Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State has tasked the church to rise and speak against bad governance in Nigeria with emphasis on free and fair elections.
Speaking at the St. Moses Orimolade Tunolase 7th Memorial Lecture themed, ” The Church as a Catalyst for Good Governance in Nigeria” at Federal Palace Hotel on Saturday, Governor Adeleke stated that silence is not an option at a time when the country needs total liberation from spiritual darkness.
“In the current world order, the Church must continue the difficult task of liberating society from spiritual darkness. The sad story the church is aware of is that most public leaders are under spiritual bondage. As long as they are not free, they cannot genuinely deliver good governance and
“In more specific terms, leaders as the main agents of good governance must be freed from spiritual blindness because it is only then they can truly serve the people. I believe people must be at the center of the governance process. Policy-making should start and end with public interest as the yardstick.
“The church, in addition to sustaining the legacy of evangelism to wipe away spiritual darkness, must continue to speak for the poor and the weak. The Church must return to the era of speaking truth to power. As Pope John Paul 11 said in 1994, the Church must continue to exercise its prophetic role and be the voice of the voiceless, so that everywhere the human dignity of every individual will be acknowledged and that people will always be at the center of all government”.
“Silence by the church is not an option. The church must speak loud about free and fair elections, dignity of all human beings, superiority of public good over private interests, respect for the supremacy of the constitution, observance of the rule of law and equality of all citizens before the law.
Prince Adeleke maintained that he places much emphasis on the fear of God in decision-making as the sitting governor of Osun State, adding that only a divinely-guided leader could deliver on good governance, restore public faith in politics, avoid self-enrichment, resolve societal poverty, and observe the rule of law.
“The church must speak loud about free and fair elections, dignity of all human beings, superiority of public good over private interests, respect for the supremacy of the constitution, observance of the rule of law and equality of all citizens before the law.
“As a sitting governor, I firmly believe the church should mount advocacy on what impedes good governance, namely; autocracy, dictatorship, arbitrariness, culture of impunity, self-perpetuation in office, suppression of opposition, corruption and failure to respond to aspirations of the people.
“I lay more emphasis on the fear of God in decision-making. Public interest is our moral compass. I govern strictly under the guidance of the Holy Spirit; hence, I strongly attribute my successes so far to my submission to the direction and guidance of the Holy Spirit,” he said.
In his speech, Prelate of Eternal Sacred Order of the Cherubim and Seraphim (ESOCS), His Most Eminence, Baba Aladura, Dr David Bob-Manuel, stressed that the church as a religious and social organisation has an important role to play toward social change and improvement on society’s value system
Baba Aladura said that the absence of social and moral principles contributed to bad leadership, pointing out that the church should do more to promote the principles.
” It is common knowledge that the continuity of any organisation lies on its leadership.
“The church, as a religious and social organisation, has an important role to play toward social change and improvement on society’s value system,” he said.
Bob-Manuel further said that the church was expected to teach morals to help to shape society.
”The church of God on earth was designed to be a place where morals are taught and life-changing teachings are practised. It is a place of character moulding.
“In all, Christianity as a religion is assumed to be capable of influencing the society positively,” he said.
The cleric said that Cherubim and Seraphim Church would be 100 years old on Sept. 9, 2025.
“Let’s pray to God to preserve our lives to see this day and beyond,” he prayed.
