A Catholic Priest and the Editor in Chief of ood Shepherd Newspaper, Rev. Fr Kenneth Agwu has urged Nigerians to be careful with the choice of leadership they make come 2027 general elections.

He warned that the choice of leaders they make will determine the direction the country will and stressed the need for Nigerians to ensure that the right people are elected into positions of authority in order to better their lot.

Speaking at the launch of the book titled,
“Living in Heaven on Earth”, written by a financial consultant and a former Manager at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Sir Onyebuchi Anih , in Abuja, Agwu who urged all eligible Nigerians to participate actively in the electoral process, and ensure that only the candidates who resonate with our aspirations and values are elected into office.

Agwu emphasized that the 2027 general elections is very crucial as it is going decide our destiny as a people and cautioned Nigerians against apathy.

He said, “If we don’t get the right people in the position, it will affect us. Every decision government make affects everybody, whether you voted or not, whether you’re a Christian or not. This is why it is a clarion call for every individual to come together, make the right decision, get the right people in the position of authority”.No wonder the scripture says to us, when the righteous in authority, the people rejoice, and of

“Considering the way Nigerians are living now, we have responsibility to ensure that participate actively in the electoral process because the choice of leaders we make actually determines a lot. No wonder the scripture says to us, when the righteous in authority, the people rejoice, and of course, righteousness exalt a nation. Nigerians are reasonable people, they are not contented and are going to work hard to improve it by ensuring that the right people are in a position of authority”.

Agwu stated that the he basic thing that the book is trying to advance is contentment adding that anybody who wants to.make progress in this life, must be contented.

“I want Christians to learn from this book on how they can practice happiness in their daily life. The basic thing that the book is trying to advance is contentment. Anybody who wants to make progress in this life must be contented. That’s the core of the book, and I’m encouraging every Christian to learn that basic fact, because the foundation for every other achievement or aspiration is contentment and happiness”.

In his Goodwill message, the Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, Most Rev. Ignatius Kaigama, said that the book presentation is not just an unveiling of pages but also, a noble contribution to the intellectual, moral and spiritual enrichment of society.

He said, “The publication of a book is more than the unveiling of pages; it is also a noble contribution to the intellectual, moral and spiritual enrichment of society. May this publication continue to enlighten readers, stimulate constructive reflection, and encourage many readers to deepen their faith, embrace virtuous living, and strive for a closer relationship with God and their neighbours,” .

Kaigama stated that Living in Heaven on Earth is a book which promises to offer insights and evoke in the hearts of its readers, an aspiration to experience even now, the peace, joy, love, and communion with God that find their fullness in heaven.

In his remarks. the author of the book said he was inspired by his observation that human beings, especially Nigerians, place their happiness on material acquisitions, instead of seeking spiritual contentment and being at peace with God.

He noted that the book is transformative and that it is challenges the whole traditional concept about happiness and of heaven, “Because we don’t want to believe that the kingdom of heaven is here on earth. Some believe it is somewhere either behind the skies or somewhere very far off, and we should live a very contrite life on earth, so that when we die, we will go to heaven to begin to enjoy”.

Explaining what informed the title, Anih said: “I once went to my Indian friend’s office in Victoria Island, Lagos and I read an inscription on his table that it is strange that men always find time to quarrel, to be unhappy and to shorten their lifespan, when they don’t have enough time to make friends, to be happy and to prolong their lifespan. So, it made a lot of sense to me and I inquired further into it.

“Some authors will tell you that life is too short to be misled. Others will tell you don’t lose any happiness while you are alive. So all those things came together to give me that push that was needed to do this, and importantly, when I started memorizing this, it became a ruling principle of my life. So I learned to find time to make friends, to be happy, instead of quarrels.

“This is because, when you are quarreling with somebody, you only succeed in punishing yourself, but if you are happy, you find that you are always growing, growing inside you, particularly, and you are a happy person. So that was what actually inspired me to write this book.

“But the book says no, the kingdom of heaven is here on earth, and it was Jesus Christ that brought the kingdom of heaven. When he came to the world, he brought in this kingdom of heaven, because where the king is, there is the kingdom of the king. Therefore, if the world is here, it means that its attributes, characteristics, like perfect happiness, perfect peace, perfect tranquility, are also here, and we should enjoy them, and not wait until we die”.

“Importantly, too, happiness is our birthright. We are created for the purpose of being happy, but sometimes we forget it. We think it is when we die. No, the book is saying the happiness of heaven is here on earth. Let us enjoy it. We are doing a journey in our life here on earth. And if you want to enjoy your journey, you don’t wait until you reach the destination, because you are not sure you are going to reach the destination. So, the best thing you are going to do is enjoy the journey.

“Survival in life has two components. One is working hard, another is trusting in God. Most of the times we are impatient, and it is our impatience that makes us forget the plan that God has for us. But then we divert our attention to checking why we have not made the success as we’ve been expecting. You see, so in order for us to survive, we have to work hard.

“The book is also saying that we will continue to encounter difficulties along our lives. It is a matter of attitude. If we encounter difficulties, how do we perceive it? Do we see the difficulties as a stepping stone for us to move forward or an obstacle for us to fall back? You see, it’s a matter of choice. So, like Jesus taught us, we have to think about going forward, ignoring all difficulties.

“We know we have difficulties. The question is, how do we solve them? We know where we are going. If we say that we want peace in Nigeria, we know how to find peace. We work towards it. The problem we are having here is that we are not truthful to ourselves. We know what we should do in order to stop insecurity.

“Whoever tells me that in this level of technology, we cannot trace the people who are in the bush trying to kidnap other people, it is false. We can do it. If we don’t do it, we are deceiving ourselves. So if we are truthful to ourselves, we’ll solve the issue of insecurity. It’s as simple as that.”