Bishop Yahaya
From Femi Mustapha, in Kaduna
The Archbishop of Anglican Communion, Kaduna Province, Most Rev. Timothy Yahaya, has said that for Nigeria to attain enviable and corruption-free political leadership, its leaders and followers must be ready to make supreme sacrifices for its development and progress.
He noted that the country’s leaders are selfish and greedy and cannot die for it.
The Cleric, who spoke to newsmen on Sunday in his Easter message to Nigerians, noted that the country will be great if Nigerians are ready to die for the country, just like an American is ready to die for America.
Bishop Yahaya pointed out that the nation’s leaders have lost integrity and honesty before the international communities where they are seen as thieves and rogues because of their corrupt style of leadership
“The Easter message for this year is that our God is a God of sacrifice and we need to learn as a country that, leadership has to do with sacrifice, leadership is not about our greed, ego, and everything that has to do with our whims and caprices, but leadership is about the people we are leading.
“The lesson for Easter is that Jesus came to die for people He is supposed to lead, and I want to plead with our leaders that they should be seen as dying for Nigeria, not Nigeria dying for them.
“The people who said Nigeria is not worth dying for but only worth living for decided to say so because the leadership has not done the right thing. If the leadership in the country is doing the right thing, just like an American is ready to die for America, Nigerians will be ready to die for Nigeria.
“When Israel went to war with Gaza, though I don’t support any war anywhere in the world, Israelis who were living in diaspora flew back home to die for their country. That is a country where people believe the leaders are dying for them.
“Today in Nigeria, to go to school is a problem, to eat is a problem. Look at the level of insecurity in this country, and you tell me that, the country that went to Liberia and brought peace, all over the world, we brought peace, and today, we are a subject of disgrace and embarrassment.
“I say this without fear or favor; Nigeria is bigger than the insecurity in this country. If somebody is not feeding fat on this insecurity, not ready to sacrifice himself for this country, that is why the insecurity is still festering; it would have since been gone, but you know what, Nigeria is not worth dying for, but living for, the living for is what some people who are supposed to quell this instability are doing.
“Look at Peugeot here in Kaduna; when it was commissioned by Gowon, it was built for N8 million. Today, can a million buy a car? The Volkswagen Assembly plant was built for N11 million. Look at how they have bastardized our economy, and that is why the slogan ‘Nigeria is worth living for and not dying for’ belongs to the people at the top echelon of this country because they go there for the national cake and not for service to humanity.
“So, my call to the political leaders is that they should fear God, they should remember and look at the history of Nigeria. A lot of the people that were there with Gowon then are six feet down, and a lot of people with Murtala are gone. Regimes come, regimes go, but God remains the same.
“They should remember when they go to the grave, they will answer before the King of Kings. Let their consciences judge them.
“Leadership is a trust and we must be seen to be trusted by Nigerians. Nigerians don’t trust the court today, Nigerians don’t trust INEC today because we always have selection and not election in this country. Nigerians don’t trust even the Police Force today. Nigerians don’t have trust in the system in this country.
“I think there is a need for national rebirth and I am calling on our leaders to start the rebirth from themselves before we get talk of the common man; if the common man sees change from the top, I tell you, the poor man below will change.
“With the killings in Plateau and Benue, I will say the government is failing. Their constitutional right is to protect lives and property. But are they protecting lives and property? If they are failing, the national emergency that was declared somewhere, we need to declare a national emergency, and this government needs to go because the cheapest thing in this country is human lives.
“So, Nigerians should continue to go back to God. The only thing I do today is to pray to God because the leaders don’t seem to know God. Even the followers today don’t have the fear of God. And I am telling you, everything starts from the table of the leader,” Bishop Yahaya said.
