Enugu pastor backs Trump’s ‘shithole countries’ remark

Amid the condemnations that have followed the United States President Donald Trump’s description of African nations as ‘shithole countries,’ an Enugu cleric, Pastor Polycarp Ugwu, on Sunday said there was nothing wrong with the remark.

Trump reportedly used the words “shithole countries” to describe Haiti, El Salvador and African countries in response to plans by the U.S. lawmakers to restore protection for immigrants from those places.

The development has drawn the ire of some African countries as well as the African Union, whose spokeswoman, Ebba Kalondo, reminded Trump that many Africans arrived in the U.S. as slaves, adding that Trump’s profane statement “flies in the face of

all accepted behaviour and practice.”

But Ugwu, the General Overseer and Founder of The Voice of Freedom Fellowship International, an Enugu-based church, on Sunday commended Trump for the ‘frank and truthful’ comment.

Preaching at a church service in Enugu on Sunday, Ugwu said, “Donald Trump is the only leader who can tell African leaders the bitter truth as he does not care about political correctness.

“Trump has told us the truth and instead of crying over it or telling him to apologise, we should look at ourselves and tell ourselves the truth.”

Noting that the U.S. President’s remarks was ‘in the best interest’ of African nations, the pastor observed that African leaders had, over the years, squandered the wealth of the continent through carelessness, corruption and the lack of good leadership.

“Are we not worse than Trump’s assessment?” he queried.

Speaking on the theme, ‘Wisdom for enlargement,’ Ugwu lambasted Nigerian leaders for wasting the country’s abundant natural resources.

Ugwu said, “When God talked about a land flowing with milk and honey, I think he was referring to Nigeria. This is because in this nation, we have resources in abundance but what have our leaders done with these things?

“Look at Britain, Dubai and Singapore and others that have nothing and see how backward we are as a nation.”

He added, “Do you know the amount of mineral deposits in Ebonyi, Enugu, North Central and all over Nigeria? Everybody wants to escape to the U.S. and other nations because our own nation is truly a shithole country.

“We have wasted what we have; we have wasted our resources because we don’t plan.”

Ugwu urged Christians to “avoid the life of waste” by appreciating and making optimal use of what God had given to them instead of complaining about what they did not have.