Bishop Seun Adeoye is the General Overseer of Sufficient Grace & Truth Ministry, Okinni, Osun State, and the spokesman, World Bishop Council, Africa. In this interview with TIMOTHY AGBOR, the cleric argues why Igbo should be allowed to rule Nigeria. He explains that the country would continue to witness crisis should the Eastern part fails to produce President in 2023. Excerpts:
Nigeria just turned 61 last Friday. Is her development commensurate with her age?
If you compare Nigeria to the age of a man, then it suffices to say Nigeria has not fulfilled its destiny because if a man reaches the age of 61, well, he ought to have achieved virtually everything. If you look at a nation, it grows and continues to grow. For instance, I believe America has been in existence for over 200 years, a lot of people have come and gone. If you look at Nigeria, it is like a tree that continues to grow and it’s growing.
It’s not on all sides that we will say we have done bad; no, it’s not! Politically, we have not done badly, particularly if you look at this dispensation. If we can maintain the political structure as it is, especially the new era that we are, from 1999 till now, and yet, in spite of all the challenges, we are still holding forth to this political dispensation, you will know that we have not really done badly. But, economically, we have done very, very badly. We are told that Nigeria and South Korea, Nigeria and Indian, Nigeria, and some other countries that we were in the same categories have done and doing well and Nigeria is doing very badly
This boils down to leadership. Generally, the problem we have in Nigeria is the problem of leadership. We have not got it right. It is being so bad that we can’t pinpoint any of our leaders who have done well economically.
Except for Obasanjo who tried as much as possible to bridge the gap between the lower, the middle and the upper classes. This time around, I am not even sure if we have the middle class again. It was when Obasanjo came that we got debt forgiveness and Nigeria was doing very well; people were not really complaining. Then, after him, we see things going down. Now, it has been so bad and I don’t know who will take us out of this quagmire. We have been enmeshed in an economic crisis that is not too good for us and that’s why you see younger ones running away from Nigeria, running away to countries that can’t stand Nigeria. Imagine, Nigerians running away to Poland and Ukraine.
“For instance, look at the Southwest, we have heard Tinubu, Osinbajo may likely be having interest, we have heard of the Governor of Ekiti State, Fayemi, we have had of the Kogi State Governor who wants to contest; who is coming out from the East? Nobody! They should come out because nobody will come and give it to them
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There are agitations for self-determination. Will Nigeria be better to split or kept together?
In cases of agitation where some people feel that we should break Nigeria into pieces, I am not one of those who buy into that idea because I realise that one major problem that we have as Nigerians is the problem of leadership and injustice. I am someone who clamour that for now, the East should be given the chance to rule Nigeria by 2023. Let’s someone come from the East. If we say Nigeria is standing on a tripod, the North, the West, and the East. The North and West had their chances and for the past 50 years, the East has not gotten there, of course, there would be a crisis and they will tell you that they are not part of Nigeria because they don’t give them the chance. Some people feel it’s their birthright to rule and to lead Nigeria. What we need to do is not to break down Nigeria but to get good leaders who will do well. During the time of Obasanjo, I am not sure if anyone came out and say, let the East go, let the West go, no. Everyone felt that they were fulfilled. We have the government now which believes only in their own, and that’s why you see all these crises. To me, Nigeria should remain. I told some people that if Southwest should go their way, in the next few years, you will see the Ijebus trying to have their nation among the Yorubas, you will see the Ekitis trying to have their nation, you will see the Oyos saying they are the majority and so should be a nation, the Egbas, and others will do same. So, how many times are we going to break up? Good leadership is what we need. If we have good leaders who can ensure justice, who can ensure that the constitution that we have is operative, I am not sure anyone would say let us go out of this country.
Do you think 2023 will give us the good leadership that we yearn for?
I still doubt and let me blame the East for that. Some of us are agitating that the East should produce the next president but our Igbo brothers should know that nobody will take the presidency to them and say take it. How many people are coming out from that end to say they want to contest? There was a time I wrote the Ohaneze group that they should not just sit down. They should go around on advocacy to all the governors in the North, West and East and they should go to all the stakeholders, to tell them the necessity of the East producing the President.
For instance, look at the Southwest, we have heard Tinubu, Osinbajo may likely be having interest, we have heard of the Governor of Ekiti State, Fayemi, we have had of the Kogi State Governor who wants to contest; who is coming out from the East? Nobody! They should come out because nobody will come and give it to them. By now, we should have been hearing many aspirants from that end coming out to assure Nigerians that they will govern Nigeria well and better, but nobody. That’s why I don’t think 2023 will give us that results except the people that are involved rise and say we are ready for it. If they say they are ready for it, people like me will rise and say let’s give them support. We will go around and campaign for them because justice demand that they should be part of it if we say that we are children of the same father and this is our father’s land, then we should not push some people out and say they cannot be part of Nigeria.
Have the dreams of the founding fathers been realised or wasted?
We should understand that the founding fathers were not dreaming of Nigeria, they were dreaming of their region.
In most cases, Awolowo as a person was thinking of what will happen in the West, Tafawa Balewa as a person was thinking of what will happen in the North, Nnamdi Azikiwe was thinking of what will happen in the East on their dreams. Their dreams were not about the whole bloc of Nigeria, it was regional. It was later that people started agitating for a whole nation where the North, East and West will come together under one umbrella. I have said it that if we break up Nigeria, we are going to break up Africa because if we look at the shape, God himself is not making a mistake, Nigeria is the trigger and in the heart of Africa. If you remove the heart of a man, he is dead. So, if we take Nigeria out of Africa, there won’t be Africa again. Many people don’t understand that if we begin to break, this may be the end of Nigeria. God has made Nigeria to be the heart of Africa. Nigeria is also the largest black nation in the world.
What’s the way out?
The way out is good leadership. That is what we need and for now, we are getting it wrong and the present one at the Federal Government level is the worst of them all. If the head is good, all others will do well. A leader should be able to be up and doing. The kind of leader that we need now is not the one that will sit in Aso Rock and start dishing out orders, it’s somebody that should move everywhere. We don’t need leaders that will sit in the air condition and start giving directives. We need somebody we can see. Leaders that will be involved.
Leaders that will be ready to serve and not the ones that will be coming to Osogbo and they will close all the roads. We need a leader that will hold on to justice.
