Date: 2019-01-06

The Senior Pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church, Sabo Oke Ilorin in Kwara State, Reverend (Dr) Solomon Olawuyi James has challenged President Muhammadu Buhari to be sincere in the governance of the country and shun nagative advises from sycophants in the interest of the nation.

According to him, the present leadership in Nigeria today under President Buhari is at the vantage of history and the president should dream of a new country as he promised the citizens in his new year message where he assured Nigerians that he would do everything possible to improve the living standard of the people.

Reverend James expressed these views in Ilorin, the Kwara state capital while answering questions on a Radio Kwara personality interview programme, Playing Host.

The clergy lamented that most politicians are seeking for political appointments or political offices but are not prepared to lead because they do not have vision as the case with the leaders of the first and second republic.

Reverend James, a Medical laboratory Scientist who turned pastor noted that Nigerian politicians only have political interests and not the interest of the nation and appealed to the APC leadership to defend democracy and ensure free , fair and credible general elections.

He expressed worry that politicians, the leaders and the political class are claiming that there is no voting buying but alleged that all the political parties are involved in vote buying adding that even some security agencies particularly the police are partisan in the discharge of their official duties.

Reverend James suggested that salaries of politicians should be put on general salary scale basis as applicable in the civil servants so as to make politics less attractive while the electorate this time around might not vote on party basis but for people who have the fear of God and integrity claiming that most of the major political parties have disappointed the masses since there style of politicking have not changed the life of the people positively .

He called on President Muhammadu Buhari to overall the security apparatus in the country for effective operations and to fight insurgency and terrorism in the country "I believe there is the need to change the security leadership in Nigeria, the clergy added.

Similarly, Reverend James advocates for community policing where various people within the neighborhood would secure their areas stressing that criminals are known within and could be fished out through such security devices explaining that the security architecture must involve the local people.

At the same time, he called for proper funding and sophisticated technology and the purchase of equipment for the nations security outfits.

The clergy described unemployment as one of the greatest challenges and crisis facing the country today regretting that despite the fact that students that graduates with first class degree are still roaming the streets without jobs thereby induced into loose life and engage in criminal activities.

He called on the various state governments to block all finacial leakages in the civil service by looking inwards and therefore reconsider their stands and pay civil servants the thirty thousand Naira minimum wage the labour leaders are agitating for.

Answering another question, Reverend James appealed to all church pastors that want to be fully involved in partisan politics to resign their positions and guide against doing politics and again mounting the puppet to deliver sermons to the congregation warning that a church pastor must not be partisan as they should rather play advisory roles, correct people when they are going astray or where necessary challenge them.

According to him , the new year should be a period for strategic planning for a new beginning and a new dream for oneself, the family and for the nation to be a great, glorious and a prosperous one stressing that he believes there is hope in the country.