Rev. Fr. Chinenye Oluoma, a well-known Nigerian Catholic priest, has accused Nigerians, particularly the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), of adopting a negative attitude that impedes progress and development.
In a video posted on his verified Facebook page on Monday, Oluoma claimed that no matter how much a country’s citizens pray, the wrong attitude can prevent them from reaching their promised land.
For the purpose of conducting elections in Nigeria, the Independent National Electoral Commission, or INEC, employs senior lecturers from universities. They perform the role of return officers.
The cleric used ASUU as an example, lamenting how union members would assist politicians in election rigging and then complain about the poor state of public universities, blaming it on a bad mentality.
He said, “Wrong attitude can keep you from entering the promised land. Sometimes we can pray very well, shake mountains with prayer but our attitude is what keeps us from going into the promised land.
“Look at professors, we will have ASUU strike for almost one year, but professors will come and read riot acts and may want to go on strike so that government will do this, government must do that. It will be the same professors that will go and write wrong results.
“The same professors that the government will use and rig elections, politicians will use and rig elections, tomorrow universities will not be alright and they will be complaining. Wrong attitude.
“Help them rig elections and let’s see…If your budget for education is supposed to be N100b and they paid you to rig elections, won’t they recover their money?
“If they used N50b in bribing you, maybe they will throw N30b onto you.”