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Tag: cleric

  • Cleric urges Christians on politics

    the Catholic Bishop of Kano Diocese, Rev. John Namaza, has urged Christians to participate in politics and transform the country.

    Rev. Nasmaza, who spoke after inaugurating 16 brothers and 16 sisters into the prestigious knighthood of St. Mulumba at St. Louis Catholic Church, Bompai, Kano, said Christians should be courageous and have faith in God to accomplish their mission in life.

    He said: “Christians are expected to be courageous. They should be people of faith, who trust in God. We should remember that we are Nigerians and we should be our brother’s keeper, to enable our nation prosper.

    “Christians should be people, who have the courage to enter the political arena and transform it by doing good in order to develop the country and promote a society that is God-fearing.”

    Bishop Namaza advised the knights of Mulumba, who were elevated to the next rank, to live their lives according to Christian principles, adding that they should be united and support the church.

    He enjoined them not to relent in their efforts in supporting humanity with their resources, to promote peace and progress.

  • Nigeria ‘ll be great under Buhari, says cleric

    •UNILAG Alumni rally support for President

    Markaz Institute of Islamic and Arabic Studies Proprietor Sheik Habeebullahi Adam Al-llory has said President Muhammed Buhari’s inauguration speech has given Nigerians hope of better days.

    In a statement in Lagos, he said: “under your leadership Nigeria would soon be among the enviable politically and socio-economically developed nations in the world.”

    Al-llory said Buhari’s victory could not have come at a better time than now when many Nigerians are yearning for better leadership.

    He saluted the President’s courage, resilience, consistency, seriousness of purpose and tenacity.

    “We are aware of the enormous responsibility on your shoulders and the expectations of Nigerians are high as they expect you to hit the ground running immediately.  We believe as a former military Head of State, you would excel. All these have given us the hope that you would meet the expectations of Nigerians. We assure you of our total support through fervent prayers since prayer is the sword of believers,” he said.

    University of Lagos Muslim Alumni (UMA) President Alhaji Akeeb Oladokun urged Muslims to pray for Buhari’s success.

    Meanwhile, the Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria, Lagos State Area Unit has called on Buhari to “make our refineries work and build new ones.”

    According to MSSN, if the refineries are functional, the nation will not import what it has in abundance or be talking about subsidy.

    A statement by its Amir (President) Alhaji Kaamil Kalejaiye said: “‘Our government ought to have ensured that Nigeria becomes self-sufficient in local refinery of all petroleum products since 1999, all loopholes and drain pipes in the oil industry should be blocked. The Nigerian masses should not be made to suffer for the crime of few individuals.”

    Kalejaiye urged the new administration to swing into action by delivering its promises to ameliorate the sufferings in the polity.

  • Nigeria needs prayers, says cleric

    Bishop of the Diocese of Lagos Central (DLC), Methodist Church Nigeria, Rt. Rev.  Kehinde Adeyemi, has urged Nigerians to pray for President-elect Muhammadu Buhari to solve the nation’s problem.

    He made the call while fielding questions at a press conference organised to flag off celebrations marking the diocese’s fifth anniversary.

    “The problems of this nation (Nigeria) are too many and only God can solve them. President-elect Muhammadu Buhari cannot easily solve them at a go because he is not magician. Only prayers to God to show mercy and the co-operation of all Nigerians can help,” he said.

    The cleric, who said corruption had eaten deep into the nation’s fabrics, blamed the political class for the malaise.

    He urged Nigerians to support the incoming government fulfil its mandate.

    Adeyemi said one of the diocese’s achievements in five years was the building of a 128-room hostel for students at the Wesley University of Technology, Ondo (WUSTO) for about N40million.

    “The young-but-promising diocese also hosted the first Emergency Conference of Methodist Church Nigeria in 2014, where the current Prelate, Methodist Church Nigeria, His Eminence, Dr Samuel Chukwuemeka Kanu Uche (JP), was peacefully elected to succeed Prelate Emeritus Dr. Sunday Ola Makinde,” he said.

    The cleric said the way the “’emergency conference” was organised earned the diocese the epithet, “Diocese of love and Distinction,” by the Methodist Church hierarchy.

    On structural and spiritual development, Adeyemi said the diocese, which began with four federating circuits at inception increased to five, with the creation of Ojo Circuit from Festac Circuit, adding: “All the five circuits are doing very well.”

    “While a member of the church donated a brand new bus to the church for evangelism, a member of the clergy also donated another brand new bus to the church and the women fellowship also donated another brand new bus to the diocese – all for evangelism,” he said.

