Leonard Umunna is the founder and bishop of Bible Life Church Worldwide. He is also a commentator on socio-economic and political issues. In this interview with ZEBULON AGOMUO, Editor, he spoke on the state of the nation and how the prevailing economic situation is affecting businesses and the work of ministry. Excerpts:
Many Nigerians believe that the country is badly run and that the policies being churned out are worsening the plight of citizens. What is your reading of the state of the nation?
Some people once said that Nigeria had become a failed state; I do not agree with that because we are still better than many that have not been declared failed states. Whatever the indices, the measuring stick to measure failure, people will know when they have gone below the mark. What I would say is that the Nigerian leadership is shaky and concerning the economy, they are losing grip. Look at the election; the one just conducted at Ondo. They say if you want to know your rating, check your last performance. That’s a window to the whole world. They are using our elections to look into Nigeria now. You can see that we had about 25 percent voter turnout. It means that out of a hundred people that registered, only 25 people turned out to vote; is it a good performance? Come to electricity that everybody is shouting we should get right so that we can develop; they have now introduced Bands and people are shouting that they have been put in a band that is beyond their income, yet they are not getting up to 12 hours of light daily. Think of the devaluation of the naira or floating of the naira and the exchange rate with dollar. Whatever method to assess Nigeria as at now, what the people are seeing, and saying are very correct. It is said that where a child is crying and pointing at, look into that corner, there must be something important there. So, all those complaining about how things are going in the country cannot be wrong at the same time. Nigeria is not getting it by the people’s own reckoning. It is said that the voice of the people is the voice of God. We can’t possibly change the virility of that saying because of Nigeria’s case. Every part of the country is saying that something is very wrong. They are talking about food, insecurity, naira devaluation, high cost of living. The policies are choking the people and they are crying out. Nigeria has good policies but bad implementers. Gone are the days when Nigerians elected their leaders; now a cabal selects and asks us to vote. You can see the high level of apathy in Ondo election, it is still the same in governance- people have really fade up. Whatever policy that government is bringing up now, people are not taking it in good faith; they are just taking it with a pinch of salt. For many people, the Nigeria they knew before is not the Nigeria they are having now. I hope that those in authority will know that Nigeria is in emergency situation right now.
The Federal Government and most governors are yet to implement the new minimum wage even though the prevailing economic situation has made nonsense of the N70,000; what is your take on this?
My take is actually what anybody feeling the impact of the economic situation now would take. It is said that he who wears the shoe knows where it pinches. You cannot get somebody who is benefiting from this trouble to give you a good advice. Why is it that the state governments are not willing to pay? You have asked states to pay N70,000 when they could not pay N18,000, N30,000. Don’t forget, there are many other responsibilities the state carries apart from paying salaries. Some governors are even saying that they are bankrupt. Even those who have agreed to pay or even increased the amount, how many of them have paid? The truth is that the economy needs to be fixed; Nigeria needs to be productive; let us face reality and call a spade a spade. Let us restrategise to make Nigeria work; it is not working now. We must look at countries we used to be better than but now ahead of us; and let us also look at countries that have been up there, and see if we can borrow ideas from them. We must not comfort ourselves or compare ourselves with those we are better of, who are still struggling to survive; Nigeria is better than that.
Nigerians thought that the Dangote Refinery would force down the price of petrol. What would you say of the politics of oil in Nigeria?
The politics of oil is corruption in high places. The politics Nigerians are playing in the oil sector is worst form of politics which affects everybody. Chinua Achebe said that leadership is the major trouble with Nigeria, but some people are saying it is followership, but I said no. Our major trouble is in Nigeria is leadership. When the person expected to rescue the people is also encumbered, the problem continues. Corruption and nepotism are the major problems that have afflicted our leaders. Nobody has expected that after Dangote Refinery has started operations Nigeria would still be in the state it is; have things not worsened now? The overbearing influence of the cabal in the oil sector is affecting the country badly. One of our past leaders said that if there is trouble in any area and it lasts beyond 24 hours, that the government has hands in it. Dangote could be said to have come at a right time, but Nigerians are yet to feel the positive impact. The cartel and cabal are at work to hinder the benefit to come to the people. Why is it that anything God has graciously given us, instead of it being a blessing, it becomes a curse? Why is it that we cannot be the example that we are asking others to be?
Sometime ago, you said that the economic situation was affecting the Church; what is the situation now?
