Governor of Delta, Senator (Dr.) Ifeanyi Okowa, on Thursday urged Nigerian leaders to be closer to the people to strengthen the processes of good governance.
He made the call in a keynote address at the 2019 edition of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Day celebration organised by the state chapter in Asaba.
According to the governor, leaders must be close to the people they lead and identify with them for good policies to be made.
He said, “a godly leader, at whatever level, is empathetic with the pain and suffering of the people he is called to lead.
“There are far too many leaders in our society who are disconnected from the reality on ground and that does not augur well for people-centred policies and good governance.”
Quoting some Bible verses, the governor emphasised that Nigeria would experience great relief “if we will heed the divine injunction to repent, seek God’s face and turn from our wicked ways”.
He commended Chairman of CAN in the state and members of the association’s executive for the programme, which rallied Christians of all denominations for fellowship and prayer.
“I have no doubt that it will serve as a catalyst for greater love and stronger unity among Christians of all persuasions.
“The first thing that struck me upon receiving the invitation to this meeting is the theme, ‘God Is Our Refuge And Fortress (Psalm 91: 2)’ which I believe we all need a fresh revelation of God as our Refuge and Fortress in the times that we live in.
“All over the world, nations are in turmoil, the seas are roaring, the earth is being shaken to its foundations, the future is very much uncertain and men’s hearts are ‘failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth’.
“But, when the Bible speaks of God as our refuge and fortress, it speaks of His awesome power to protect us from evil, deliver us from danger and fight our battles, because while He is the God of love, He is also ‘a consuming fire’ and ‘a man of war’.
“Indeed, God is our present help in times of trouble and when the situation seems hopeless and you don’t have anywhere to turn, when you have done all that you could and the enemy seems to have you cornered, when those you trusted turn around to betray you, you must resist the temptation to get even or react in the flesh.
“Trust God to make a way where there seems to be no way for the name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe,” Okowa admonished.
In a sermon, Bishop Kingsley Enakirerhi said that Christians were called to solve problems, adding that temptations and challenges would prove to visible and invisible enemies that “when you make God your refuge and fortress, you will be prosperous, protected and preserved”.
Chairman of CAN in the state, Senior Apostle Silvester Okorote, while welcoming guests and members earlier, had said, “the state CAN Day remains an annual event which every Christian in Delta earnestly look forward to celebrating.
“It is a day when we gather from all churches and the five blocs across the state to celebrate the oneness of the body of Christ on which the high priestly prayer of Jesus Christ was cantered.”
He used the occasion to laud the giant strides of Okowa’s administration in infrastructure development.
Prayers were offered for the country, the state and those in authority among others, at the event which also featured thanksgiving.
