The 2027 presidential election, which is just about 11 months away, is perhaps the most anticipated election in Nigeria's democratic history. This is because the stakes have never been higher. The expectations are at fever pitch and the political landscape has never been this intriguing. The President Bola Tinubu administration has come under intense pressure lately from the opposition for its inability to deliver on many of its campaign promises made in 2023 to the people. They are questioning the government on the state of insecurity in the country, the lack of constant power supply and frequent collapse of the national grid. They also criticise the government over the weakened naira and the ever rising inflation that's brought unprecedented economic hardship upon the people. The list is endless. And the opposition say that, by 2027, they will do everything within their power to ensure that the ruling party is booted out of office through the ballots.
In this concluding part of a comprehensive one hour interview with the founder and leader of Celica Church of Christ worldwide, Revd. Adetunji Adeonigbagbe, the highly revered man of God offered critical advice and suggestions as to how the government can quickly turn things around to ensure the reelection of President Bola Tinubu for second term come 2027. The very deep and knowledgeable Prophet who's extremely passionate about Nigeria, shared his thoughts and concerns with the Publisher of The Prime Citizens.com.ng, WALE LAWAL (08037209290).
Reverend Adetunji Adeonigbagbe has never hidden his desire for a well governed and prosperous Nigeria where the system works the way it should. Being a well traveled man himself, he calls on the country's leaders and public office holders who themselves have traveled far and wide, to replicate the system and infrastructure they enjoy when they travel overseas back in the country, using their offices. Enjoy rest of the interview.
What exactly would your
advice President Tinubu to do before 2027 if he wants to win the next
presidential election?
First and foremost, let me start by saying it is the President’s fundamental right to seek re-election and nobody can begrudge him over that. But my concern is that he has let his personal ambition overshadow that of the needs of the people. If the President wants his administration to work smoothly and earn the respect of the people, he needs to address certain things very quickly. First, he must not be seen to be influencing decisions taken by the Senate, he must not be seen having any influence whatsoever on the judiciary. I know this is democracy and it is expected that every sitting president must have a cordial relationship with the National Assembly and even the judiciary to avoid impeachment, but such relationship must not be seen as impacting negatively on the people in terms of the kind of decisions taken by the National Assembly.
Many believe that one of the reasons things are not working in the country is that the President has put both the Lawmakers and the Judiciary in his pocket. So, it is up the President to prove the people wrong. He must give them the free hand to do their legislative duties. But beyond that, there is also a very critical step the government must take if they really want to make significant progress. My advice to this Bola Tinubu administration is that he must have in his government two critical councils, a spiritual council which would comprise of genuine prophets of God from the Islamic and Christian faiths and a traditional council comprising of traditional rulers. This will really help his government if put in place.
The Spiritual council, first and foremost, will serve as Prayer Warriors for the government. You see, any serious project one is engaged in, there is every possibility of forces of darkness lurking around unless there is light there, that’s when darkness will disappear. So, the darkness that’s going on in Nigeria now, there is no light to remove it. No light to chase the darkness away. Do you remember many years ago when the US was at war with Iraq? The war had been going on for a while and there was no end in sight, no winner emerged, it was until the then President Bush went to the church to pray and was told by some Pastors that he should begin a land onslaught on Iraq because all the while, they had been fighting in the air. Within 24 hours, the war was been won by the Americans. So, it was until President Bush got that spiritual guidance that he was able to win the war. So, that’s the kind of role the Spiritual Council can play in Tinubu’s government. That’s number one.
Number two, there are people in Nigeria with fantastic ideas as to how to move this country forward, but they cannot be heard. They do not have access to those in government, so their ideas waste away in their heads. But with the presence of a Spiritual or Traditional Council, the people can have access to members of these Spiritual Council members who also happen to be their spiritual leaders in their various communities and they will pass on their ideas and suggestions to their spiritual leaders who in turn take their ideas and suggestions back to the government when they go for their meetings. Likewise the traditional council, the members of this council who are traditional rulers, very close to the people, they can be reached easily and their suggestions as to how things should be done would be taken to the government.
Number three, in times of crisis, protests and the rest, both the spiritual and traditional councils are closer to the people than the government. These councils can speak directly to the youths who are often involved in agitations and protests and calm them down before matters get out of hand. It’s when matters get out of hand that you begin to see break down of law and order in the country. Generally, people respect their spiritual fathers. When crisis looms and the spiritual father says don’t get involved, they won’t do it. Same with traditional rulers, the youths listen to them.
Sir, what are the
things you think the President Bola Tinubu administration must do to quickly
restore the confidence of the people and win their votes before the 2027
presidential election takes place?
As a Nigerian, I want any Nigerian government to succeed. I want the country to begin to move in the right direction. I am not just happy that most of the promises the President made before he won the election and became president, he has not fulfilled any of them. Everyday the price of petrol keeps going higher. The prices of food commodities keep soaring high. Sometimes, you get the impression that the president is overwhelmed with the volume of pressure on his shoulders. You just begin to wonder if he can cope. And I want to advice Mr. President that if he is overwhelmed and he feels he can no longer cope, there is no shame in resigning and allowing somebody else with fresh ideas take his place. The Naira is not getting stronger, corruption is getting higher, electricity is getting worse and telecommunication tarifs is getting out of hand. Look at the Ambassadors he just appointed, many of them have question marks when it comes to integrity. Look at all the governors crossing over to the ruling party, it’s all because they all want to cover their sins, they want their corruption to be covered, not because they genuinely believe the president is doing well. Should somebody like Yahaya Bello still be walking the streets freely?
But, like I said, it is not my wish that the government should fail. As a spiritual leader, ours is to offer advice and guidance, not wish for them to fail. Part of our duties as spiritual leaders is to also speak truth to power and let the President and his team know when they are going in the wrong direction.
For this administration to stand any chance of winning the 2027 election, the president and his ministers must get to work and see if they can still deliver on some of the things they promised Nigerians. Tinubu still has about a year or thereabout to do the needful if indeed he wants Nigerians to re-elect him into office for a second term. To start with, he must make food items available and cheap for the people to be able to afford. This is very, very important. They say a hungry man is a very angry man. The government needs to strengthen the naira against the dollar and do everything they can to bring down the inflation in the country. The President must also be seen to have brought down corruption to the barest minimum, it is such a shame when you look at the scale of corruption going on in the country. The price of petrol is another big problem. Even before the Iran war started, the price of petrol was still high. Why can’t we be buying petrol at a much cheaper rate, are we not an oil producing country any longer?
Beyond all of these, the President needs to win back the love and trust of the people. If you’re the president of a country and the people, the same people you’re governing, do not seem to love you or trust you, then there is a big problem. How will you be able to govern them well and deliver on your promises if the people don’t love you and are not patient with your government? Finally, like i said earlier, he must give the Senate free hand to do their work. He must not interfere with their job. So, there’s a whole lot Tinubu has to do if he wants to win the 2027 presidential election but I’m not even sure he has enough time left to do all of the things I have listed before the elections take place.
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