The planter of Christ Apostolic Church, Boanerges Worldwide, Prophet Adegboyega Ologbonyo, has said that Nigeria may not move forward with its present constitution.
The cleric posited that the constitution was made for the few and not all Nigerians, and called for its change so that all parts of the country can witness development.
Prophet Ologbonyo, speaking to journalists after the funeral service held in honor of his late mother-in-law, Mrs. Mary Oludolapo Abere in Efon Alaaye Ekiti, said that Nigeria is already blessed by God and does not need more prayers for blessings.
He said, “I have been saying it and I will not stop saying it. Our present constitution can never work for us, no matter how prayerful we are. That constitution is not for all Nigerians; it is for a few people.
“I am proposing and suggesting that each state and region should be allowed to use the resources they get from their area to develop their place. With that, I think our country will move forward. Without that and with the present constitution, we are going nowhere as a nation.
“Let us join hands to amend and change the constitution. I can tell you that every developed nation today has a working constitution or laws that control everything. If there is a system that is controlling everything, including everybody, I am very sure things will work out well.
“God has blessed this country, we don’t need to pray for blessings again. Many countries where our people are running to in the name of ‘japa’ don’t have half of what we have in Nigeria. God has blessed us already; we just need to put some systems in place to use the blessings to our advantage.”
Regarding the recent hardship and protests in the country, the man of God said it is obvious that the pain and hardship in the country are widespread, and everyone, irrespective of their class, knows that things are not easy.
“But I believe we can be agents of change. If you are clamoring for change and you are in the shoes of the President, what can you do to salvage the situation and make things okay?
“Within your space, try to make a positive change. I believe if all of us can join hands in trying to make a change, this country will be better for it. It is sometimes easier to manage poverty than wealth. Many of us shouting, if given the opportunity to lead, will mess up the position more than those people we are talking about.
“I think it is high time for all of us to begin to work on ourselves. Everybody is shouting about hardship; even those selling locust beans and vegetables are saying the US dollar is on the high side against the naira. I don’t know how the dollar is affecting such goods. If you look at it, sometimes, owners of fuel stations will deliberately lock up their shops, claiming they don’t have fuel to sell, just to punish people.
“We all have a role to play in all of these scenarios. Let the change begin from each and every one of us. And let the government begin to orientate everyone. People are of the view that information from the government is usually real and mostly political. That is why people are out to protest against some government policies.
“The people are protesting because things are hard, and by the time the situation changes for the better and they heave a sigh of relief, they will stop the idea of staging protests.
“The fact remains that people are just struggling to survive, and Nigerians are not that hard and insensitive. The moment they are given what they wanted, they will leave and allow things to run the way they should. Let the change begin from all of us, and let the government continue to orientate the people.”
He also counseled business moguls and leading entrepreneurs in Nigeria to leave politics for the politicians.
The cleric said that any big business person who really wants to do well in their businesses and investments shouldn’t, for any reason, get involved in partisan politics.
“I am of the view that some renowned business people in the country are deeply involved in politics, which may not augur well for their businesses. They should steer clear of politics. If you want to benefit from government and dabble in politics, if another government not in your party gets to power, they will frustrate you. Late Moshood Abiola was a successful businessman until he dabbled in politics. Then, all he had was ruined.”
The cleric, while expressing his thoughts on children’s development, said parents’ character and home training have a significant impact on the lives of their children.
“Most parents these days don’t really have much time for their children like the people of those days, but everyone is just running after money.”
