As the nation prepares to navigate the political transition to the 2027 general elections the Founder and Presiding Bishop of The Redeemed Evangelical Mission (TREM) Worldwide Bishop Mike Okonkwo has urged Nigerians to rise above primordial sentiments and exercise their civic duty by voting for competence and true leadership.
Speaking in a sideline interview with journalists when he visited Dominion University Ibadan-Lagos Expressway where he delivered the 4th Convocation Lecture the renowned cleric expressed deep concern over how the nation’s political landscape has historically been clouded by divisions declaring that the electorate must look beyond religious affiliations tribal loyalties party lines and personal interests if the country is to move forward.
Drawing from his wealth of experience Bishop Okonkwo maintained that true nation-building requires a deliberate departure from narrow parochialism.
Addressing the criteria for choosing leaders the cleric said ‘When people divorce themselves from religious tribal party and personal interest… let me explain myself
‘Religion to say that until a Christian is voted in the country cannot be good. I don’t share that concept because there are Christians you’ll vote in who will not do what you expected.
‘If it is tribal there are people from my tribe who may not do good. So I will not say because it’s wrong my tribe I must vote for him.’
Emphasising that governance is about collective well-being rather than appeasing sections the cleric pointed out that leadership should be measured by the ability to deliver the dividends of democracy to all citizens regardless of background.
He cited international examples to support his stance on pragmatic effective leadership noting that progress is agnostic to religious or tribal lines when the right systems are in place.
‘Nigeria we should look for who will deliver the dividends of democracy to every person. When you sit in any position your assignment is to ensure every interest is represented and covered whether you are from any tribe or any religion.
‘I don’t have any issue with a Muslim ruling this country as long as he can deliver the dividends of democracy. Take for instance Dubai the United Arab Emirates. They are not Christians but in Dubai the educational system is top-notch their electricity is top-notch their hospitals are top-notch.
‘These are people who are not of the same religion. So if that can be done so why are we always looking for who should have-is it from my own tribe or is it from my church? No. Who will give Nigeria the dividends of democracy?’
Turning to the youth’s critical role in shaping the country’s destiny the TREM general overseer urged young Nigerians not to succumb to despair noting that the current generation has unprecedented access to knowledge and global opportunities.
However he stressed that their most potent weapon in the coming dispensation remains their ballot.
‘All they need to do is to go and vote’ Okonkwo asserted downplaying violence as a means of political expression.
‘The youths will not go to war; they will not carry arms. The best they can do at the moment is to vote and vote for those who will give us roads give us good hospitals.’
The fiery cleric did not mince words about public office holders calling for strict moral and physical accountability for leaders entrusted with state resources.
He argued that those who seek public office must be genuinely invested in the ordinary citizen’s domestic realities rather than treating governance as a self-enriching venture.
‘Anyone who is running in any public office in this country must never-once you subscribe you are coming to public office-you must subscribe that your child will not go to foreign school; you must school here in this country. You are sick you will go to hospital in this country. You are travelling to any part of the country you go by road so that you see the roads other people are passing’ he warned.
Reflecting on the sanctity of human life and the reduction of politics to a do-or-die affair Bishop Okonkwo cautioned political actors against violent power struggles reminding them that posterity remains the ultimate judge of human actions.
‘Politics is not about do-or-die. We have reduced politics to taking human life and probably the blood that is being shed is part of the things that are holding us down in this country.
‘At the end of the day a good name is better than silver and gold. The memory of the just is blessed. When they remember you at the end of the day after you are gone what will be the legacy?’ the cleric added.