By Josephine Oguntoyinbo
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As Nigeria celebrated its 58th independence anniversary, leaders at all levels have been charged to imbibe the spirit of selflessness in order for the citizens to feel the impact of independence.
The Methodist Bishop of Owo diocese, Rt. Reverend Solomon Adegbite gave the charge in a chat with The Hope in Akure, the Ondo State capital.
According to him, God has endowed the country with all good things in terms of natural resources but the problem we have is lack of good leadership.
The Bishop harped on the need for the political class to get it right by being leaders devoid of sentiment.
“As we marked another independence, let us think of how we can bequeath a better society and affect the populace better.
“We need good leaders, we do not have enough but few, therefore, anybody who determines to be a leader must search himself or herself on why they are going into politics or vying for a position ,if they do not have enough to offer, they should step aside and shun ambition of selfishness.
“Let our leaders serve with the spirit of selflessness, they should emulate people like late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, he was a selfless person and you can see the result, his family is not poor, he has good legacy and the name is opening doors for his children and grandchildren. To this end, let our leaders shun self centeredness.
“Leaders should quit the act of embezzlement and misappropriation of funds, they should stop diverting funds that should have been used to better the lives of people to accounts abroad. I wonder what they need that for ,the world itself is vanity, if they die today, the money becomes a waste,”he stated.
Bishop Adegbite who posited that every citizen of Nigeria must feel belonged and have freedom without been marginalized maintained that every citizen have equal rights according to the constitution.
While calling on government at all levels to manage resources judiciously, the cleric noted that they must play a vital role in curbing all forms of social vices in the society, especially in the area of insurgency, killing and kidnapping.
It is important for leaders to make impact and ensure that everybody is at liberty, nobody should be subjugated under any guise, let everybody feel free as a bonafide citizen, we are all equal, therefore nobody should be treated as inferior”,he advised.
He assured that religious leaders in Nigeria will continue to pray for the nation to witness tremendous development and equally pray for peace and progress in the land.
