Presidential election Nigeria’s last chance

A Nigerian cleric based in the Philippines, Rev. Tony Marioghae, on Saturday, advised Nigerians never to surrender the Presidency to incompetent politicians and the worst elements in the forthcoming presidential election, saying, “this could be the last chance.”

He also warned that the misconduct of a few must not be the yardstick for measuring the integrity of all Nigerians.

While he believed that Nigeria parades hard-working and intelligent people who know how to make the right choices when the occasion demands, the cleric advised that, “we should never allow religious and tribal barriers to divide our ranks; we must be resolute with our demands for positive change.”

According to him, with Nigeria's vast mineral resources and untapped potential, the country should never live in abject poverty and rely on shared visions, rather than the goodwill of western nations and China to carve the nation's destiny.

Marioghae, Presiding Bishop of The Evangelical Ark Mission International, Philippines, raised the issues in a statement in Abuja titled, “2023 Election: This could be Nigeria's last chance.”

He described the coming presidential election as the nation's most divisive but consequential because people were fed up with the status quo and wanted genuine change.

“The most radical elements in our midst even desire a people's revolution. After eight years of this present administration, the nation has moved closer to the edge of the abyss. 

“One more mistake may cause irreversible damage to our political entity. Nigerians must choose wisely by elevating the nation's destiny above personal interests and sentiments.

“Patriotism demands painful sacrifices,” Marioghae said in a statement in Abuja.

Marioghae said since the inception of the present government of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), the nation had changed drastically, even though it was a change that had traumatised Nigerians in all facets of life – with the legacy of corruption, disunity, nepotism, insecurity, terrorism, inflation, gasoline scarcity, food scarcity and the highest unemployment rate in the nation's history.

He said, “Nigerians have never experienced anything as terrible as this. Inaction at this crucial time is an irresponsible act of unpatriotism.

“We must vote to liberate this nation from the claws of the insidious by electing the most competent presidential candidate and qualified lawmakers.

“Nigeria belongs to all of us.

“We should never allow a few corrupt politicians and oligarchs who constitute less than one per cent of the nation's population to determine the nation's destiny and turn Nigeria into a wasteland by looting the treasury and making it their piggy bank.”

The resolve of over 200 million Nigerians, the cleric warned, must be stronger than the greed of a tiny cabal who arrogantly believes they own the country.

Marioghae said the citizens must end the political and economic tyranny and make Nigeria shine again.

He believed that despite the collective suffering, a shrinking Gross Domestic Product, a drained foreign reserve and an ever-growing debt profile, Nigerians still have the power to end the nightmare and set the country on the path of peace, prosperity and progress “by hiring a pragmatic and visionary thinker who has a production mindset,” to meet all domestic challenges and the global and technological demands of the 21st century.

Marioghae said, “a country that has produced many world-acclaimed icons and achievers in all spectrums of life should never surrender its highest office to incompetent politicians and the worst elements in our society. Enough is enough.

“We must use our votes to send a clear message to the corrupt cabal that Nigeria is not for sale.”

Nelson Mandela once said, “real leaders must be ready to sacrifice all for the freedom of their people.”