Pastor Sam Adeyemi has lamented the lack of empathy and compassion among some leaders in Nigeria, saying that they have lost touch with the reality of the poor in the country.

Adeyemi, who is the Senior Pastor of Daystar Christian Centre (DCC), was a guest on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme on Thursday.

The cleric said that these leaders now find it difficult to lead the people in the right direction because they are now occupied with how to retain power rather than how to better the lives of the citizens.

According to him, the fear of losing power also contributes to why most of the leaders are cross-carpeting between political parties.

“Some of our leaders, it is even obvious from the way they speak, that they have lost touch with the reality of the poor, they have no empathy, no compassion,” Adeyemi said. “So, we want to create an environment that will make it possible for those in leadership to lead us in the right directions to make the right decisions.

“Some of them are being threatened that they would lose their next election, that is what they are defecting. So their own survival is being threatened.”

Powerful godfathers

Adayemi suggested that the Nigerian political scene is breeding leaders who are not in touch with realities because rather than people deciding who leads them, political godfathers now do.

He said that the way these leaders rise to power causes them to become scandalous, forgetting the people.

“I wish we had the perfect scenario that it is the citizens that actually elected people but we have seen over the years the power of the godfathers in our politics. They have built their influence over many years.

“These are educated people, these are highly intelligent people, some of our best, it is just that in the process of wanting to succeed in this Nigeria, they bent here and bent there and by the time they arrive at the top that they wanted to go, they have become crooked.