TheCable

Legacy Initiative International, a civil society organisation, says Nigeria must return to God to end corruption.

Speaking at a conference in Lagos on Wednesday, Kenny Martins, grand patron of the organisation, said members of the group have spent sleepless nights, travelled long distances consulting with religious leaders on a cause which is for the common good of the Nigerian people.

Martins said the country has tried everything possible to make Nigeria work but it is time to bring in God.

“We are not saying we should run a country of Imams and bishops, but we are saying run a country where stakeholders and political actors can say and stand true to their conscience and look their heart and God in His face and say, for this nation I have done my best as endowed and destined by God,” he said.

“We’ve tried everything possible as a people; we’ve got independence, we’ve tried regional governments, we’ve tried military governments and over the years these have failed us. So, we finally came up with what everybody else does, and that is democracy. Two decades on of democratic dispensation, we throw the question to everybody, how far has Nigeria faired?

“We therefore believe that there is something missing in our equation. We’ve tried our own capacity and capability and failed, so why don’t we do something we’ve not done before as a nation? Why don’t we bring God into the equation? Why don’t we bring this country back to God?

“It is not difficult to imagine what will be the outcome if the top hierarchy of our Christian and Muslim leaders, with all their wisdom and spiritual disposal will narrow their choice to a single candidate in a Presidential or gubernatorial election.

“Such candidate will win easily without having to break any bank, and when he or she is in office there will be no doubt that the person will be constantly conscious of the divine route through which he or she got into office and the consequences of not governing in the best way possible. With time such a practice can become the norm and apply to both the local Government and other elections. We have the audacity to hope that this will come to pass.”

He added that it should be a thing of worry if President Muhammadu Buhari is continually hailed as an anti-corruption champion.

“At ECOWAS level, at AU level, then there is something wrong if our president becomes anti-corruption champion continentally and globally. We believe that if we adopt what legacy is selling, corruption will become a thing of the past. From the president to the councilor would have themselves, God and conscience to contend with.”