Nigeria direly needs visionary, servant leaders to foster unity – Pastor Medo-Uwa

Pastor Nick Medo-Uwa, General Overseer, Pentecostal Canaanland Mission, Ajao Estate, Lagos, in this interview with Seyi John Salau bares his mind on the state of the nation, the rising rate of divorce among young couples in the church, among other issues. Excerpts:

57 years after Independence Nigeria appears more divided than ever. How can we foster unity in the country?

My point of view is that the present administration instigated this division among Nigerians. Nigerians need a leader that can unite them and if Nigerians get the leadership that will carry everyone along, these division and agitations will fizzle out. Nigeria is in dire need of visionary and servant leaders that can bring the citizens together; Nigerians are good people and very easy to lead if one understands how to lead them. If you show them the sense of belonging, they will cooperate with you and follow. So the division and agitations are signs of failed leadership. If I am comfortable where I am and my rights are guaranteed, there is no way that I will complain or be agitating for my own separate country.

I believe that Nigeria will be better as one indivisible country. We will do better if we remain one. By the time you split Nigeria, it will be to the country’s disadvantage. But Nigeria should do away with discrimination among its citizens. For instance, if one has worked hard in the civil service and is due for promotion, he should be promoted; he shouldn’t be denied that promotion because of his tribe or religion. Whenever there is perceived injustice, people will agitate.

That is why these agitations and cries of marginalisation have continued in our nation. Everybody should be allowed to run at his or her own pace. If am good, I should be promoted; it doesn’t matter where I come from. If am qualified to handle a contract, it should be given to me notwithstanding my tribe or religion. People should be treated justly for us to grow as a nation.

Are you in any way impressed about the current state of the nation?

The truth is that I am highly disappointed with the present government. We voted this government into power with the hope that it would do what it promised Nigerians. You will agree with me that all is not well with this country – corruption and embezzlement and those other things that we used to know in the past have continued and it is not good for this nation. I used to be a very good supporter of Gen. Muhammadu Buhari because of the impression that I had of him as a no-nonsense person. Unfortunately, so many things have gone wrong under his watch. This administration’s sectional approach to governance has not helped the nation. Buhari is Nigeria’s president and the president of all Nigerians; he should treat everyone as a father, but most of his recent appointments are sectional. He should not see himself as the president of the North; he should give other zones a sense of belonging as a father. I have seen different governments in this country and most appointments were all-inclusive but this government does not even recognize the country’s federal character in its appointments.

People should not be treated on the basis of where they come from but they should be treated according to their competency and character. It is the responsibility of the present leadership to give every Nigerian the sense of belonging, where the citizens can say that Nigeria is our country and not that Nigeria is their country. We are looking forward to the leader that will reassure us that Nigeria is our country.

So the state of the nation is very pathetic but we are looking up to God, praying that one day he will intervene and put things right for us. For instance, the recent assertion by the president of the World Bank about President Buhari’s request that the bank should focus on the North is surprising, although the Presidency has denied the claim. Every part of this country needs the World Bank’s attention when it comes to projects. What happens to the South-West, South-East and South-South, are they not part of the country? In fact, if you go to the South-South, where the country is generating the bulk of its revenue, you will pity the people of that zone. Nothing is working there, yet it is the area that the wealth of this nation is coming from, nobody is talking about it. Every part of this country needs help.

Tell us about your church’s ‘Laughter’ programme. What is unique about this year’s programme and how does it relate to the family?

It has unique features that differentiate it from the previous ones. We organised free medical services for members of the community. The church offered free diagnosis and treatments for different ailments, including eye checks, and drugs given according to individuals’ needs. Another important feature of this year’s event is the couples’ dinner which was open to married couples irrespective of faith or denomination. This is important because if marriages and homes are healed, the nation will be fine too. One of the problems we have today in different families is as a result of frequent marital crises. The rate of divorce in the church is very alarming, so we want to see how we can curtail that menace. When we have stable homes, the children will not suffer, but when there is divorce and other issues in any marriage, it will affect the children adversely. Much of the social menace in the society today – prostitution, armed robbery and other anti-social behaviours – is the result of failed marriages. If the family is together, it is most likely that the children will not be wayward.

What do you think could be responsible for the rising cases of divorce among young couples in the church today?

One of the reasons for the high divorce rate these days is the social media. I blame the social media because many people do not know how to make proper use of it. Internet activities are affecting many people negatively these days because of its abuses. Most people ignorantly want to implement what they see and read on the internet in their homes, which tends to bring problems in the home.

I also see it as one of the manifestations of the end-time events; it is a sign that something is about to happen. Remember what the Bible says, that four women will hold one man and say, ‘Let us answer your name. We will buy ourselves food and clothes but let us just answer your name.’ I think that is the direction that the world is going at the moment. The church should wake up and preach the sound word of God from the pulpit; if the sound word of God is preached and practiced, it will minimize marital problems in the church and the society at large.