Fiery Catholic priest and founder of Adoration Ministry Enugu Nigeria (AMEN), Rev Fr Ejike Mbaka, has explained why many Nigerian youths are rallying behind the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi.

Mbaka said the youths were looking for someone they believed could save the country from the hardship and challenges confronting them, insisting that they should not be blamed for supporting Obi.

“That’s why nobody should blame Nigerian youths when all of them started following Peter Obi because they are looking for whoever will save them,” Mbaka said.

The cleric, who spoke in a video recorded during one of his church programmes, said Nigeria’s numerous challenges were “spiritual”, arguing that the country had abundant human and natural resources but had failed to translate its wealth into improved living conditions for its citizens.

“Like what Nigeria is passing through now, Nigeria’s case is a spiritual one. We may not understand it,” Mbaka said.

He described Nigeria as one of the most blessed countries in the world, particularly in terms of its human resources, saying the country had “the best youths”, whose potential remained largely unrecognised.

According to Mbaka, Nigerian youths were naturally industrious and should not be blamed for searching for an alternative leadership.

He also pointed to Nigeria’s vast mineral resources, including gold and coal, lamenting that despite the abundance, many Nigerians continued to live in poverty and face inadequate electricity supply.

“Enugu is sitting upon a multi-trillion-dollar worth of coal, yet the indigenes of the city are all poor,” he said.

Mbaka also criticised successive governments over policies and actions which, according to him, had negatively affected poor Nigerians.

He cited the demolition of shops and disputes over land as examples of issues that had continued to hurt ordinary Nigerians.

The Catholic priest further attributed the country’s insecurity challenges, including kidnapping, to political factors.

Mbaka’s comments come amid growing political attention on the support Obi continues to receive among young Nigerians, with the cleric arguing that their support should be understood against the backdrop of their search for better leadership and improved living conditions. (The Sun)