Religious leaders must be interested in politics -Kawas

Religious leaders must get involved in politics to properly guide the use of the nation’s resources to improve the welfare of the people and better the society.

This was the view of Archbishop Leonard Bature Kawas, who insisted on the need for men and women of God to identify with the political happenings in the society in order to guide, direct and influence good governance to the benefits of the greater majority.

According to him, refusing to get involved in politics allows unprincipled and ungodly persons to take charge of the reins of power with dire consequences for the common people.

“Politics is not some mystical game, cartel, or a game played by collection of some demonic gang of persons. Rather politics is simply the means by which leaders emerge. If I as a religious leader I say that I am not interested in politics it means that I have accepted that every Tom, Dick and Harry can become my president, governor and senator etc and it also means that education has been wasted on me”, he said.

Kawas, who is the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) FCT senatorial candidate, further observed that when forthright persons are in control of the nation’s resources they would deploy same to provide needed socio-economic services to the people noting that it would further afford them the opportunity to even do more in the vine yard of God.

“If politics is just the means by which political leaders emerge then the church should be interested in it. The altar of God should be interested in it because a lot of us in the altar are educated, enlightened and exposed. So, if today my people say that they need my services beyond the altar and I know that I have the requisite qualifications what is wrong with that?

“I believe that there is absolutely nothing that I am doing for God that I will doing because I have gone into politics rather I will be empowered to do even much more. Politics is the only through which an individual holding public office can be a blessing to so many people at the same time and I am here to be a blessing”, he said urging religious leaders with strong political inclination and willingness to serve in that capacity to reach out and seek the people’s mandate for elected offices.

The Archbishop, who is renowned for his philanthropic works, was recently conferred with two traditional titles of Okpuru Iche 1 and Manzo by the FCT Igbo Traditional Council and Jikwoyi community for his spiritual and social services to the FCT people.

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