Renowned economist, Pat Utomi and former Minister of Information, Frank Nweke jnr, have charged religious leaders, especially Christians, to live exemplary lives and shun luxurious lifestyles.
Utomi also urged Nigerian leaders to prioritise positive character in order to drive policy formulation and nation-building.
Utomi and Nweke spoke in Port Harcourt on Saturday during a public lecture titled “Role of the Church in Nation Building in honour of Rev. Chris Oarhe, founder of ‘Hiltop Church’ headquartered in Port Harcourt, who clocked 60.
Utomi said Christians who are in government at different levels should play active roles in shaping positive character and reducing the lust for power, prestige and self-gratification.
He explained that topics like prudence and temperance, which form part of sermons in churches, if properly heeded, are capable of reducing the incivilities that are present in partisan politics in the country.
He emphasised that such virtues regularly admonished in church sermons hold the potential to curb the widespread incivility plaguing partisan politics in Nigeria.
He particularly charged church leaders to boldly admonish politicians against accepting “Greek gifts” from dubious sources.
Drawing from early Christian teachings, he referenced the ancient church document, the Didache, which condemned bishops who accepted offerings from those who mistreated workers.
“I wonder what the Didache would do to pastors who accept generous gifts today from well-known people of questionable values,” Utomi said.
The economist did not mince words on Nigeria’s leadership crisis, attributing many national woes to poor leadership quality, saying individuals above 70 years old should be barred from contesting for any executive office, especially the presidency.
“Men who should retire scramble for power and make the presidency a geriatric ward, failing in the energy-sapping job of being president,” he said. We ought to be honest to say nobody over 70 years old should run for the executive office.”
Utomi further warned that viewing leadership through the lens of a “strong man” syndrome invites tyranny—a pattern he said has been evident in Nigeria’s current republic, unlike the Second Republic.
He added that the country’s present trajectory is unsustainable and risks descending into anarchy if urgent reforms are not undertaken.
In a panel discussion at the same event, Nweke called on church leaders to leverage their platforms to propagate virtuous living rather than amassing personal wealth at the expense of their congregations.
He decried the widespread practice where clerics live in affluence and luxury while their members continue to wallow in poverty and lack.
“The gospel teaches people to lead by example. The Church can only regain the moral authority to hold national leaders accountable when it returns to the first principles of being our brother’s keeper and showing love to one another,” Nweke stated.
He criticised the tendency among some clerics to prioritise their own comfort, noting, “I’m a bishop and my needs must be met in a special way beyond that of the flock… if I’m okay, then it is fine.”
Nweke also pointed out that politicians do not suddenly become kleptomaniacs upon election—they arrive with those tendencies already entrenched.
Another panellist, Osita Ogbu of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, highlighted the failures in policy formulation and implementation using recent examples such as the removal of fuel subsidy and the new minimum wage, which he said have failed to ease Nigerians’ suffering.
Ogbu stressed Nigeria’s urgent need for politicians equipped with both technical expertise and strong ethical grounding to manage public resources without compromise.
The lecture brought together prominent voices like the Vice Chancellor, University of Port Harcourt, Owunari Georgewill, Edwinah Amah, Franklin Nnaemeka, Joe Keshi, Senator Thompson Sekibo, Rev. George Izunwa, amongst others, calling for moral renewal as a prerequisite for national progress.
