Venerable Sydney Ugonna is a retired Archdeacon in the Church of England who has served and worked at different times in the United Kingdom, the United States and Nigeria. A Nigerian based in England, he got an American scholarship in 1962 and rose to the level of a Professor of Biochemistry before he answered the call of God to ministry after his father's death.Bothered by the present rating of Nigeria as one of the most corrupt countries in the world among other negative reports, he came back to his fatherland to galvanize Nigerians to pray for the President as well as the country. He spoke with EBERE AMEH in his Ogba temporary residence on the good old days and the way forward for the nation, among other issuesWHAT informed your call to prayer on the citizenry'Well, I'm a priest but this time, it is the present happenings in our dear country that informed my call. When I remember the good old days, my experiences at both the University of Lagos and as an Archdeacon at St Stephen's Cathedral, Umuahia where I stayed for three years, I feel disheartened.It is disheartening to see where Nigeria is at this time. 92 of us got a scholarship in 1962 because the United States and Britain and many other countries had great hope in Nigeria. At that time in the US, everybody respected Nigerians. In fact they gave Nigeria higher prominence over India, China and many other countries. Many Nigerians are today Professors in American universities. They came at that time and many of them will not come back again. Back then, once you said you were a Nigerian, you would never be so much in need of money because you would have scholarships. It is sad that we lost all that and the solution is going back to God in prayers.Would the prayer take the form of a national prayer rally or individual affair'We shall start in different churches and mosques. We need to give support to the present president, Dr Goodluck Jonathan because the entire world is looking up to him. We are extremely important to the rest of the world because of our population. As a result, people are looking up to Nigeria to lead. As a matter of fact, people thought Nigeria would surpass Egypt and South Africa because we have the resources. God has blessed us with all kinds of resources and we do not experience natural disasters. Corruption and mishandling of things has been our albatross. So we have to pray for the current leadership to enable them chart the right course for us.But it does appear Nigerians have been praying for too long and are now getting despondent'Having so many churches and mosques is not going to help this country. It is doing the right thing. Many times, you find even ministers of churches and Imams involved in these wrong things. When we pray without actually leading, it makes no sense. That is why we have so many churches here. People are using churches to make business, though not all. You tell people they will be rich if they come to church, it is not true. God takes care of us but his plan is not to make us millionaires and billionaires.People actually think that the major problem Nigeria has is leadership. You however seem to believe President Goodluck Jonathan is a good leader, and all we need do is support and pray for him. But majority of people are not happy with some of this administration's policies and the president's style of leadership. What do you say to that'Things have gotten really bad. However, if I were the president, what I would do is to face problems one at a time. If he could take care of power, for instance, and then do the roads; that would be great. Many people are eager to come to this country. I have travelled to many places and wherever you go, many people are yearning to come to this country. This country is one of the countries in the world that have wonderful potentials. If you take India, no oil is there, South Africa, the same. The blessing this country has, you find it very rare in other countries. Many people want to come here to invest. Henry ford II was a member of the church when we were in Detroit. I asked him one day, 'would you please think about coming to this country to establish your company'' He said: 'Sydney, I would very much come to Nigeria but the fear I have is that people would begin to exploit me instead of helping me.'You expressed preference for power and roads, what happens to security, poverty and other sectors of the economy that are equally in need of attention'The President cannot handle everything at once. Things have gone so bad. It was announced before I came that this is the most corrupt country in the world. At one point, they were comparing it with Indonesia; Indonesia has risen and left us behind. When you hear about corruption, all fingers point to Nigeria as the first corrupt country in the world and we all feel ashamed wherever we go. Now, it has come to a point where if you are a Nigerian, you a re a potential criminal, except you prove otherwise. Many years ago, when we went to the US, the reverse was the case. If you were a Nigerian, you are a bright, intelligent person and honest until you prove otherwise.When and how did we get it wrong'Bad and dishonest leadership caused it. Anywhere a leadership is wrong; the led would try to catch up with them. You cannot embezzle billions of naira and you are leading some poor people who have finished school but cannot find something to eat. By all means, they will try to catch up and survive.What are the measures you think should be taken to eradicate corruption both in governance and among the populace'Look at what the governor of Lagos state is doing. Everything is about the state of the mind. If this man can make Lagos like this, why can't other governors and even the federal government transform their states and Nigeria respectively' These are the kind of people that should be called again for some higher positions after their tenure. These are the people that will make this country worth living in.The EFCC believes it is succeeding in the fight against corruption. But the people do not seem to feel its impact. And the Chairman has been replaced. What is your take on the operations of the body and the stance of the Senate'It is all part of the corruption. These senators travel out and see what is happening in other countries but they fail to emulate them. Let Obama be found to have embezzled as little as $500 and he would be forced to leave because it is dishonesty. Unfortunately, in this country, dishonesty is treated with kid gloves. EFCC is not doing their best. If they are, we should see some results.The church is not exempted from the corruption ravaging the country. And virtually all our leaders belong to one religious organisation or the other. What do you say to that'We are all created in the image and likeness of God. We cannot do just anything and get away with it. When we use God's name in vein, deceiving ourselves and deceiving people, we must pay for it. In the US where I pastored, a lady came to me and asked, 'What are all the churches in Nigeria about' Are churches not to help make people have the presence of God in them and make them better'' This is because if you go to Milwaukee, as soon as you come down, Nigeria is flashed and a write up, 'Be very careful doing business with Nigerians.'I'm appealing that we should pray for the president and pray for our nation with all our hearts. Let us not deceive ourselves again. We need this prayer, let us realise that we can deceive people but we cannot deceive God. Let him have the presence of God in him and lead the people with the fear of God.
Click here to read full news..
