BY AKINWALE ABOLUWADE, IBADAN
Presiding Pastor of Christ Apostolic Church, Arogungbogunmi International, Prophet Richard Kolawole, has saidmany people see the government of President Muhammadu Buhari as sectional and lacking federal character.
The cleric made the declaration in an exclusive telephone interview on the state of the nation with The POINT in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, on Friday.
“So many Nigerians do not take the administration serious. They do not see this government as that of the people. The citizens don’t see this government as belonging to all Nigerians. They see this government as a sectional one. Federal character has been jettisoned. Only a section of the country is being favoured and that is at the expense of the other federating units”, he said.
He attributed the growing agitation for self-determination to this development, “The situation has triggered anger in the people across the country. That is why people are agitating for break up. If this government can make a change, the cry and call for break up would die down naturally. If prices of food should crash today, if fuel pump price is reduced and if insecurity being accentuated in the land by herdsmen’s attack is stopped, you will see that peace and order would be restored naturally”, he claimed.
He urged former Nigerian presidents to prevail on President Buhari to address the challenges that are currently besetting the nation before things go wrong.
“Unless this is done, there is danger ahead as clamour for breakup of the country by self-determination groups continues to reverberate across it,” he said.
The man of God said the situation in the land was worrisome and therefore, called for drastic solution. He warned that the capacity of those rooting for the division of the country must not be under estimated. He said the President must put his government in order and remove the toga of nepotism and ethnic loyalty and embrace popular democratic tenets that could promote unity, peace and security.
“There is danger ahead as clamour for breakup of the country by self-determination groups continues to reverberate across it”
The cleric, who noted that the country had never been so divided, said, “I want to tell the President that no segment of this country is actually interested in the division of Nigeria. When the government is not doing the needful in the interest of the common man, the result would not be different from what we are experiencing currently. What we are witnessing at the moment is as a result of the weakness of this government. The government of President Muhammadu Buhari is so weak.
Pastor Kolawole blamed successive administrations in the land for allegedly exhibiting self serving traits which, he said, affected the growth and development of the country. He stressed that “those who are agitating for division are angry. Everything is upside down and people don’t have confidence in the government. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Ibrahim Babangida and Abdusalami Abubakar should call President Buhari to a meeting and speak the language that he would understand to him in order to save the country from the brink.
On arguments trailing the genuineness of the late founder of Synagogue Church of All Nations, Pastor Temitope Babatunde Joshua, as true man of God, he said, “Late TB Joshua was undoubtedly a true man of God like late Moses Orimolade who was also from Ondo State. God has been raising great men of God from that axis. TB Joshua was a real man of God and there is no doubting the fact.
Looking at the life of these two people (TB Joshua and Orimolade), you will see some similarities. Those saying that TB Joshua was not a man of God should keep their mouths shut. He was from God and has returned to his maker.
“God is interested in raising His prophets at each period in the history of mankind. Bishop Benson Idahosa came at a time and departed at after age 60. I pray that the ministry of late Pastor TB Joshua will continue to wax stronger and that it will not die.”
On insecurity in Oyo State, he said, “My advice for Governor Seyi Makinde is to put his house in order. He should not allow his enemies to distract his government. He should ensure that the security architecture of the state is re-engineered in a bid to avert the kind of bloodbath that was experienced in Igangan community on Sunday, June 7 where lives and property were wasted.
“The governor has been striving hard in the area of service delivery and has been able to bring to bear some notable results. Stakeholders in the state should rally round his administration for his success.”
