“I Believe We Have a President Who Is Ready to Fix This Nation”: Pastor Matthew Ashimolowo Says Leadership Alone Is Not Enough
By Trek Africa Newspaper
By Trek Africa Newspaper
Pastor Matthew Ashimolowo has called for a fundamental restructuring of Nigeria’s system, arguing that the country’s challenges cannot be resolved by focusing only on the person occupying the presidency. The cleric, while sharing his thoughts on Nigeria’s leadership and governance challenges, said he believes the country has a president who genuinely wants to make things better. However, he maintained that good intentions at the highest level of government are not enough to transform a nation whose systems are already broken.
“I believe we have a president who is ready to fix this nation. I believe he’s seen it all. And I believe he is good-intended. The system is broken. So you can’t fix the presidency, the leadership, and leave the system,” he said.
In his view, Nigeria needs both good leadership and a functional system, stressing that having a capable person at the top does not automatically translate into good governance.
“I think we have a good head, but the head is not enough. So: leadership and system failure,” he added.
Drawing from his experience as a 73-year-old man who has lived in another economy for 41 years, Pastor Ashimolowo argued that Nigerians have placed too much emphasis on finding the right people to lead while paying insufficient attention to building institutions and systems that can function regardless of who is in power. He pointed to the United States as an example, referencing former American presidents Ronald Reagan, a Hollywood actor before entering politics, and another president he described as a farmer. His argument was that America’s institutions are built to outlast individual presidents.
“They have built a system that is bigger than the president. Now, even the Supreme Court can say no to the president,” he said.
According to him, Nigeria should work towards building institutions strong enough to hold leaders accountable and prevent the country from depending entirely on the character or competence of whoever occupies the highest political office. The cleric also urged Nigerians to use the country’s present challenges as an opportunity to confront uncomfortable truths about corruption and wrongdoing. He called for people responsible for evil and criminal activities to be identified, prosecuted and held accountable, regardless of their position in society.
“Mention who’s behind any evil. Let us know them. Let them be taken to court. Let them be charged. And let there be no forgiveness. Let’s begin to clean the system,” he stated.
He further argued that corruption should not be viewed as a problem that exists only among political leaders or government officials. According to him, dishonest practices have become evident in everyday interactions involving ordinary citizens. Using examples involving taxi operators, sanitation workers and traffic officials, he explained how people sometimes offer or demand money to bypass rules or secure preferential treatment.
“There’s corruption with the taxi man. There’s corruption with the man who clears the dirt in front of my house. There’s corruption with the man who works traffic,” he said, illustrating how people may offer extra money to influence ordinary services or evade established procedures. Pastor Ashimolowo maintained that Nigeria’s fight against corruption must go beyond the presidency and involve a broader commitment to rebuilding the country’s institutions and changing the way people conduct themselves. He concluded that when a nation has a strong and dependable system, its progress will not be determined solely by the individual occupying the presidency or the position of prime minister.
“If you fix the system, it doesn’t even matter who is president or prime minister,” he said.
His remarks place the focus on institutional accountability, effective governance and the need for a system that works beyond individual political leadership.
Source: Dominion Mandate TV
