The Convener, Cross River State Roundtable 2021 (CRR-21), Bishop Josef Bassey has advised against leaving politics and governance in the hands of politicians alone.
He said that the state has potentials to surpass perceived potentials and can become the greatest place in Nigeria because it possesses not just human resources but more to succeed than any other state in the country.
Bishop Bassey a renowned Christian leader made who this known in Calabar yesterday while speaking with newsmen on “Cross River Roundtable 2021” , asserted that the business of politics and governance was too serious a business to be left in the hands of politicians alone adding that all hands must be on deck to move Nigeria forward .
He said the CRR-7 initiative seeks to awaken the consciousness of the people towards the growth and development of the state adding that there were no impossibilities as Cross River was moving forward no matter what and would surpass all expectations in the nearest future .
Bishop Bassey who is the General Overseer, “God’s Heritage Centre ” said, “my business as a father I take responsibility for whatever happened in the state including whatever that is happening, but work towards what can happen in our dear Cross River state. We have a journey in Cross River State and it goes back to the creation of states when Akwa Ibom came out.
“We have a journey, and when we talk about the prophetic destiny of Cross River State, for those of you who follow our antecedent, you would know that for many years we have been traversing the place for over 14 years ,but never for any personal gain or anything.
“Cross River State for me, is an integral part of my life. It’s part of what I live for and would if need be, die for; because if a people aren’t worth dying for, then such people have no value at all. I think that Cross Riverians and our destiny deserve sacrifices of diverse kinds if we must continually move the state forward.
“Taking Cross River State out of wherever it is at the moment to where it ought to be is always possible. There are no impossibilities. You may only have tough work to do sometimes. You may need better strategy. You may need a lot of ingenuity. You may need a whole lot of things. But the truth is that it can be done. China just give you their fake sun, an alternative sun. Anything is possible.”
On the Cross River Roundtable project, the man of God said, “we need to get Cross Riverians to start talking. I actually think that the business of politics and governance is too serious a business to be left in the hands of politicians alone.
“They do need our help, and that for me is important. You know politicians are like players in a football match. If you leave football to players alone there will be crisis. So you have the club owners, the technical team, you have so many other structures behind the players.
“Now Cross River State as a people, we do have some people who are into the game of politics. They are players. But we do have owners of the state. Stakeholders of the state. And I think that we must synergize. We must be able to begin to talk, engage ourselves. There are people who laid down their lives, who have made enormous sacrifices, past and present, towards the existence and survival of what we call Cross River State today”.
He stated that “there are people across different walks of life who have died for us to have the Cross River State we have. So, reducing Cross River State and discussions around it to politics only, I think it’s a great disservice.
“We need to expand the horizon. We need to create platforms where everyone can come to the party and then we can genuinely begin to talk about the future of Cross River State”.
