Job Osazuwa

A senior pastor of Praise Arena, Jummy Adetoyese-Olagunju, has charged President Muhammadu Buhari to, in the next four years, make the fight against corruption a developmental process that would include all strata of the Nigerian society.

Adetoyese-Olagunju, who said this at the Super Praise Carol, organised recently by the church in Lekki, Lagos, said that doing so would bring about sustainability in the anti-graft crusade.

He stated that the reputation and popularity of the President garnered over the years, even as a military head of state, were due to his stance against corruption.

The pastor noted that it was sad that the anti-corruption campaign by Buhari fizzled out after he was kicked out in a counter–coup in 1985 and the fight could not continue because it was only a programme of the government and not a developmental process that Nigerians across board could own.

“A programme hardly outlives its initiator because successive administrations may not continue in that trajectory. But when it is a process, it will outlive its initiator from one generation to another.

“President Buhari should bring his reputation to bare and deliberately fashion out developmental plans of action that are geared toward promoting the values of orderliness, patience, honesty and selfless services. These should be taken to our educational institutions, market squares, private sector, and other relevant institutions in Nigeria,” he said

Olagunju advised that the anti-corruption development plan and processes should start from primary schools; and should be stressed to the pupils while on the assembly ground.

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He said that the pupils, would therefore, learn early in life that it is good to uphold good values and character for the progress of our country.

He restated that corruption and indiscipline are hydra-headed monsters that threaten good governance, sustainable development plans, economic growth and public trust in Nigeria.

Adetoyese-Olagunju noted that corruption has been misconstrued to mean financial misappropriation alone, but he argued that it goes beyond that. He said it has a lot to do with someone holding back salaries of workers, taking bribe, motorists facing oncoming traffic, child abuse, modern day slavery and everything that is done wrong.

The cleric said that some western countries are winning the fight against corruption because they have succeeded in embedding the culture of discipline, honesty and integrity in all the citizens. He added that the people in most of the countries, irrespective of their status or party affiliations, were punished according to the rule of law.

On multi-ethnicity and the current disunity and agitations in Nigeria, he noted that the United States of America has about 350 million people living together in peace even when they have divergent views, background and interest. In the midst of diversity, the interest of the country should be paramount to everyone and he said this could be achieved by catching the citizens young.

He stressed that promoting the values of discipline, honesty, love and patriotism would help in raising a new generation of leaders that will think above self in all their dealings.

The pastor lamented the dearth of good leaders in Nigeria, stating that some people who offer themselves for leadership positions were doing so in order to drive their own personal causes.