    The development, he said, led to the donation of computers, giant air-conditioners, plasma television sets, Boy Brigade Kits, keyboards and others for the use of the diocese by others. “All these donations were made possible with the spiritual growth of members,” he said.

    The foundation of Wesley High Scholl on Private Street, LASU-Iba Road, Iba in Ojo Circuit will be laid tomorrow. There will also be a fund-raising dinner for the project, he said.

    At the ceremony were the Diocesan Lay-President, Sir Remi Olukoga, a lawyer; the Synod Secretary, Very Revd Ade Ademilua; the Festac Circuit Presbyter, Very Revd William Fasina; the Public Relations Officer (PRO) 1, Bro Ojo Bejide; PRO 11, Bro Biodun Bayewu; the Technical Officer, Mr B.O Jegede, among others.

    The week-long celebration ends on Sunday with a thanksgiving service at the diocese headquarters in Ebute-Meta.

  • Cleric advises youths on talent use

    Cleric advises youths on talent use

    Representative of The Living Word Family, David Babajide Nadi has emerged the overall winner of LAGOS SHIFT 2015 Ambassador organised by the National Youth Affairs of The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG). It was held at the Cricket Arena, the Tafawa Balawa Square, (TBS) Lagos.

    The event, which was tagged: Exceeding Expectation drew together thousands of youths and was held simultaneously in Lagos, Port Harcourt and Abuja featuring comedy, dance expression and music. Nadi emerged winner after winning the music category and Precious Uban, an 11-year-old boy from the Mountain Top Secondary School won the round up prize. Dance Evangelists, a group comprising six members won the dance category. There were auditions held in seven centres around the country before selection of about 10 contestants for the final phase of the competition. Winners emerged from different categories of performance such as comedy, dance, public speaking and singing.

    The Special Adviser to General Overseer of RCCG on Personnel and Administration, Pastor Johnson Odesola said that programme is aimed at harnessing the gift of today’s youth toward a brighter future.

    He noted that the anomaly in today’s world could be corrected by this generation that has enormous abilities, vigour, talents and skills which when utilise on godly principles would create a more just, equity and peaceful society.

    He blamed the increasing spate of insurgency as a result of long years of neglect, marginalisation and indifference to the well being and development of young people.  Odesola said that ‘records have shown that between the ages of 15-17 years old, boys are being used by members of the Boko Haram sect in the name of Alamagris to foment mayhem and terminate innocent souls because government and other stakeholders failed to catch them young’.

    He went further to appeal to the new ambassador to keep the light shining and represent the interest of Jesus Christ in all that they do.

    He continued: “RCCG is quite doing a lot in that regard, to empower the youth who are talented in various professions. Various programmes are being mapped to make this happen”.

    National Youth Pastor of RCCG, Pastor Belemina Obunge said that the faith based initiative which is aimed at discovery and harnessing the talents of young people started in Lagos in 2012 and has spread to other parts of Nigeria and the world.

    He also said that the shift initiative has gone beyond Nigeria and has visited Dubai, Istanbul, Nairobi, South Africa, Ghana in the past 4 years.

    Obunge noted that the programme helps to expose youths to morally and ethically sound ways of living so they in turn can influence others as well as offering them opportunity to express themselves by showcasing their talents, gifts and creative abilities.

    He said ‘as Christian youth of this generation, our best is yet to come. We are trusting God to break more grounds, do more exploits, reach out more for the lord and be the best in all that we do’.

    Human Resource Management Consultant, OluJimi Tewe challenged the youths to leverage and explore their talents, skills and the ability in them for the betterment of the society. “You are the solution to your generation and until you understand that, you will realise that you cannot save your generation,” he said. He noted that the world is facing hard times as all the sectors of the nation’s economy is yearning for change, new ideas, concept and critical thinking, which can be done by a solution driven youths.

     

  • Cleric tasks media practitioners on professionalism

    Catholic ArchBishop of Ibadan , Rev Gabriel ‘Leke Abegunrin has said media practitioners must be professional and ethical in issuing information to the public.

    Abegunrin who spoke at the 2015 World Communications Day Reception at St. Mary’s Cathedral Hall, Oke Padi, Ibadan said in real reportage, the standard expected of journalists does not allow for the slightest degree of sloppiness or carelessness.

    He appealed to journalists to adhere strictly to the ethics of news reporting in the reportage of any event.

    The ArchBishop said it is necessary that information passed to the public must go through the most thorough  search in order to ensure factuality, saying information must be presented in a manner that would not cause undue anxiety in the society.

