The President, Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA), Reverend Stephen Baba Panya, in an interview spoke on zoning of the presidency and 2023 elections, describing the qualities Nigerians should look for among those angling to become the next president of the country.

According to him, “you can have a democrat but if he turns out to be a competent crook, Nigeria will remain in the same situation that we are in. I want to say that the number one quality is fear of God. We need a God-fearing person, not a religious one. There is a big difference between a God-fearing person and a religious one.

“A God-fearing person will be genuinely concerned about the masses of this country and he will be concerned about God, to whom he has to give account at the end of his life. That is a truly God-fearing person. We need someone who is competent, someone who can manage our diversity very well,” he added.

He added that “parts of the greatest problems that have made the situation worse under the present government are terrible nepotism and sectionalism that we have seen in terms of appointments. This is not what Nigeria was known for. Past leaders always tried to balance appointments on tribal and even religious bases so that everybody is carried along. This is the first time that people have openly complained about marginalisation based on ethnic, regional and even religious considerations.

“So, we need someone that would be God-fearing enough to say, ‘Hey, look! In this country, we are people from different tribes, ethnic groups, and religions so we need to be fair to everyone’. The next one is competence. The person should be knowledgeable enough, that is, have a broad knowledge of the economy and security. He should be able to give proper direction and supervision of the nation on his watch. He should have a good grasp of the two major issues, economy and security,” he said.

Speaking further on zoning and which zone should produce the next president, he stated that he stands on the side of the masses that power should be rotated.

According to him, “I unapologetically stand on the side of the people that say power should rotate, that is, go down to the South. Those that are saying otherwise are not sensitive to the reality on the ground in Nigeria today. Even if you are to say we should look for anyone competent, are there no competent people in the South? Let’s be sincere to one another, if we want peace in the nation and we want things to move forward, we just have to be fair and just and allow a situation where some people are not schemed out of power and governance.

“Therefore, for us to maintain peace and avoid anarchy, we need to put in place a certain control system that will enhance a greater understanding of togetherness for the sake of peace and progress. Justice, equity, and fairness in the system should be the hallmarks of whatever system we are operating, whether at the acting level or when the government has been formed. At this point, it is only right that power should shift to the South so that our brothers from the South will have a sense of belonging and be treated as people who have equal rights in politics and governance of this nation. If not, there won’t be peace because it is quite unfair,” he explained.. (Story adapted from Nigerian Tribune)

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