By Rita Enemuru, Reporting
THE founder and Lead Pastor of Streams of Joy International, Pastor Jerry Uchechukwu Eze has said that Nigeria is struggling because we have those with dead conscience in leadership positions.
Teaching during the Fourth Service on Sunday at Streams of Joy International, Abuja, the cleric lamented that many of those occupying public positions no longer feel the weight of responsibility tied to their roles.
Instead, he said they approach leadership as an entitlement rather than a sacred duty.
“The way we understand leadership in Nigeria is frightening.
“People want to be leaders because they think entering there is an answer to prayer, without realising that leadership should scare them. Leadership should scare you,” he said.
Pastor Eze emphasised that true leadership demands responsibility, conscience and personal sacrifice, qualities he believes are lacking among many office holders.
The convener of the New Season Prophetic Prayers and Declaration (NSPPD), an online global outreach prayer programme that runs weekday at 7:00a.m Nigerian time, explained that his own calling keeps him awake through the night praying, burdened by responsibility.
“I think about my calling and I can’t sleep. I stay awake all through the night praying.
“Everyone that knows me knows that I pray through the night because of my calling. I am not balling,” he stated.
He insisted that leadership is never a privilege to be exploited but a responsibility that must be carried with humility and fear of God.
According to him, the lack of conscience in leadership is one of the root causes of corruption across the country.
Pastor Eze criticised workers who abandoned their duties for private business during official hours, describing such behaviour as corruption.
He also condemned institutions that hire staff but give them no real work, as well as officials who divert funds meant for public use.
“The people who know money is supposed to be used for something else and they divert the money are corrupt, God will judge everybody.”
The cleric reminded his congregation that his calling obliges him to speak truth and encourage moral conduct.
“My responsibility is to talk to those I pastor. We can shine the light wherever we are. God blesses those who work diligently,” he said.
He urged civil servants who have files lying idle on their desks in their offices to work on them as quickly as possible when they resume work on Monday so as not to continue to retard the wheel of progress.
“When you get to your office tomorrow morning, sign those files on your table. If you don’t sign them, God will not sign your own,” he warned.
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