    Abegunrin said journalists are expected to undertake self-regulation, adding that the commission, as a media consumer and source of information for public consumption, is concerned about what is taken into account in what is published or broadcasted.

    “A piece of information has to be analysed critically in terms of source and veracity, among others. Journalist need training and retraining, you will see some journalists that speak bad English and even broadcasters that pronounce words poorly on television” he said.

    The Archshop also called on political gladiators to use the sacredness of the season to bring sanity to the on-going democratic activities in the country.

    He, however, charged Nigerians irrespective of their religions, to engage in fervent prayers,especially at this period, to salvage the country from social evils for the success of the proposed general election.

  • Gunmen assassinate 71-year-old cleric in Edo

    A 71-year old cleric, Reverend David Memeh, has been assasinated by unknown gunmen at his Government Reservation Area residence in Benin City, the Edo State capital.

    Late Rev. Memeh who worshipped at the Foursquare Gospel was shot twice after the suspected assassins forcefully gained entrance into his residence.

    The gunmen did not take anything from the residence except the cell phones of the victim and his wife.

    Wife of the victim, Deaconess Alice, said her husband begged for life before he was shot.

    She said the killers broke into their apartment through the window in her husband’s room but that her husband fled to her room.

    Alice who spoke amidst tears said the two killers slapped her husband severally before they dragged him to kill.

    According to her, “I ran out after I heard gunshot for them to kill me but the killers have left. We were only three at home and they overpowered us.”

    “My husband is dead. I will appreciate if government arrest the killers.”

    Spokesman for the Edo Police Command, DSP Stephen Onwochei, could not be reached for comments.

  • Cleric advises Buhari on good governance

    Cleric advises Buhari on good governance

    From the pulpit came an advice to the President-elect, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari to pilot the affairs of the country with the fear of God.

    The Archbishop of Ondo Ecclesiastical Province of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), Most Revd. George Lasebikan urged the former head of state to ensure that his administration entrench good governance in order to put smiles on the faces of the people who voted for him.

    The cleric gave the advice during the third session of the 21st Synod of the Diocese of Ondo held at Saint Andrew’s Anglican Church Idimoge, Ondo, Ondo state.

    While congratulating Buhari for his success at the poll, he urged him to abide by the election promises made to the people, so that the confidence reposed in him as a disciplined and incorruptible person would be justified.

    He lamented what he described as the inability of past leadership to address the problems bedeviling the nation.

    This development he said has brought the nation’s growth to the lowest level, resulting in abject poverty, unemployment and devaluation of the country’s currency.

    The religious leader, explained that the decision by the people to have a change of leadership at the top, may have been influenced by their wish to produce a leader, who they believe would be able to change the trend.

    While charging the President-elect to redouble his effort in ensuring that people’s expectations are met, Most Revd Lasebikan explained that his victory should not be regarded only as the manifestation of the cry for change which he said was the slogan before the election, but should provide the basis for him to produce the answer to the change needed in the nation.

    He advised Buhari to be wary of people of shady characters, who may want to come into his government to achieve their selfish ambitions.

    His words “elections have come and gone, now and the cry for change has manifested in the results that voted out a party and voted in another. That is just the beginning. It does not provide the answer to the needed change in the nation.

    “This becomes more evident because the party voted in does not consist of innocent and holy men. Rather, it is a conglomerate of men of different characters whose description can best be described as shady also”.

    While congratulating Nigerians for participating in the election, Rev Lasebikan urged the people not to be silent on their expectations from the new administration, by ensuring that they keep them on their toes.

    He also urged the people to continue to pray for the new government, so that they would be able to pilot the affairs of the country with wisdom and creativity, so as to enable Nigeria to achieve the needed growth among the comity of nations.

    The cleric admonished the political class to refrain from violence in their quest to acquire political power, stating that it is only God that gives power and put somebody in any position and not mortals.

     

  • The change Nigerians voted, by cleric

    The President of Joyful Smiles Foundation, a faith-based nongovernmental organisation, Pastor Tayo Kayode, has appealed to the incoming administration to deliver on its change mantra.

    He said Nigerians expect nothing short of changes at personal and national levels in the next four years.

    Kayode, in a letter to the president-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari, said Nigerians are tired of decaying infrastructure, failed promises and poor standards of living.

    This, he said, was why they massively voted for the Buhari/Osinbanjo’s ticket in March 28.

    According to him: “Indeed, this is a victory for the common man on the streets, victory for every Nigerian, victory for democracy and victory for change.

    “This victory has shown that there is hope for our great country Nigeria and that the vote of the voters now counts. We have now entered into that new era.”

