Engineer ‘Seyi Makinde, the governor of Oyo State has called on Nigerians to pray for those in positions of authority, stating that politics is over and that it is now time for governance.
The governor maintained that governance is about the interest and wellness of the country, noting that political parties would come and go but the country would remain, hence the need for Nigerians to pray and work with those in positions of authority.
Makinde stated this on Tuesday, at a dinner in honour of the National Executive of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), to flag off their retreat in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
Earlier in his address, the National President of PFN, Bishop Wale Oke, said the retreat came at a very critical time in the nation’s history, with the country having just gone through a general election that shook the nation to its foundation and almost pitched Nigerians against one another.
But the Oyo State governor, in his speech, admonished Nigerians to put politics behind them and face the task of governance, saying: “Political parties will come and go, but our country will remain. We must pray for those in authority. Politics is over, it’s time for governance.
“These leaders God has asked us to pray for are products of who the political parties present to us. And these leaders have been chosen, we are obligated to pray for them and work with them.
“Well, if we don’t like those in authority, what should we do? We have another opportunity in another four years to vote again,” Governor Makinde said.
The governor, who described the theme of the retreat, “Going from Strength to Strength,” as indicative of where Nigeria should be as a nation, urged all Nigerians to join hands to rebuild the nation, while calling on Christians to pray for the restoration of Nigeria’s glory so that it could go from strength to strength.
He said: “I listened to the National President of PFN, Bishop Wale Oke, on the theme chosen for this serious event, ‘Going from Strength to Strength,’ well, I think this is really apt, because that is where we are supposed to be as a nation.
“We must think about rebuilding our nation and the role the body of Christ has to play in that process. The Bible asks Christians to pray for their leaders. As Christians, we should carry out the work that God has assigned to us effectively.”
Single Term
Governor Makinde equally used the occasion to advocate a single tenure for political office holders, stating that this would allow them enough time to do everything they have in mind within a single term instead of thinking about second term.
“Here in Nigeria, every four years, just like most democracies around the world, we come together as a nation to choose our leaders and I also listened to our Baba, the National President of PFN, he said the leadership of PFN has just finished the first half of its tenure. I just learnt that there is no second term in PFN.
“Maybe, we need to learn one or two things from that arrangement for our nation. I am a supporter of a single term structure. As a matter of fact, I didn’t want a second term and I told the fathers of faith that look, four years may not be long enough to do everything that you want to do, but it’s long enough to make your own impact and go your own way.
“But maybe, if we have the opportunity to discuss this, I think a five or six-years single term will really be enough for most of us to do whatever it is that we are supposed to do,” the governor added.
He called on Christians to make conscious efforts to participate in politics, so that the ones considered unfit by the majority would not continue to make decisions for the majority of the people.
Packaged by Adekunle Adegboyega
