Frank Efe
Nigeria lacks visionary leaders – Hon. Onowakpa Thomas
Lack of visionary leadership in Nigeria has been attributed to the reason why the country is fighting Boko Haram, facing civil unrest and suffering in the midst of the large deposits of mineral and human resources that abounded in the country.
The Executive Chairman of the Delta State Board of Internal Revenue, DBIR, Hon. Joel – Onowakpo Thomas stated this at a one day Seminar held at Christ Missionary Crusaders Church Int’l Inc., Warri, during his speech tagged, ‘Responsibility of the Church to Government.’
Hon. Onowakpo Thomas said that the many problems facing the country today was as a result of over-dependent on oil by previous governments, noting that the polity is tensed up because everybody is jostling to be in government because of what they are going to get from the revenue accruing from oil.
He said; “I want to say, and I stand to be corrected, that Nigeria lacks visionary leaders. And I want to say that the only reason why we are in this mess today, the only reason why we are fighting Boko Haram, the only reason why we have civil unrest in this country is because we lack visionary leaders..”
“The Bible made us understand that, ‘work while it is day because when the night comes you cannot do anything.’ So if you have oil and it is surplus and your only mission is to tell people that you have so much money and you do not know how to spend it, and you are not planning ahead, then you will agree with me that the situation we found ourselves is caused by lack of visionary leaders.
He warned that if proactive measures were not taken the country will find itself in worst situation than they are facing today, just as he urged the government of the day to look beyond oil and diversify to other areas, stressing that if this is done the struggle for power will be reduced.
The DBIR Chairman also blamed the leadership of the Church for the high rate of corruption in the country, saying the Church had to wake up to its responsibility of instilling morals into the minds of their followers because government is made up of individuals who are part of the Church.
He also said that in order for Delta State not to find itself in the same quagmire that other parts of the country had found themselves, the State government has come up with a philosophy of looking at Delta beyond Oil by developing critical infrastructures that will support the government of the state assuming there was no oil.
On the Asaba Airport, the dualization of the Ughelli/Asaba roads and other projects being carried out by the Delta State Government, Hon. Thomas-Onowakpo dispelled rumours going round that the projects were carried out for political reasons, stressing that all the projects carried out by the state government were for economic reasons.
He, however, revealed that the Warri and Koko ports that were abandoned for political reasons had been contracted out for dredging, noting that a little modification will change the ports and they will become functional just like the Lagos Port.
He said; “That is why we are not going to tow the path of other state and we have decided to take our eyes off oil. And what is he (Governor Uduaghan) doing? He is developing the critical infrastructures that will support the government of Delta State assuming there is no oil. It is only in Delta State that you can see that the Governor has taken upon himself to build an international airport. It is not political. It has very strong economic relevance. The dualization of Isoko/Ughelli/Kwale and Asaba is not political. It is for commercial purposes. The dualization of the Koko Port is not political. It is for commercial purposes. Many other infrastructures that he has put in place are for commercial purposes.
He also said that the vision of “Delta without Oil,” a program of the state government, will lead to prosperity and massive employment in the State.
While noting that the Church is the stabilizing factor in any country, the Revenue Board Chairman urged the Church to pray for their leaders and also educate their followers on the need to pay their taxes to the government of the day, stressing that no Church can function outside the local laws.
Earlier, speaking during his keynote and opening address, Archbishop God-do-well Avwomakpa, President Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, South-South, said the purpose of the seminar was to enlighten the dark minds of the people of God about paying taxes, their health and how to be wealthy.
Archbishop Avwomakpa urged the people to always seek knowledge about what is going on in their surroundings, just as he lamented that many Christians do not take care of their health, adding that not all sicknesses are spiritual.
Other speakers at the Seminar were Rev. Dr. Emmanuel Sengari, who spoke on “Advance Evangelism Secrets,” and Dr. Arlene Escalente-Eluwa, who also spoke on Health and Wealth Secrets.
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