THE Catholic Bishop of Ondo Diocese, Jude Arogundade weekend said that country is at a crossroads as a result of myriads of challenges and needed to be immediately salvaged.
Arogundade said that the challenges will do the country no good if nothing was done to salvage the situation.
He said this at the funeral of Madam Morenike Komolafe, mother of the Deputy Managing Director of Thisday Newspaper, Mr Kayode Komolafe, held at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, Igbara-Oke, Ondo State, on Saturday.
According to her ” there must be a resolve among the leaders towards assuring the citizenry that the country could be great again.
In his homily, the clergyman said “Our country is at a crossroads and no individual can save it all alone. We must all accept that the challenges and controversies in our country today do us no good.
“They (leaders) must be resolved to give new hope to citizens and the assurance that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. We must come together to unite around our common purpose and shared vision.
Arogundade said identified purposeful political leadership as an essential condition for the development of any country, saying Nigeria is stuck in the mud of under development over lack of purposeful leadership.
He urged Nigerian citizens towards keeping the nation united said no country can rise above its dream without purposeful leadership.
The Bishop called for the shift from seeking parochial interests to working for the common good and to make an impact in saving the society that is drifting so badly.
The Clergy also called those occupying the position of moral authority and leadership to exhibit good character and become role
models to the younger generation.
“We must teach our youth how to be self-reliant and to take responsibility for their lives and our common patrimony – Nigeria.
“Our youth need to be told that leadership is not about power but about purpose, not about popularity but about integrity.
“This is where many people have missed the point about the goal, mission and direction of our nation. We must come together to unite around our common purpose and shared vision. This is the way we will honour the legacy of the generation that left us so much to hope for”
Arogundade described the deceased as a woman who contributed her quota to the development of the country.
“Today, we have come to testify that Mama Morenike Victoria Komolafe fulfilled her Christian obligation in her earthly journey and we have come to entrust her to the love and mercy of God. Death is not the end of life. It is the beginning of the new life of heaven. May her soul and the souls of the faithful departed rest in peace.
“This teaching is basic to our Christian faith and was at the centre of the life of Mama Morenike Victoria Komolafe. It was her motivation as a mother, a community leader and a philanthropist.
“She joyfully, courageously and faithfully followed the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ, the discipline of the Catholic faith and the ideals of the Yoruba’s mantra of Omoluabi”.
Present at the burial includes the Senate President Ahmed Lawan who was represented by the Minister of State, Niger Delta, Tayo Alasoadura while governors present include Ondo Rotimi Akeredolu, Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, Prince Dapo Abiodun (Ogun); Former Governors Sule Lamido (Adamawa), Olusegun Mimiko, (Ondo), Adams Oshiomole, (Edo), Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of the THISDAY Media Group and Vanguard Media Ltd, General Manager and Editor-in-Chief Mr Gbenga Adefaye and wife, Abosede.
Other dignitaries Nigerians at the event include the Minister of State for Mines and Steel Development, Uche Ogah; Senator Albert Bassy; Senator Opeyemi Bamidele; Senator Ayo Akinyelure; the pioneer Executive Chairman of Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Nuhu Ribadu; former Inspector General of Police, Muhammad Abubakar; Managing Director of Thisday Newspaper, Segun Adeniyi, Chief Olusola Oke; speaker of the Ondo State House of Assembly, Bamidele Oleyelogun, Oba Aladetoyinbo Ogunlade Aladelusi, the Olowa of Igabara-Oke kingdom, Oba Francis Adefarakanmi Agbede Ilufemiloye and captain of industries among others.
