Rotate Power Amongst Those With Equity; GEJ Is A Positive Step – Adefarasin
San Francisco, Dec 19, (THEWILL) – ‘Power must be retained in the hands of those with equity, it must rotate between those with equity and proven leadership qualities and Jonathan is a positive step forward,’ Pastor Paul Adefarasin, founder of the House on the Rock Church has said.
The respected preacher expressed his opinion on a couple of national issues in a lengthy interview with THEWILL Publisher and Editor-In-Chief, Prince Austyn Ogannah on a Wednesday night two weeks ago.
Speaking on Nigeria’s democratic experience and the controversial zoning arrangement, which has continued to divide the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Adefarasin said:
“I am not a believer in the rotation of political power between geographical zones. I believe Nigeria has matured beyond zoning within the PDP and other political parties. I personally do not agree with the PDP, this is my position and the position of the church.”
He said the clamour for zoning was borne out of the injustice suffered by many parts of Nigeria in the hands of various military leaders in the country who were mostly from Northern Nigerian and displayed a high level of irresponsibility in the management of the nation’s vast resources.
Nigeria has many parts and not just north and south, Adefarasin said. “The people of the South, where vast of the resources that provide wealth for Nigeria, have never had a shot at the Presidency until now. Their area continues to lack development after all these years of generating billions of dollars in revenue for the country. In their view, that is injustice.
“I believe President Goodluck Jonathan is a positive step forward because he has exhibited sincerity, equity and shown good qualities of leadership. He also has a Ph.D and his cabinet reflects his seriousness to proffer solutions to our many problems,” Adefarasin said.
Explaining further, he said: “Belated service is a problem. When there is so much underdevelopment in a part of the country to produce wealth and on the other side of the fence there is development, it causes tension. We need a leader who will right these wrongs. Injustice cannot continue or else we will be giving our children a dysfunctional country.
“Nigeria has to grow, it will grow. My children are Nigerians; they are not Americans or British. I don’t want them and other Nigerians to become refugees in West African Countries.
“We need reforms in the power sector, law enforcement, economy and massive job creation programmes. If we can achieve this, no one will care whether a President comes from the North, South, East, West or Central. This is why myself and other clerics will continue to lead the advocacy for good governance,” Pastor Adefarasin said.
The preacher, who described the nation’s democracy and Nigerian politicians as ‘still maturing’ opined that the ‘majority principle is important in a democracy as written in our constitution. When Nigerians cast their votes at the ballot, their mandate must be obeyed” adding that ‘the elected must respect the electorate.’
Arguing further, he described as a ‘contraption’ the amalgamation of over 250 tribes and 500 different dialects by the British during the colonial era saying, “there are bound to be injustices when you create this kinds of contraptions. That is why we need a mature leadership to navigate this kind of injustices so that all can have a feeling of being in the country. We tend to exhibit evidence of immaturity when we discuss ethnic politics. There must be fair play, equity and justice in how we provide government competent to lead all of Nigeria and not a section or tribalised nation,” Adefarasin explained.
Emphasizing the importance of electing a ‘mature politician with integrity, equity, leadership capabilities, genuine love for humanity, honest and fearing of God,’ the House On The Rock founder said, though ‘our political system is still immature, a mature politician will provide services, justice and equity’, knowing that ‘we are genuinely seeking justice and equity in Nigeria’.
Speaking on next year’s general elections, Adefarasin expressed fears in the short time allotted to get eligible voters to register. He said two weeks for voters’ registration is bit tight but added that everyone must get out there and register to vote. He advised voters to elect candidates who can deliver on electoral promises and warned voters to be vigilant so as to ensure that their votes are counted and not duplicated in favour of any other candidate(s) by election riggers.
“If votes count in this election, in the next four or five years, you will notice a change in Nigerian politics. The elected must begin to respect the electorate. I salute Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola for transforming Lagos and I see in him the quality of an honest man as far as his campaign promises are concerned.
“We trust that God will give us peace in the elections next year,” Pastor Adefarasin said added.