Power for Development by Prof. Sabitu Olagoke

Divine power is absolute and incorruptible, it is greater and more valuable than terrestrial and subterranean power, which usually are subject to the control of lesser forces from the created objects of beings. For man to succeed in life as a leader and in governance, he must seek the grace of God as bestowed on King Solomon in the Holy Bible. The substance of divine power are knowledge, wisdom and the power of a discerning mind, which makes man dispense with the power of authority with the fundamental respect-a follow up of due process in power dispensation. The Holy Quran 2 : 269 and the Holy Bible Proverbs 1 : 7 attest to this fact. ''He granteh wisdom to whom He pleaseth : and he to whom wisdom is granted receiveth indeed a benefit overflown ; but none will receive admonition except men of understanding.'' In the same vein, the Holy Bible Proverbs 1 : 7 emphasizes the need to rely on divine power only, most especially sourced through having respect for the dictates of God in the scripture of one's chosen religion. ''The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.'' The above statement of fact stresses the fundamentals of why human beings usually fail in choosing their leaders through the electoral process or appointments through selection. This is because we fail to allow God to truly appoint our leaders for us. The process of election is always fraught with the human factor of fraudulent practices, while appointments are most often culturally biased. However, if we can offer just worship to God, the almighty Allah, with love in our religion and make our houses of God sacred through the concept of puritanism, where adherents are the vanguard of truth only, electoral processes would be free, fair and credible. Nomination would be through the right guide of God, while the appointed or elected leaders would be set to rule by conscience for democratic norms to be meaningfully managed through the ethics of justice and the equity principle to ethrone peace because nobody would have been marignalized in the scheme of community services or nation building through the effective participation of all for sustainable development to bring about the eldorado of prosperity. Suffice it now to say that the 2023 General elections in Nigeria need to involve all stakeholders to play their roles in the fear of God or due process by applying the sense and sensibilities of the culture of integrity, civility and development of the educational system and moral discipline effects of every religious system for the product of the three spheres of life to rpoduce a relaible, sensible, rational patriotic go getters or polticalgladiators that would make the drivers to be passionate about the people they are carrying in governance.