Obasanjo: Man needs the assistance of God to tackle corruption

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo says man cannot tackle corruption without the assistance of God.

Speaking at a convention of Victory Life Bible Church International (VLBC) in Ogun state on Saturday, Obasanjo said preaching that that one can acquire wealth without labour is a call to corruption.

Represented by Femi Olajide, chaplain of Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library’s Christ the Glorious King Church, said the church should practise inclusive evangelism that would tilt the “soul and heart towards righteous living.”

Citing the breakdown of morals as one of the major problem of the society, Obasanjo said the church must use its powers to teach the right values.

“We have seen that corruption was brought to the world created by God. Man alone, by himself, cannot get rid of corruption from the world, he now needs the assistance of God,” he said.

“Here must come the society and the church with the spirit of God to work together to undo the harm that man has done and continues to do to the perfect work of God, the earth. There is no substitute for the role of the Church in fighting corruption.

“The church must embrace a more inclusive definition of evangelism. Evangelism must not only be limited to winning souls to increase the crowd in the church but it must also embrace discipleship, which is the cleansing of the soul and heart towards righteous living.

“The Bible tells us, ‘Righteousness exalts a nation’, but sin is a reproach to any people” (Pro. 14: 34). The pulpit must be used to teach and preach righteous and honest living.

“To preach that one can acquire wealth without labour is not only deceitful; it is a call to corruption. It is false preaching and it is sinful. We must be careful in believing and celebrating every testimony of miraculous blessing, hence we end up being hoodwinked into celebrating corruption. The power of faith must be developed as an instrument of social change.

“The church must use its power to teach the right values. One of our major problems is the breakdown of our values system. The church, as an agent of socialisation, must be in the forefront of rebuilding our value system and making the individual to imbibe these values and moral principles.”

Obasanjo said that church leaders were not helping matters as they accept gifts from anybody without questioning the source.

“They not only celebrate but venerate those whose sources of wealth are questionable. They accept gifts from just anybody without asking questions. This gives the impression that anything is acceptable in the house of God,” he said.