Obaseki receives Okogie, as Cardinal blames nation’s woes on poor leadership choices

By Isaac Olamikan

The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, on Tuesday, received in audience, the Emeritus Archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos, Cardinal Olubunmi Okogie, who is in Benin for the 90th birthday celebration of Archbishop Patrick Ekpu, the Emeritus Archbishop of Benin.

Receiving the clergy at the Government House in Benin City, the governor celebrated Cardinal Okogie, describing him as an icon and a father.

The governor said, “The Cardinal came to pay me a courtesy visit; you know he is our father. He is here in Benin to celebrate another icon, Archbishop Patrick Ekpu, the Emeritus Archbishop of Benin who will be 90 years tomorrow.

“You know their relationship, so he is here to celebrate the archbishop who is celebrating his 90th birthday and 50 years as a Bishop tomorrow. The Catholic Bishops are here to celebrate with this great and accomplished Edo son.”

Okogie, on his part, blamed the numerous challenges facing the country on poor choices of leadership by the electorate who are influenced by financial gains.

“The easiest way to tackle our challenges is for our elders to start showing the youths the right way,” he said.

“Those in government are not at fault, let’s face the fact because we elected those with bad characters; we voted those who are not trained and people we know that are bad. We vote for them because of the three or four pence they will give us,” Okogie added.