Apostle Michael Orokpo, founder of Encounter Jesus Ministry International, has called on Nigerians to use the 2027 general elections to remove ineffective leaders from office. Speaking during a recent sermon at his church, Orokpo linked the country's worsening security crisis to leadership failure, citing ongoing terrorist attacks that have led to killings and abductions across several regions. He urged citizens to adopt self-defense measures in the face of persistent threats, while emphasizing the ballot as a tool for change. Orokpo criticized the tendency of voters to prioritize ethnic affiliations over national interest, noting that spiritual guidance on leadership choices is often ignored. "Hundreds of people die in Nigeria but all we are interested in is optics," he said. He pointed out that many top officials' children have not lived in the country for years, suggesting a disconnect between leaders and the suffering of ordinary citizens. He mocked the practice of politicians distributing small sums like N2000 during campaigns, calling it a transaction that leaves voters stagnant for years. "You collect peanuts and they leave you until after four years then they come back again," he stated. Orokpo insisted that the 2027 elections must be a turning point for accountability.
Apostle Michael Orokpo's message cuts through the usual noise with a rare directness—Nigerians are complicit in their suffering by re-electing the same leaders who ignore their safety. His reference to political handouts of N2000 as a symbol of voter manipulation strikes at the heart of a broken electoral culture where desperation overrides judgment. That he named the absence of leaders' children from the country underscores a growing public suspicion: those in power do not share the risks borne by the masses.
This sermon is not just spiritual counsel but a reflection of deep disillusionment with Nigeria's governance model. The fact that a religious leader feels compelled to double as a civic educator reveals how hollow political accountability has become. Orokpo's frustration with tribal voting patterns echoes a long-standing flaw in Nigeria's democracy—identity often trumps policy, even as bodies pile up from terrorism. His call for self-defense is telling: the state's failure is so complete that citizens must now pray and arm themselves simultaneously.
For millions of Nigerians enduring daily insecurity, the 2027 election looms as either a real chance for change or another ritual of recycled betrayal. If voters accept another cycle of tokenism over transformation, the cycle of violence and neglect will continue unchecked. This is not prophecy—it is pattern.
