Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke and the Prelate of the Eternal Sacred Order of the Cherubim and Seraphim, Dr David Bob-Manuel, have called on the church to be more alive to its responsibility, to enger good governance in Nigeria.

Adeleke and Bob-Manuel gave the charge at the seventh edition of the St. Moses Orimolade Memorial Lecture, held in Lagos.

Adeleke, who was a special guest of honour at the lecture, themed, “The Church as a Catalyst for Good Governance in Nigeria,” urged the church to speak up against bad governance.

He said, “Silence by the church is not an option. The church must speak loud about free and fair elections, the dignity of all human beings, the superiority of public good over private interests, respect for the supremacy of the constitution, observance of the rule of law and equality of all citizens before the law.

“As a sitting governor, I firmly believe the church should mount advocacy on what impedes good governance, namely: autocracy, dictatorship, arbitrariness, culture of impunity, self-perpetuation in office, suppression of opposition, corruption and failure to respond to aspirations of the people.

”I emphasised the fear of God in decision-making. Public interest is our moral compass. I govern strictly under the guidance of the Holy Spirit; hence, I strongly attribute my successes so far to my submission to the direction and guidance of the Holy Spirit.”

The Prelate, on his part, said the absence of social and moral principles contributed to bad leadership, adding that the church should do more to promote good principles.

Bob-Manuel stressed that the church was expected to teach morals to help shape society.

He said, ”It is common knowledge that the continuity of any organisation lies in its leadership.

“The church, as a religious and social organisation, has an important role to play towards social change and improvement on society’s value system.

“The Church of God on earth was designed to be a place where morals are taught and life-changing teachings are practised. It is a place of character moulding.

”In all, Christianity as a religion is assumed to be capable of influencing society positively.”

The President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Dr Daniel Okoh, who was the guest speaker, emphasised that the church had a huge role to play in achieving good governance.

“The church should wake up; we have a huge role to play. In the current world order, the church must continue the difficult task of liberating society from spiritual darkness.

”Leaders, as the main agents of good governance, must believe they are freed from spiritual blindness because it is only then they can truly serve the people.

”My conviction is that people must be at the centre of the governance process. Policy making should start and end with public interest as the yardstick,” the cleric said.

PUNCH