Rev Dr Adebayo Orire, the founder of God’s Tenet Church in Ado Ekiti , an APC Stalwart and the Proprietor of Orire Hospital Complex in Ado Ekiti in this interview with our Ekiti State Correspondent, Gbenga Sodeinde commended the efforts of President Buhari in reshaping the Nation’s economy and urges Nigeria to be patient with the present administration as “the hardship would soon be over”. Orire advised Nigerians to be law abiding as he explained that God is not a magician,but rather works with Law. He spoke strongly about the non-existence of State Assembly in Ekiti state.
Excerpts:
Many people blame Buhari administration that it lacks economic policy to salvage the country from the present economic dwindling, do you agree with the general opinion?
The current economic hardship is a product of repair process. It takes a minute to burn a house and it may take a year to build the house back. In the process of building the house back, you have to remove the rumbles,suffer and invest to get it done. You can imagine the spoilage that was sustained for over sixteen years by PDP, at almost every level-from the local government,to the state and to the federal with corruption,recklessness,lack of direction and impunity,lack of adherence to the nation’s guidelines. Can you imagine how many ‘Dasuki-like’ are yet to be exposed? The damage has been done, when trying to fix the economy, people must feel it. Buhari is effecting a change. People do not know what goes along with that ‘Change’.
President Buhari in his campaign promised to end insurgency as soon as he gets to power, why are still experiencing insurgency?
Then, he was making a promise from outside. He was making promise due to the campaign heat and based on his love for Nigeria. Don’t forget that some bad eggs are making illegal money on this Boko Haram, PDP with their contributions to insurgency would never want it to end, but all things being equal, Buhari is making progress as regard insurgency in the country.
What’s your reaction to the present rating of the present administration as they have been rated very low in term of performance?
When somebody is hungry, he talks negatively. During Jonathan, our oil was sold for N150 per barrel, we did not save! Instead, they were stealing the money to prosecute election, sending their girl friends abroad. PDP wasted our resources. Everybody has to tighten the belt for recovery. The hardship is temporary. All over the world,nobody ever smiles when making changes. Hunger has to come before the abundance comes. Its just a matter of time, everybody would smile. Am i not a Nigerian, we are all feeling it. .
How will you defend the common description of APC by the opposition that no matter how bad (in terms of impunity)is one antecedent,the moment you defect to APC,you become a saint?
That could not be true. Saraki defected to APC, he was never treated as a saint. For instance, declaration of assets could not have been a sin to PDP. Dogara’s padding of budget couldn’t be a sin to PDP,it could have been a normal thing. The opposition has to talk and the hungry people are gullible.
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It was recently reported in a National daily that some Ekiti lawmakers were involved in certificate forgery,the assembly replied that it was a plan by APC to destabilize Fayose administration?
You cannot accuse someone of forgery, and he would say yes, I am guilty. That Buhari and APC want to pull Fayose down is a naïve way of thinking. It’s Fayose that pulls himself down by running his mouth in an uncouth manner. How do you pull him down when he used seven assembly members to drive away nineteen? Does that make sense at all? Somebody who was swearing and cursing in newspapers that Buhari would die, lied that the president wife was involved in Halliburton scandal, went to China that Nigeria should not be given money,somebody who is not paying salary and mismanaging bailout money to mention but little.
If Fayose were to be President and Buhari is the governor talking like Fayose, Buhari would not spend a week on the governor seat. Fayose is pulling himself down, he has dug his own grave,put himself inside the coffin,nailed the coffin,put it in the ground,he is just decaying,waiting to explode. Let him leave the federal government and be praying against his uncivilized action.
What about the belief of the opposition that Buhari anti corruption crusade is one sided?
When they were executing Anini and his group at bar beach in Lagos, we were jubilating that armed robbers were being executed, while some people were crying and rolling on the ground, it is definite that no matter how bad you are, you will have your supporter. If Buhari anti corruption war is witch hunting, majority of ex- PDP governors would be in jail by now.
How will you rate the status of the current assembly members in Ekiti?
Do you really have assembly members in Ekiti state? Fayose is the assembly. He went to the house and held the gravel, passed his own budget. House of assembly that goes to the open street that their governor should not be investigated for corruption? The house of assembly that does not know the majority from minority? House of assembly that would go and hide in the government house to prevent them from being investigated for offence committed? We don’t really have a house of Assembly in Ekiti. As far as am concerned, they are just Fayose’s boys.
Federal government plans to re-introduce War Against indiscipline has generated a lot of controversies in some quarters. Do you support the re-introduction of WAI?
If there is WAI, its just an addendum to EFCC,ICPC, that should make everybody happy because it is war against lawlessness, against uncivilized act,theft, dropping paper on the gutter, killing,shouting unnecessarily,fighting etc. The problem is that when there is policy in Nigeria to make us better,the anxiety of the pain is always over expressed.
As a man of God,do you think the men of God in Nigeria are really performing their roles to salvage the country from the present predicament?
Fervent prayers! Yes/No. In Israel,some set of people are fed,taking care of to pray for their Nation, that is their job. How many people are really employed to pray and fast for Nigeria? These pastors are Nigerians,they would have to worry about their electricity,water supply etc,they have to hustle. So most of them end up in praying for themselves and their church members alone.
In civilized countries,you don’t find too many of these churches,because things are organised in terms of standard of living and welfare of people. Instead of blaming the pastors and Reverend, government should do the needful. A lot of things we are praying about is not necessary. God is not angry with Nigeria. It’s Nigeria that is lawless. God is not a human being. He’s not emotional. What you sow,you reap.
