A former President of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo has warned that the 2023 general election may make or break the country if “we do not watch it.”
Obasanjo said this when the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Most Reverend Daniel Okoh, paid him a courtesy visit at his Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library Penthouse residence in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.
Obasanjo, in a statement signed by his Special Assistant on Media, Kehinde Akinyemi, warned that politicians are capable of wreaking havoc which could make or break the country if leaders fail to watch it.
He said, “In the next election if we do not watch it, it may make or break Nigeria. And I pray that it will make Nigeria.
“If you stand on the truth, you stand for justice and equity, it is then that politicians will not be able to mess us around and I will say it with all sense of responsibility now if we do not watch it, the politicians will wreck this country and we will all regret it.
“And where can we look for salvation, that is where you religious leaders have a significant role to play.
“I think it’s the mistake of the past, that we say politics is not for the righteous. Now, if we take the righteous away from politics, and we leave politics to the unrighteous, the unrighteous will smear the righteous with the unrighteousness that they will carry into politics and will have nowhere to go.”
Commending the CAN President for his remark, the former president said “I must say, I am impressed with you and the Sultan, who is already singing your praises. You both can make a turnaround. You can work together.
Obasanjo noted that the Sultan of Sokoto had spoken about CAN President to his personality.
“Having both the Sultan of Sokoto and the President of CAN already on the same page, maybe our politicians will listen, and if our politicians don’t listen, maybe our people will listen,” Obasanjo added.
Earlier, the CAN president commended Obasanjo for his role in making valid contributions to Christianity in Nigeria.
Okoh said, “In 1976, you started with the establishment of this association, the CAN and in September 1999, you formed the Inter-Religious Faith Council 1999. In the political sector, you set up the National Political Reform Conference, to which I am privileged to be a delegate, representing the Christian faith. These were the few I could remember as I was planning for this visit.
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