Bishop Jide Orire is the founder and General Overseer of Save and Serve International Church, Ologuneru, Ibadan in the capital city of Oyo State. He has been in the vineyard of God for over 30 years now. In this interview with OJO PETER, the soft spoken Bishop speaks on issues concerning the nation. Excerpts:
As a man of God who have been in the vineyard for so many years, if you take a look at the political development in the country especially  the present political dispensation, what will you really say is wrong with our political system in the country?
Look I must confess to you, there is general tension in the country. It seems as if Nigeria is sitting on a keg of gun powder and anything can happen -that is the reason why we men of God and fellow Nigerians mind what we say so that there won’t be increased tension in the country. I want to quickly talk about that, that Nigeria is bigger than anybody’s interest, you see the reason why we are having problems in this country is because our politicians have selfish interests to get to positions of authority and if they do not make politics a do or die affair, everything will be alright and number two; we must first see ourselves as Nigerians and not as Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa or Fulani. You see, if I see myself as a Yoruba, there will be problem but if I see myself as a Nigerian I will be working on how to make it better. Then another thing, Olusegun Obasanjo is a very respected man and His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, I will say that they should seat and have more meetings together. I’m talking about indoor meetings. The two of them should look themselves in the eye, talk to each other by reminding themselves of the war fought together and the Nigeria they fought for. The two of them should make sure that their past labor should not be in vain. This is something that should be done and another thing I want to suggest is that all the Generals like General Yakubu Gowon, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida should also have a meeting with General Muhammadu Buhari where they would be able to talk, pour out their minds to each other because there is tension in the country.
Then another thing I want to talk about directly concerns our politicians. They should stop verbal war that can generate tension this time.
Do you think the present administration can take Nigeria out of the current hardship?
As a man of God, anybody that is in the government is our government because the Bible says that we should pray for anybody who is in authority but if I want to talk as a man as Jide Orire, I would say things are not okay. When I wanted to do my daughter’s wedding in 2016 I knew what a bag of rice cost, when I did another one in 20017 and in 2018 the price had already skyrocketed. A lot of people are suffering. I want to say President Buhari is very disciplined, corruption fighting is not enough. I am not saying he should not fight corruption, everybody is corrupt in Nigeria. Apart from fighting corruption, let’s look at how we will put smiles on the faces of fellow Nigerians, let’s see how it will reduce tension. If the government wants to dry the tears of Nigerians, let them reduce the price of petrol. Let them reduce it to N70 per litre instead of N147 per litre, things will change in Nigeria. Then the money recovered from looters should be put into the system because people are suffering.
As a man of God, I know the number of people I took care during last Christmas period. If I have N500,000 in my account, God bears me witness, I don’t think it can last a week because majority of it is going to be used as charity. So, the government should try and put smiles on the faces of the people, all these fightings, raining of abusive words, character assassination  should stop, let the politicians tell us what to do and what they will do for us.
Earlier sir, you described President Buhari as a disciplined person. Some people are saying his anti-corruption campaign is one-sided that it tends towards the opposition and if you look at the current APC, a lot of people there are from the PDP. What is your take on this?
Things have been tough and I think the man has the genuine interest of Nigerians but the people surrounding him are the problem. The things that are happening I want to say, perhaps, President Muhammadu Buhari may not know. It’s not that I am siding him, they are talking about cabals. Anyway, I believe the man knows what he is doing that is the reason why he is in power for another four years.
But the constitution does not really allow the President to take decisions just like that. He has to go through the National Assembly…
We are talking about anti corruption. Did corruption pass through the national assembly? Then, another thing I want to talk about is what is happening to the judiciary in Nigeria. The judiciary should be allowed to remain truly independent.
Many people have the notion that politics is a dirty game. Sir do you suggests that Christians should go into politics?
Why not? Christians must go into politics but they must be led. If God allows me to go into politics, I will, but I will not want to contest to be the President, Governor. So Christians should go into politics and bring their righteousness into it, they should bring holy living into it. Then another thing I want to add is that ministers of God must mind what they say. Whether you are a Christian or a Muslim, mind what you say. Ministers of God may have greater power on the congregation, for example in my church if I say this is what I want to do, by the time I say it three to four times, it becomes a doctrine, so ministers of God have great influence on their church, therefore, anything I say or I want to say now must be of peace. And you see, all these visions about who is going to become the President, I think they should go and read their Bible and sleep and pray over any prophecy that the Lord has shown them.
Lastly, sir what is your advice for our leaders in the county?
They should preach peace. Nigerian leaders must always preach peace. INEC should not rig elections. You know when you rig an election, it’s like bringing a bastard into the position because the person that is supposed to be occupied by a proper child – and God is watching. Where is Sanni Abacha, Nnamdi Azikwe? They have left this world. Then you will now see that vanity upon vanity all is vanity. It’s your good legacy that will live after you. Another thing I want to talk about is that the legislature, executive and judiciary should come together – should work in harmony so that Nigeria can move forward. Baba Obasanjo, President Buhari should have a closed door meeting together to talk about their differences.
