The Most Reverend (Dr) Olusina Fape, former Archbishop of the Ecclesiastical Province of Lagos, has slammed Nigerian politicians for a lack of political ideology.
According to him, politicians in Nigeria today are merely opportunists seeking political office to further their own interests and personal gain.
On Monday, at the 35th Posthumous Birthday Anniversary and Service for Chief Jeremiah Obafemi Awolowo, held at the Awolowo’s Family Chapel, at Efunyela Hall, Ikenne-Remo, Ogun State, Fape took a swipe at politicians.
He claimed that, unlike in the days of Awolowo, when service to humanity was paramount, politicians in Nigeria today are less concerned with the general well-being and human development of ordinary Nigerians.
Fape, the Bishop of Remo, said Awolowo’s disciplined life set him apart from other leaders of his time, adding that politicians today seek office without a plan.
The cleric, speaking on the theme “A Pleasant Echoes of Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s Life,” said Awolowo’s name would continue to ring in the country’s history because he influenced his generation and those who came after him, unlike politicians today who want to stay in power in order to remain relevant.
He submitted that;
The disciplined life of Chief Awolowo stands him out among many leaders of his generation. Rather than seeing political office as an opportunity for accumulating personal wealth, he saw the position as an opportunity for service.
That’s why the politicians of today lacked discipline. They are in politics today not because they wanted to serve Nigerians but for personal aggrandizement. Why will an individual be in possession of money running into billions of naira? Awolowo came into politics for the love he has for the people.
Politicians of today lack political ideology. People seek political office without blueprints of what to do. No wonder electioneering campaigns are to weep up emotions, which is why politicians today are mere chameleons and fair-weather ones.
I feel ashamed and disturbed when I look at many of our politicians, especially how they do. When you look at how our politicians are doing, you know many are mere opportunists.
I have never heard a Labour candidate in the UK cross carpeting into the Conservative Party because they lost the election. No. Or the Democrats crossing to the Republican party in the US. No. However, that is not the case in Nigeria.
Although Papa has been called home some 35 years ago, he continues to be relevant in our nation’s polity in every way. How have you impacted your generation with your resources? 35 years down the line, 35 years after the death of Chief Obafemi Awolowo, we have every reason to thank God that He brought him to this world.
The name of Awolowo will continue to be a recurrent decimal in our nation’s polity. The moment people in a particular society keep referring to an individual is because they have not seen what anybody did that has surpassed the achievements of such an individual.
Awolowo was a man who came and fulfilled his destiny, though he died not being able to preside over the affairs of the country as President. Although he was not the President of this country, he left his footprints in the sand of times. Until the return of Jesus Christ, Chief Obafemi Awolowo will continue to be relevant in the history of the country. His legacies in education, health, employment generation, and infrastructure provision remain.
WITHIN NIGERIA also learned that Awolowo’s only surviving child, Ambassador (Dr) Olatokunbo Awolowo Dosumu, stated that the burden of carrying on with his legacies was too great.
She thanked those in attendance for honoring the family in honor of a national icon in the country’s history.
The Akarigbo and Paramount Ruler of Remoland, Oba Babatunde Ajayi; the Alakenne of Ikenne, Oba Adeyinka Onakade; and the Radanuwa of Idado, Sagamu, Oba Musilu Soile were among those in attendance, as were Senators Femi Okurounmu and Anthony Adefuye.
Others include the retired Bishop of Ilesa, Methodist Church Nigeria, Archbishop Ayo Ladigbolu; Baba Ijo of Our Saviour Anglican Church, Pa. Emmanuel Osibona; Otunba Ibiyemi Osinubi; Barrister Adebayo Onafuwa; Olotu Omooba Sunday Awobajo; and the Bishops of Remo and Yewa Dioceses, Rt.
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