The Bishop of Diocese on the Coast, Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, Rt. Revd. Olusegun Pirisola, said most Nigerians have lost hope in the present-day politicians and leaders, saying they lacked ideas to propel Nigeria to prosperity in 2023.
Pirisola, who stated this during the funeral service of a former state Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Chief Augustus Akenroye, at Ebenezer Anglican Cathedral, Ilutitun-Osooro, in Okitipupa council of the state, said electorates may resort to stoning politicians during campaigns for next year general elections.
The Bishop said political leaders have failed in the area of security, anti-corruption, infrastructural and economic development making life extremely difficult for people who voted them to power.
He blamed the government at all levels for the continued power outage in the South Senatorial District of the state, noting that the subsequent government had failed to address the power failure in the area, noting that the coastal communities have been in darkness for over ten years.
According to him, the affected people in four local government areas of the district namely: Ilaje, Okitipupa, Irele and Ese-Odo, have lost hope in representative democracy and leadership style of the present-day politicians, saying the social and economic activities of the area has been relegated to the background.
He warned that the continued failure by politicians to fix the problem may disrupt their chances in the forthcoming 2023 general elections, saying the councils play vital roles in the development of the nation.
He frowned over the continued blackout of over 2000 communities that have been cut off from the national power grid and lamented that “it is promises all the time, when it is close to the Christmas they will say that you will have the light.
“Now it is almost close to the elections period they will still say that we will have the light. They have been deceiving us for the past twelve years now and we don’t want that again.
“People are not happy with them, we are in darkness, we have Omotosho grid there, we still have Erinje sub-station nothing has been done they are just deceiving us. It is political gimmicks, they should come and show us that they are not deceiving us that is what we are saying.”
He said “I have been here as a Bishop for the past ten years, no light in this community, we are not happy with our government and I pray that people will not stone them when they come again to campaign during the election.
“There is need for them to come to our aid in these two communities, Ilaje and Ikale and the fact remains that when you talked of old Ondo politics, we have Owo, Akure and Okitipupa and out of these three senatorial districts, no light in one senatorial district, are they saying we are not part of this state?
“In Ilaje they are taking oil to the national government, are they saying that we are not part of the government? Are they saying we should not be part of Nigeria? Government must provide good leadership because we voted for them for a reason be it President, Governor or whatever.
“They are failing in their responsibilities, they will promise during the electioneering period and fail after they have emerged. It is very bad. Now, what are they coming to campaign for or to convince us to vote for them again in 2023 elections?”
The clergy described the late Akenroye as an Ikale man who had contributed his own quotas immensely to the development of his community, the legal profession, Anglican Communion, Ondo State and Nigeria as a whole.
“It was because of Ikale he went to the University to read law in order to defend the Ikales. He’s not afraid to be called Ikale man, we even called him ‘Baba De Law.’ To the Church of God, he is an Anglican man to the core.
“He was our Registrar when we were with Ondo Diocese, there was no month he would not come to this community to unite us, he has paid his due,” he said.
The firstborn of the deceased, Dr Adegboyega Akenroye, who spoke on behalf of his siblings, allayed the fears of the people on the annual prize instituted by their father in his alma mater, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State.
For the record, the former DPP had instituted the annual prize in the Faculty of Law for the best graduating student with the best performance in Jurisprudence and Legal theory whose class of degree is not below Second Class Honours.
“The prize will continue because is a foundation and we have resources to maintain it and he also graduated from the same institution. Besides, five of his children too graduated from the school, while I went to the University of Ibadan to study Medicine,” Dr Akenroye said.
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