The Baba Alakoso of Sacred Cherubim and Seraphim Church of Nigeria, His Most Eminence Prophet (Dr.) Solomon Adegboyega Alao, has called on President Bola Tinubu to release the detained leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kani, for the stability of the polity.
Prophet Alao made the plea, on Wednesday, at a press conference held at El Bethel Shiloh, Ipaja Road, Oke Koto junction, Agege, Lagos State, to herald the 95th Annual General Conference of the Sacred Cherubim and Seraphim Church of Nigeria commencing from Friday, January 17 to Saturday 18, 2025 at Ashi Road, Ibadan, Oyo State.
While lamenting the inability of Nigeria to achieve genuine nationhood 64 years after its independence, Prophet Alao attributed the instability in the polity to the deliberate exclusion of the Igbo from political power, adding that a redress of the injustice would end the incessant separatist agitations.
Said he, “Biafra agitation will end the moment we give the Igbo the opportunity to govern this country. I have no blood link with Igbo, but we must give them their dues.
“How would you feel playing second fiddle if you were in their position? If Nigeria does not want them, let them go. Let’s give them their rights if we want them to be a part of Nigeria.
“I want to appeal to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to use his presidential powers to release Nnamdi Kanu. If he releases him today, the tension will die down. It will be the wisest decision any person will take.
“I want to emphasis again, give Igbo the chance to rule Nigeria. A situation where a section of the country is excluded from political power is not good for the nation”, Prophet Alao said.
He further decried sentiments based on religion or tribal affiliation, declaring that “government has no business in getting involved in religious or tribal issues.”
Baba Alakoso Alao continued, “I was the first person to express my reservation when Tinubu picked a Muslim-Muslim ticket for the 2023 presidential election. And I think he did the right thing. I want to encourage all politicians to do away with religion.
“I don’t care about who governs me, I care about who puts food on my table. Religion is a thing of the heart. The best religion is humanity. I want to say that 64 years after independence; we are still not a nation. To build one united nation, we should do away with promoting religion.
“Government has no business sponsoring people to Jerusalem and Mecca. It is a waste of money. The money they use in sponsoring pilgrims can be used to better the lots of the people,” he declared.
While appraising the controversial economic reform policies of the Tinubu administration, Prophet Alao insisted that the removal of subsidy was a necessity.
He, however, expressed reservations for the government’s effort to resuscitate the three moribund refineries. “I praised President Tinubu’s courage for removing fuel subsidy. It was the best decision; otherwise, we wouldn’t be where we are now. Only a handful of Nigerians benefitted from the old regime of fuel subsidy.
“The only area where I disagree is the attempt to revitalize the three refineries-Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna refineries. It is a waste of money.
“Again, this octopus called NNPC should be privatized, quoted on the stock exchange, and sold to members of the public. If they do that, you will see that our foreign exchange earnings will improve,” he argued.
To move the nation forward, the C&S leader urged Nigerians to pray for the success of political leaders at all levels of government.
“All of us need to pray for our political leaders at all tiers of government because if they succeed it will be to our benefit. If they fail, we all fail,” he said.