90% Of Our Politicians Are Too Selfish – Bishop Okonkwo

Founder of the Redeemed Evangelical Mission, TREM, Dr. Mike Okonkwo, last Sunday took a swipe on Nigerian politicians when he accused them of going into politics for selfish interest.

The cleric made this declaration while addressing newsmen at the opening ceremony of this year’s Kingdom Life Conference, under the theme: “Open Heaven”.

 
Okonkwo said, “About 90 per cent of them who are in power today, both at the federal and state levels are there not because they have something to offer. Nigerian leaders are not there to develop the country. Their interest is their personal interest.”

The outspoken preacher noted that those in authority are not there to develop anything.

“For instance, each time I think of the South South region of the country that produces the wealth of the nation and the rate of neglect in the place, you will be forced to ask yourself, what kind of human beings who have brains will be able to sit down and watch such neglect without thinking of developing the area.

“That is why I said these people are not honest. If they are, such places where majority of the nation’s resources come from, should be developed to make the indigenes feel a sense of belonging. So for me, until we address such imbalance, I don’t think we are ready to move the nation forward.”

He argued that “we need to put things right and get people who know that the purpose of governance is for the benefit of the people. But the present structure we have is such that allows charlatans and cowboys, all in the name of politics. They move into Government Houses because of the benefits that are there and not because they have something to offer. Corruption had been there, but the present magnitude is worrisome. The moment we started exchanging money for performance and integrity, that was when we started having more problems.”