Cleric berates Nigerian leaders

Gill Nsa-Abasi, Calabar - 06.01.2008

President and General Overseer of the Christian Central Chapel International (CCCI) in Calabar, the Cross River State capital, Evangelist (Dr.) Emmah Isong, has bemoaned the fate of the Nigerian nation, saying that the country is unfortunately in the firm grip of a 4-man cabal holding tenaciously to political power.

The man of God, who predicted the victory, but short-lived victory of Alhaji Umaru Yar’Adua as president of Nigeria, bared his mind to Sunday Tribune on Saturday in Calabar shortly after delivering a sermon to mark the first monthly “Morning Dew” organised by CCCI this year.

Declining to mention names of members of the “cabal”, Evangelist Isong said “the cabal has hijacked political power from Nigerians and shared the nation’s vast resources among themselves and their cronies”.

According to him, “credible and intelligent people are not allowed by this cabal and their cronies to contest elections and where they manage to contest elections, their results will either not be released or wickedly upturned by relevant bodies because of their non-allegiance to the said cabal”.

He described “leadership problem” in Nigeria as non-existent, saying that “throw away this cabal and their cronies and the so-called ‘leadership problem’ in Nigeria would be gone!”

On the Niger Delta crisis, Evangelist Isong decried the use of violence, kidnapping, assassinations and other bloodletting activities by aggrieved persons to settle scores with the authorities, maintaining that if the master plan before the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) is “painstakingly and faithfully implemented, development in the oil-rich region would commensurate with its vast contributions to the growth of Nigeria.”

While predicting a “bright future for slums generally and rehabilitation of roads, among other things, in the country, the cleric urged Nigerians to pray fervently to avert a national disaster in the country during the forthcoming African Cup of Nations soccer tournament beginning in Ghana on January 20 this year.