Nigerian leaders, particularly politicians, have been advised that their opportunity to serve is not to enrich themselves but to provide service to humanity.
This advice came yesterday from the Stake President, Church Of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints, Umuahia, Nigeria, James Chinanu Ogbuisi, at the stake headquarters in Umuahia while interacting with newsmen.
Advising Nigerian leaders, Ogbuisi said, “What we want to advise the leaders, political leaders in particular, is that they should remember that their opportunity to serve is not to enrich themselves but to provide service to humanity.
“This is because we believe that when you are in the service of a human being, you are in the service of God Almighty. We pray for them, and we pray for our leaders.
We want them to succeed. Well, as much as we want them to succeed, we also want them to do the right thing, follow the rules of law, and bless the lives of the people who placed them in the seat of power.
By so doing, everyone will be happy, and then the society where we live will thrive for good. There would be peace, unity, and progress.
“We will always continue to uphold the rule of law, keep the laws of the land, and pray earnestly and fervently at all times for those whom God has chosen or has allowed to have the opportunity to lead at this time”.
He further explained the Stake’s involvement in community service a few weeks ago in the state as part of their community social responsibility, or CSR, and to make environments conducive for people in the area.
“We did the All Africa Service Project, which we have been doing annually in all of Africa West, and on that 19th of August, members of the church across the 15 units of the Stake gathered at the State Secretariat to contribute to making that place more conducive for those who serve the state.
Various offices and departments are there, so we went there to provide community service, clean up the surroundings, and make it more conducive to a work environment. That was what we did that day”.
According to him, three months ago, the Stake launched the Gathering Place for young, single adults, “a place designed for them to have the opportunity to gather together, learn the gospel of Jesus Christ, and also improve in learning skills and other things that would help them become more self-reliant in life.
They also develop education opportunities through the BYU pathway programme that the church has launched for the past three years in Nigeria and other parts of Africa”.
“So, the Gathering Place is like a safe haven for the young people, where they gather three times a week in our Stake building here, and they have Institute Classes, where they learn both gospel principles as well as other leadership skills that help them develop themselves.
And then they also improve in skill acquisition, including tailoring, hair making, driving, carpentry, electrical work, and all other vocational skills that would help them become self-reliant.
They learn self-reliance principles as well and then participate in the BYU (Brigham Young University) programme online and in person on Thursdays to obtain a degree”.
He said BYU is a church university in the United States of America that has this pathway programme to enhance and create opportunity for people who ordinarily would have challenges with financial problems obtaining degrees to be able to gain quality education to be able to empower themselves, adding, “With the BYU pathway, you don’t necessarily need to have JAMB to be able to gain a degree that is equivalent to any other university degree you can get both local and international. So, that is what BYU is offering young people, both members and non-members alike”.
He explained that in the Church of Jesus Christ, “the youths are very dear to our hearts, and that is why we have the religious education programme, and that is why we have the Seminary and Institute of Religion.
“The Seminary programme helps the youths in deepening their conversion to the gospel of Jesus Christ and his atonement and also preparing them to receive the blessings of the Lord’s Temple and at the same time prepare for eternal life with their heavenly father, themselves, and their families.
Through the seminary programme, they learn and deepen their knowledge of the gospel by studying the scriptures.
“We believe that families are meant to last for eternity. So, we provide opportunities that help the young people understand the important roles the family plays in the plan of salvation”.
During the community service that involved cutting bushes and weeding at the Abia Secretariat Headquarters in Umuahia, the 1st Counsellor of the Stake, Ikechukwu Orji, described the occasion as “designed to achieve service to mankind.
Accordingly, the Stake Director of Communication, Kalu Ichie Kalu, wants other churches to emulate the gesture that the church has been making over the years.
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