Cleric urges Nigerians to embrace government’s corruption fight

NIGERIANS have been urged to embrace the corruption fight by government as a collective effort and not just that of political and religious leaders.

Rt Rev Akinpelu Johnson, the Bishop of the Diocese of Lagos Mainland, Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) made the call on Thursday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

“First of all it’s everybody’s problem. It’s the journalist problem, it’s the pastor’s problem, it’s the politician’s problem; we like to look at only the politicians, it is not their fault.

“The politicians did not drop from Mars, they grew up here, and some of them we have known for long, so the society has issues.

‘’A politician that distributes money before you vote for him, means that by the time he gets into office, he has to recoup his money and then he is going to save enough for the next time.

“So there must be way in which we will have politics that is devoid of money.

“We all are contributors to it, in the sense that once we continue to vote people who are corrupt or who are not capable of holding the position, then we are to blame. What is the way out? First, we have to not like `awoof’.’’

The cleric urged the Federal Government to put the money into immediate use especially in improving power generation in the country.

He said that improving electricity supply would advance the quest for economic diversification and youth employment.

Johnson added that religious leaders had a greater role to play in influencing the behavioural pattern of Nigerians.

“The Church should be able to stand and speak, but the question now is that is the Church in the wider sense of the word playing its role?

‘’Is the Mosque playing its role? How do political leaders even see religious leaders, those are the issues.

“So we as a people should talk to ourselves, leaders in the Church should talk to ourselves and let people be accountable.’’