The Senior Pastor of Trinity House, Pastor Ituah Ighodalo on Friday said Nigerians have not had time to sit and think as a nation.
He stated this during Channels Television’s special programme, ‘Nigeria@61: Thoughts on leadership,’ to mark Nigeria’s Independence Anniversary.
“Nobody at the top has had the responsibility of defining for us what Nigeria should be doing,” he said, decrying the first coup in the country which he said prevented the leaders at the time from plotting a road map for the nation.
According to him, several Nigerian leaders were either accidental leaders or had limited time to define what Nigeria should be.
“We have not really had any transition in leadership,” he added, stressing that many of the current leaders have been in governance for decades.
Consequently, he said there had been a migration from youth-minded leadership to the current situation.
He blamed the military for the failure to create the right governance mentality among Nigerians.
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‘We Have To Sit’
As a way forward, Pastor Ighodalo called for talks about Nigeria’s future as a nation, insisting that it was necessary.
“Everybody has to sit at the table and we have to discuss,” the cleric maintained.
“I don’t know why some people are afraid but we have to sit round the table and everybody’s opinion has to be heard.”
Ighodalo also decried the lack of focus on merit in various spheres of national life, saying most people now see nepotism as a way of life.
Despite these challenges, the preacher noted that “Nigeria is a great country, in terms of the natural resources it has [and also the] strong people.”
To fully maximise these potentials, he said Nigeria needs a focused leadership willing to work within the ambit of democracy.
“I hope that with time and with democracy we will be able to get the cream of the crop as leaders,” he added.