Has Nigeria got better since I spoke to you last? Whatever that affects the farm affects the hole. Whatever that is eating the yam is inside the yam; whatever that is eating the leaf is inside the leaf. That is the case of Nigeria. Have you ever heard that price of a commodity in Nigeria went up and at a certain stage it came down? The answer is no. But why is Nigeria’s case so? But I think it all boils down to the same problem of leadership. If we get a good leader in any area, you will see a change, he may not be the best, but things will come up better. Nigerians are resilience people and what is biting everybody in the country is biting those in the Church too, because we are all in the same society. Any policy government makes affects the Church because the members are citizens of this country. As a church, we will continue to pray for the country and the leadership. We will continue to also give our constructive advice to assist them in decision making.
Recently, some streets in the local government area where you operate were renamed. What do you think may have motivated the exercise?
Why did you choose to rename the streets is the question to ask. This type of exercise can cause problem in some places; it could breed some political turmoil and make somebody lose election. My little inquiry revealed that some or all of those who were given the streets could not pay what was required of them, and I asked, did you inform them; did you carry them along? I needed to ask because if people sensed selfishness or politics or nepotism in it, you will see that it will boomerang; it may not be in the immediate, but by-and-by. The law of reciprocity will surely take place. When the burble will burst some of us may not be around. I want to repeat that next time when such an exercise is being contemplated, they should carry the people along.
Opinions were divided on the victory of Donald Trump in the American election. On which divide were you?
I pitch no tent with any side. I am on the Lord’s side. When Donald Trump contested the previous election, I decided to seek the face of the Lord to be able to rightly advise those who were saying a lot of things. What I heard from God then made me to know he would lose that particular election. When the election came again this time, I was convinced that he was going to win based on what I was told last time, and God really came through for him. I think this time around, God had determined to favour the man, and God will never fail; no matter the opinions of men. Once God has promised something, it will come to pass. The creature has no authenticity over the Creator. Donald Trump was seeking the will of God and this time God has honoured him, and I pray that he now does God’s will and does it better than the first time, and may America find the right track to manage the world under him.
It is believed that the Federal Government is taking too many loans. Some individuals and organisations have taken the government on on this score. What is your view about the loans?
Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has been doing a Yeoman’s job, pointing out these things, even asking the Federal Government to institute a probe. I have often said that if you have a bad leader and give him a very good constitution, he will fumble and will not perform. But if you give a good man a bad constitution, he will still find a way to perform because it is in him to do good. So, the problem with the Senate is myriad. There is corruption in high places. They continue to approve the loans without scrutiny. In some cases, their palms are greased; in some cases they bring ethnic and religious sentiments into their job; you hear them say, it is against their state, region or even religion; before you know it; they have vetoed the bill that should benefit the whole nation. Some may have even collected money to ensure that a bill does not sail through. That is what is happening. It is only a legislature that has its own mind that can refuse all manner of requests coming from the Executive.
The President recently reshuffled his cabinet; what does that exercise mean to you as a Nigerian?
He has the power to drop them and recruit others because perhaps, he wants better hands. It is in his power to do so, after all, he recruited them in the first place. But the problem is when there are better hands elsewhere and your eyes are not going that side; you are punishing the people; or when the capacity of the staff you have is nothing to write home about when it comes to delivering on the assignment given to that staff and you removed that staff and replace him or her with another staff not better in any way or even worse than the one removed. By doing so, you are punishing the administration. What I think here is that the President should be allowed to succeed or fail, Nigerians can judge him in the next election. The best way to him is to give him advice as I do now; allow him to take advice or reject it. The President of Nigeria today served as governor of Lagos State; I gave him advice and he took it. He has rallied those they considered as technocrats; he should tell himself truth whether the team he has now is delivering. Nigeria is a multi-ethnic and diverse religious beliefs and cultures; so, it calls for more and wider consultation; more openness and more strategising.
How is the Bible Life Church surviving the harsh socio-economic weather in the country?
I like this question because Bible Life Church is a church in the ghetto, and I have never heard anywhere that a church in the ghetto had branches outside the ghetto, because you don’t have the resources to take care of the local church let alone opening up branches worldwide, but we thank God from London to Pakistan and beyond our presence is there. I will say that God’s work done God’s way will never lack God’s supply. Again, I add that the leadership is aware of its onion and able to do work well and people find it easier to cooperate to enable it carry out its vision. The question is, how have we been faring? If you get the leadership right, every other thing falls in line; this is where our strength is and why we have continued to make progress. The secret also is that we owe nobody any kobo.
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