Cleric urges honest Nigerians to join politics By Tolu Okunlola

NATIONAL President of Christian Welfare Initiative (CWI), Archbishop
Magnus Adeyemi Atilade, has called on men and women of integrity,
particularly Christians, to join politicalparties of their choice in
2015 to save Nigeria from impending disintegration.
Speaking in Lagos at the weekend, at the third anniversary of the CWI,
Atilade said honest and respected citizens must rise and salvage
Nigeria from leadership ineptitude, bribery and corruption, mass youth
employment and insecurity already overwhelming the country.
He noted that majority of the current politicians are self-serving
people who are only interested in what they could make out of Nigeria
and not what to do for the country to make it a great nation and stamp
out poverty and want. According to Atilade, the wealth of the nation
is enough for theentire people of Nigeria to make good living.
Atilade, who noted that politics is believed by Nigerians to be a
dirty game, said if good people continue tohold this view, bad people
will continue to govern the country and impose their will on the
entire people.
The cleric said any government that would emerge in 2015 must be a
good one that could restore Nigerians' innate creativity, ensure
security, deepen citizens' inner stability and tackle head-long the
problem of youth unemployment.
He added that those wishing to join politics in 2015 must be prepared
to uphold the virtues of honesty and responsibility and exhibit our
social core values, because only honesty could exalt a nation.
Prof. Christopher Awodipe, who was the guest speaker at the ceremony,
identified religious leaders as part of the country's problems,
alleging that they failed to tell the truth to the leaders and office
holders who are their members, because of the little gifts and
donations the politicians give them.
He said religious leaders should see themselves as the conscience and
ears of the nation, and should always tell politicians the truth.
Awodipe cautioned politicians and religious leaders that whatever they
do with their offices, they must give account of their stewardship to
God.
He called on Nigerians of integrity to join politics in 2015 and
wrestle power in order to form a good government that would provide
all the needs of the people, particularly the poor masses, who have
been at the receiving end of bad governance