Ogunbanwo urges Nigerians to elect tested leaders

THE Anglican Bishop of the Bishop of the Diocese of Ijebu South/West, the Rt. Rev. Dr. Babatunde Ogunbanwo, has urged Nigerians to elect tested politicians with people-oriented manifestoes and programmes in the coming general elections.

  He said that Nigeria needed individuals who would address the problems of the nation and put citizens’ interests above their own narrow, personal objectives.

 Ogunbanwo said this while fielding questions from journalists during a Diocesan Episcopal award ceremony in commemoration of the fifth anniversary of the inauguration of the diocese at the Bishopcourt, Odogbolu, in Ogun State recently.

  The well-attended event also featured the unveiling of a colourful, 24-page magazine by the name of ‘Glad Tidings,’ the evangelical journal of the diocese, edited by the well-known media icon, Prince Henry Odukomaiya, who, in his prime, was Editor of the old ‘Daily Times,’ years later, he was the foundation Managing Director and Editor-in-Chief of the Concord Group and also of the Champion Group of newspapers.

  The bishop decried the attitude of those seeking higher political offices when they had failed to perform in lower responsibilities and urged the electorate to go for those with a track record of service delivery. He charged the electorate to vote for people-oriented politicians in place of those who are more concerned about themselves and family members.

  He also chided those politicians who have resorted to hate speeches and mudslinging instead of engaging on issue-based campaigns, stressing that politicians’ speeches in recent times have left much to be desired.

  “ have listened to most of the campaign speeches; they are not issue-oriented and that is not what we want in this 21st Century. We want issue-oriented politicians, we want people-oriented politicians, not people who are selfish, who are concerned only about their families but those who are concerned about the masses of this country, those who are concerned about solving the problems of this country,” he said.

  Ogunbanwo said the diocese had learnt a lot of lessons since its inauguration five years ago and thanked God for the spiritual, numerical and infrastructural growth it has recorded.

  He also attributed the fast pace of development in the diocese to unity of purpose and the cooperation of most of the parishoners. 

 “We know that God moves in mysterious ways His wonders to perform. In fact, we can say that all that we have achieved is only by the grace of God. We are a very small diocese but there is cooperation between the bishop and all the other members of the diocese.”

  Despite the achievements, Bishop Ogunbanwo contended that the diocese still had some challenges ahead of it. There are still lots of things to do, we are planning to build our own conference centre, we already have about 20 acres of land for that project and we are praying for God’s provision to be able to finance it. We want to tar the road that leads to the headquarters; in fact, we you can see, in this headquarters, we still need to continue the landscaping and the flooring so that it will be good. And then, spiritually, we are planning Evangelism, Fellowship and Service (EFS) so that we will s\win the people more to the Lored,” he said.

  On the awards, which were bestowed on some individuals, the bishop said the awardees were selected based on their commitment and faithfulness to the diocese and their devotion to God. The award recipients came from four categories: Episcopal award for excellent in service, humanitarian work award, royal awards and posthumous awards.

  A recipient of Episcopal award for excellent in service, the Rt. Rev. Oluranti Odubogun, Bishop of Ile-Ife, commended the diocese for the honour conferred on him, describing the award as a call for more service to God and humanity. He poured encomiums on the diocesan bishop, saying he had rallied the people for a common good.

  Another recipient, Mr. Biodun Shobanjo, founder and Chair of Troyka Holdings, thanked the diocese for the honour and urged all members to continue with the propagation of the work of God for which the Anglican Church is noted.