The presiding Bishop of The Redeemed Evangelical Mission (TREM), Mike Okonkwo, has faith in President Muhammadu Buhari to fix Nigeria, saying that “it will be foolhardy to say things will change overnight”.
Okonkwo, who was a vocal supporter of President Buhari during the 2015 election, also said Nigerians are ‘naturally impatient’ and ‘once there is a little pressure we’ll say we don’t want again’.
While expressing confidence in Buhari’s ability to ‘change’ Nigeria, the Bishop said: “I read somewhere in the social media a young man who said we should go back to corruption since things appear not to be working out well. I said so we should go back to the vicious cycle? I replied the young man and said he was talking nonsense.”
“Yes, things are not too stable but that is to tell you the rot the nation has degenerated to. You see, we are not fighting corruption. Nigeria is corruption. Everywhere you turn, every sector you turn, you find corruption.”
“From the messenger to driver to the boss, everyone is involved. Corruption has become a second nature to us. The truth is you hardly find anyone that has not been dragged into the industry of corruption. It is as bad as that. Corruption has become the biggest industry in the nation.”
“Now that Buhari is there, it will be foolhardy to say things will change overnight. Buhari will not completely eradication corruption because it’s been with us for decades. If anyone is expecting Buhari to change this even if he stays for 15 years, the person is not being sincere. I believe the current administration is fighting so hard to put things in place. The things we are seeing is corruption fighting back. We have saboteurs in the system that will take time to be detected and flushed out.”
“There are people enjoying where we were. They were making it with the situation we had then. They have a lot of money in their hands so they can do anything; they can create problems. But if we endure a lot, I believe things will be better.”
“I believe the current crop of leaders will fix this nation. That is why some people are fighting them back. It is because they know within themselves that they can deliver.”
“They have wonderful programmes. The budget has just been passed. So, let’s watch between now and end of the year for things to start taking shape.”
