“No One Can Save Nigeria The Way Things Are Now”
Bishop Leonard Umunna, the general overseer of Bible Life Church, Ajegunle, Lagos state, has said that no one can save Nigeria the way things are now.
The bishop who spoke to newsmen after his 61st birthday anniversary at a special service organised by his congregation in his church, said that neither ex-president Goodluck Jonathan nor President Muhammadu Buhari is the right person to rule Nigeria.
According to the cleric, judging by the President Buhari’s first month, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) looked more organised in power than the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Speaking with Vanguard, Umunna said: “I said it that neither Goodluck Jonathan nor Muhammadu Buhari is Nigeria’s political saviour.
“No one person can save Nigeria the way things are now. I have not seen Buhari in the picture yet. It means it is the party, APC that is still in control, not Buhari.
“There was no referendum leading up to drawing the constitution that every citizen agrees to.
“Some people say that Nigeria, like an aeroplane, really took off successfully in the morning of Independence in 1960; but force-landed during the civil war and has not been able to take off again ever since. I wish Nigeria vibrates a more favourable number, but it vibrates a number that has made its leadership to continuously experience turmoil. The country will always experience back and forth movements.”
According to Umunna, what Nigeria need at this moment is good leadership.
He said: “There should be a school that prepares people for leadership positions. When they were shouting ‘Change, Change’, I was busy having a good laugh. The person who could have made a difference is Obasanjo, but he failed. He had everything it takes to make a difference.
“He had the Army under his control and the right connections and influence but he did not make the needed impact. Now, APC has come with good, precious and wonderful plans and strategies that could turn the country around for better, but it seems now that they were not prepared for the job.
“Look at what is happening with the APC-led government, they have power but it appears they have no wisdom to use it. This is because different people from all manner of places with different ideologies came together to form the APC. They only came together for the sake of power but lack the qualities to lead.”
The Bishop noted that the crisis in the APC showed that the party never expected victory at the last elections.
He said: “APC was not sure it would win; so, it was a shock to them when the victory came, because they never made any leadership plan. My advice is that APC should take a drastic step to rescue the country.
“I am not happy that President Buhari said he was not interested in whoever emerged the Senate president or speaker of the House of Reps. We are not saying that he should impose his will on NASS, but he must take interest in what happens there because the stability of his government will to a large extent depend on the stability of the National Assembly.”
Umunna was however displeased that President Buhari said he belonged to nobody during his inauguration.
He said: “How can he say that? Would he have won without Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and others who invested in the project?
“But the APC must think beyond the party and begin to see how to move the country forward. I really do not care about which party wins an election, but in the delivery of good governance. Days ahead will prove whether the president truly belongs to anybody or not.”
Meanwhile, a body of eminent Igbo personalities called Igbo Leaders of Thought has issued a stern warning to the Muhammadu Buhari administration, not to humiliate former president Goodluck Jonathan, all in the name of probing his administration.
The bishop who spoke to newsmen after his 61st birthday anniversary at a special service organised by his congregation in his church, said that neither ex-president Goodluck Jonathan nor President Muhammadu Buhari is the right person to rule Nigeria.
According to the cleric, judging by the President Buhari’s first month, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) looked more organised in power than the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Speaking with Vanguard, Umunna said: “I said it that neither Goodluck Jonathan nor Muhammadu Buhari is Nigeria’s political saviour.
“No one person can save Nigeria the way things are now. I have not seen Buhari in the picture yet. It means it is the party, APC that is still in control, not Buhari.
“There was no referendum leading up to drawing the constitution that every citizen agrees to.
“Some people say that Nigeria, like an aeroplane, really took off successfully in the morning of Independence in 1960; but force-landed during the civil war and has not been able to take off again ever since. I wish Nigeria vibrates a more favourable number, but it vibrates a number that has made its leadership to continuously experience turmoil. The country will always experience back and forth movements.”
According to Umunna, what Nigeria need at this moment is good leadership.
He said: “There should be a school that prepares people for leadership positions. When they were shouting ‘Change, Change’, I was busy having a good laugh. The person who could have made a difference is Obasanjo, but he failed. He had everything it takes to make a difference.
“He had the Army under his control and the right connections and influence but he did not make the needed impact. Now, APC has come with good, precious and wonderful plans and strategies that could turn the country around for better, but it seems now that they were not prepared for the job.
“Look at what is happening with the APC-led government, they have power but it appears they have no wisdom to use it. This is because different people from all manner of places with different ideologies came together to form the APC. They only came together for the sake of power but lack the qualities to lead.”
The Bishop noted that the crisis in the APC showed that the party never expected victory at the last elections.
He said: “APC was not sure it would win; so, it was a shock to them when the victory came, because they never made any leadership plan. My advice is that APC should take a drastic step to rescue the country.
“I am not happy that President Buhari said he was not interested in whoever emerged the Senate president or speaker of the House of Reps. We are not saying that he should impose his will on NASS, but he must take interest in what happens there because the stability of his government will to a large extent depend on the stability of the National Assembly.”
Umunna was however displeased that President Buhari said he belonged to nobody during his inauguration.
He said: “How can he say that? Would he have won without Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and others who invested in the project?
“But the APC must think beyond the party and begin to see how to move the country forward. I really do not care about which party wins an election, but in the delivery of good governance. Days ahead will prove whether the president truly belongs to anybody or not.”
Meanwhile, a body of eminent Igbo personalities called Igbo Leaders of Thought has issued a stern warning to the Muhammadu Buhari administration, not to humiliate former president Goodluck Jonathan, all in the name of probing his administration.
