecture organised by the National Missionary Seminary of St. Paul, Gwagwalada.
Speaking on the theme, “Constructing redemptive narratives of hope in Nigeria through Christian faith,” Ihedioha emphasised on the need for the Church to step in and halt the drift.
Commending the Catholic Church, Ihedioha said the lecture couldn’t have come at a more auspicious time than now that Nigeria is preparing for the 2023 elections.
“In less than 13 months from now, we will be going to the polls to, once again, perform our civic responsibility of electing those who will be making the authoritative allocation of our collective values in the next four years,” he said.
“To me, therefore, a lecture that is intricately woven around Christian faith, political leadership and the future of Nigeria is most desirable because it provides us with an opportunity to dispassionately appraise our political peregrination in this highly faith-based nation.
“This is necessary in order to develop a philosophical framework of action constructed around time-tested religious ethos that are needed to jumpstart our stagnated national development.”
Ihedioha, who said that Nigeria’s political class has largely not delivered on its mandate, which is promotion of public good, said the trend is not likely to change until many more men of goodwill step up to the plate.
“Here, the people have a critical role to play because what is required to make Nigeria better is for the electorate to take painstaking steps to recruit more of the diligent class of politicians to manage government business.”
Lamenting what he described as the the failure of the churches to encourage and support members who have imbibed the right religious culture and values to contest elections as a process of reforming and cleansing the political leadership cadre for the enhancement of public welfare, Ihedioha said that has to stop for the sake of the country.
He said: “Ideally, democracy, which is an active process of civic engagement, should help in fast-tracking development. It does this by ensuring that everyone has an equal voice no matter where they are from or their political opinion. It gives all a sense of security.
“As Joshua Butler, an American scholar noted, ‘Democracy isn’t simply about electoral politics; it’s about having a voice and holding the powers that be to account. It is more than a cross on a piece of paper, it’s the value that everyone should have a say in the way the world works, and should be invested in it changing for the better.’
“This cannot be said to be true of our democracy. How can we come back on track? What role can the church play?”
Urging the Church to rise to the occasion, the former federal lawmaker said: “Since 1960 that the nation gained independence which resulted in the transfer of the responsibility of management of government business from the colonialists to the Nigerian political class, the Christian faith has not effectively reflected on the political structures of the nation.
“This is inherently so because churches as faith-based institutions, agents of socialization and custodians of moral theology have not been able to rise to the occasion by mobilizing their members to participate fully in the electoral process in order to ensure the recruitment of God-fearing candidates into political leadership positions.
“For democracy to thrive in Nigeria, the leadership recruitment process must be straightened out and that can only happen in a country with a virile electoral process. The churches as veritable agents of socialization and infinite mobilization capacity must play a critical role,” Ihedioha said.
He urged the Church to identify its members with the right values and encourage them to run for elective offices.
Ihedioha who commended the Catholic clergy in Nigeria, particularly the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) for playing a significant role in our national life and always speaking truth to power, however, singled out for special praise “the Catholic Church in my home state, Imo, that has consistently stood for the truth even in the face of intimidation by those who think they have mastered the inelegant art of playing God.”
The lecture reads in part: “Nigeria’s political class has largely not delivered on its mandate, which is promotion of public good. While there are some bright, agenda-setting political leaders out there with commensurate audacity to walk their talk in promoting common good, they are in the minority. If not, after 23 years of uninterrupted democracy, Nigeria would have been a better place than it is today.
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“That trend has to change and it cannot change until many more men of goodwill step up to the plate. Here, the people have a critical role to play because what is required to make Nigeria better is for the electorate to take painstaking steps to recruit more of this diligent class of politicians to manage government business.
“Interestingly, it is much easier to run a focused, agenda-setting and result-oriented government than to do otherwise.
“This assertion is bound to elicit two questions. The first is why do I say so and the second is if, indeed, it is true, why do majority of our leaders prefer to hitch a ride on the boulevard deceit?
“The answer to the first question is that Nigerians are easy to govern. Their demands are few. The average Nigerian works hard. All he or she is asking from his government is an enabling environment. He is grateful when you build roads, provide pipe-borne water, quality healthcare and education. He is over the moon if he gets electricity to run his business. Provide those basic necessities of life which are taken for granted in other climes and they sing your praises to high heavens. And Nigerians respect, in fact, worship leadership.
“So, why is leadership failing grossly in Nigeria? Greed, avarice, and lack of capacity. A number of persons who ultimately come into leadership positions don’t have the required capacity for the task they have undertaken. Again, when people’s route to power discountenances the people, they are emboldened to think that they can rule without any consequences.”
Ihedioha, however, asked the people not to despair, insisting that there will always be light at the end of the tunnel.
“We cannot give up on the country. I am optimistic that Nigeria will overcome particularly if the Christian community steps into the void by providing leadership or consciously helping in the recruitment of credible people into positions of governance through the electoral process.
“Church leaders should encourage and support members who have demonstrated high level of integrity and fear of God to be elected into government and act as a watchdog on the electoral umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) by ensuring that it becomes truly independent. With the advancement in technology, INEC has no excuse not to enthrone a transparent electoral process.
“Christians should come out in their numbers on Election Day and ensure that they vote for credible candidates. It is a sacred duty. They should also consistently engage elected officials in their respective constituencies and hold them to account.
“Even in this very dark moment in our national life, we must be hopeful even as we continue to look up to God in prayers.
“Optimism oils the wheels of everyday living because it helps when a people are having a rough patch, as Nigerians are right now, to look up to the Cross from where our strength comes from. That is where hope, which simply means being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness around us, comes in.
“Nigerian Catholics have a prayer for Nigeria in distress. We must continue to pray for our dear nation.
“As Charles Spurgeon, the English Baptist preacher, said, “Hope is like a star – not to be seen in the sunshine of prosperity, and only to be discovered in the night of adversity,” a sentiment which was amplified years later by Martin Luther King Jr., the American Baptist minister and civil rights icon, who said, “We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.”
“Hope is transcendental, a powerful force and the most important factor to overcoming life’s biggest challenges. As it is for individuals, so it is also for nations.
“But even as we hope and pray, we must not forget to play our part.
“Given that we are called upon to go to the polls again next year and we pray and hope that the institutions of state will rise to the occasion, let us also remember that left on their own, they may not.
“The only thing that will guarantee that is the vigilance of the people. As Thomas Jefferson, former U.S. President, once said, “Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.”
“As it is said, “the condition upon which God hath given liberty to man is eternal vigilance.”
“Evil doers are not going to repent of their evil ways unless there is a compelling reason for them to do so.
“And this is where the Church steps in. We must task the leadership in ensuring the enthronement of good governance in our country.”