    Listing areas that Buhari should concentrate on, the cleric said: “Nigerians need transparency and revival in the oil sector.”

    He urged the president-elect to shun political interests and appoint only credible and competent men into his cabinet as ministers.

    Kayode also urged the incoming administration to fight corruption and fix the power sector, saying the epileptic supply in the nation was embarrassing.

    Nigerians, he said, want Buhari to “reduce the nation’s dependency on crude oil for revenue. Block and eliminate wastages, reduce numbers of federal Ministries where possible, develop other sectors to account for about 50% of our total revenue yield. Nigerians want to see you diversifying the economy.”

    On telecommunication, he called for stoppage of exploitation by operators, saying the consumers must be protected to get value for money.

    To achieve all of these, he urged Buhari to lead by surrounding himself with “tacticians, strategic planners made up of intellectuals, economists, security experts, agriculture gurus, sport giants, radical politicians, technocrats, educationists, medical and health administrations, engineers and administrators that share the same change vision to start the preliminary plans for your administration now.”

  • Cleric urges leaders to assist victims of terrorism

    The Catholic Bishop of Lafia Diocese, Dr Mathew Ishaya, on Monday urged Nigerian leaders to evolve strategies that would alleviate the suffering of the victims of terrorism and other evils acts.

    Ishaya stated this when he spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lafia.

    He said the call had become imperative in order to improve the standard of living of the victims of violence in the country.

    Ishaya said the nation should give those people a sense of belonging.

    “The security challenge facing the state and some parts of the country such as terrorism, communal crisis, among other evil acts, have affected our lives and the socio-economic development of the country negatively.

    “Our brothers and sisters have been displaced; they are homeless due to the activities of Boko Haram, communal crisis and other forms of violence in the society. There is need to assist in reducing their suffering.

    “I want to task the world and Nigerian leaders to work out strategies that will permanently alleviate the suffering faced by the victims of Boko Haram and others form of violence in order to improve their standard of living.

    “Our role is to preach and to ensure that peace and unity of the state and Nigeria at large are sustained.

    “No meaningful development can be achieved in any society without peace. Peace is priceless and non-negotiable,” the cleric further stated.

    He said the Federal Government had done its best in fighting terrorism.

    Ishaya called on Christians and other Nigerians to use the Easter period to demonstrate generosity to the less-privileged persons in order to give them a sense of belonging.

    The catholic bishop also urged the people of the state to embrace peace and shun all forms of negative acts in order to inherit the Kingdom of God, saying that no religion encourages violence.

    He called on Nigerians, especially the youths, to be law-abiding and respect constituted authority.

    The bishop urged the people of the state to live in peace and tolerate one another irrespective of ethnic, religious and political affiliations.

  • Cleric urges leaders to be godly

    Cleric urges leaders to be godly

    Archbishop, Ecclesiastical Province of Lagos/Bishop, Diocese of Lagos Mainland, the Most Revd, Prof. Adebayo Akinde, yesterday urged politicians to be godly.

    He said the only agenda  for the President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, “is God’s own agenda, which is in Leviticus, 11, 44”.

    The cleric said: “Every incoming leader must be holy because God is holy.”

    He added: “When our leaders are holy, they will seek to please God. Let the leaders live a holy life, work for the interest of Nigerians, secure the present and prepare for the future.”

    Bishop Akinde, who spoke on his Easter message to Nigerians at the Cathedral of St Jude in Ebuta-Meta, Lagos, said politicians should read  Leviticus, 11, 44, “because the scripture demands that we live a holy life because God is holy”.

    The cleric said his message for the nation “is that God is set to do a new thing in this country”.

    He added:  “God, because of his love, gave us free gift of victory. By the shedding of the blood of Jesus on the cross of Calvary on Good Friday, he paid the ransom for our sins. For every believer, who confesses and puts his trust in God, our sins are forgiven and by his resurrection, he is offering a new victory.

    “Christians should be aware of the fact that Jesus is risen and that the power that God used to roll away the stone is still available to God to roll away whatever problems, difficulties or challenges that may be facing our country, but God wants us to love one another.

    “This is not the time for us to say ‘I am Igbo, or Yoruba or Hausa’; we are Nigerians and there should be unity because God is love. Christians must show love to one another and to everybody.  Nigerians must ensure unity and love.

    “We must be prepared to make sacrifices. Jesus Christ made sacrifice; without his sacrificial death, none of us will have salvation. We must be able to make sacrifice for the coming generation. Our leaders must make sacrifice just as Jesus did by dying for our sins. We should leave a good legacy and Nigerian must be an avenger of good news.”