Posted by By JOE NWANKWO, Abuja on
The Primate of the Anglican Communion and President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Archbishop Peter Akinola, has passed what could be said to be termed a damning spiritual verdict....
The Primate of the Anglican Communion and President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Archbishop Peter Akinola, has passed what could be said to be termed a damning spiritual verdict on retired soldiers and generals in politics, as he described them as evil men.
Akinola, who spoke on Monday, in Abuja at a press conference on the first national Conference of the Anglican Communion slated for Thursday, June 29, stated that former military men have nothing good in store for the nation. He asked Nigerians to reject them in the 2007 elections.
His admonition is coming against the backdrop of a controversy over whether or not a retired military officer should succeed President Olusegun Obasanjo. Senator David Mark, an ex-military man, had flown the kite, saying it was crucial to have another former soldier as president to further stabilise the polity.
Generals Ibrahim Babangida and Muhammadu Buhari, two former heads of state, are gunning for the position in 2007. Ex-military administrator of Lagos State, Brigadier-General Mohammed Buba Marwa has also declared interest in the job.
Apart from these, many retired military officers are jostling for various elective offices in next year's polls, including the governorship, senatorial and House of Representatives seats. One of them is retired Col. Mohammed Inuwa Bawa, pioneer military administrator of Ekiti and Gombe states, who is aspiring to rule Kebbi as next governor.
But Akinola dismissed the ex-military officers' participation in politics, saying their erstwhile leadership ruined the country.
His words: 'They have looted the nation's treasury and destroyed the nation's wealth. They have destroyed the railways. They have destroyed the Nigerian Airways, they have destroyed our roads. What legacies did they leave? They encouraged corruption in this country.
"After looting the nation, they have the guts to say that they want to come back; to do what? Nigerians should be told that they are evil. There is nothing good about them. They should reject them, and they should reject all these evil men in 2007. They have nothing good to offer this nation. They should go back to their farms. What they have stolen is enough," Akinola added.
The primate declared that the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had failed Nigerians.
According to the CAN president, " the EFCC is still there saying that it will stop corrupt politicians from contesting the 2007 elections. What are they waiting for? Is it that they lack the information on these people? They are to stop them. When will they do that? As far as I am concerned, they have failed. Why don't they have the courage to call a spade a spade? Why have they been selective in their prosecution?".
The church's national conference, which is the first of its kind to be organized in the country, has as the theme: 'Welfare of the Nigerian: Role of the Anglican Communion in Nation-Building." The Archbishop, stated that the church cannot shy away from the problems ravaging the nation.