As Nigerians prepare for the inauguration of Muhammadu Buhari as the next President of the country, the Arch Bishop of Ibadan Province of the Catholic ArchDiocese, His Grace, Most Reverend  Dr. Gabriel Leke Abegunrina has called on Nigerians to de-emphasis their hope on the incoming President for the desired change but to be resolute within themselves to be the change they want.

The cleric while speaking at the 49th World Communications Day celebration held at the St. Mary's Cathedral,  Oke Padre, Ibadan on Sunday, said that there were too much expectations from the incoming President.

He urged Nigerians to appreciate the limitations of the former military ruler as an individual whose efforts at effecting meaningful change could only materialize with the cooperation and willingness of all.

Abegunrin while calling on the people to appreciate that age was not on the side of the retired Army General and that there would be no way for him to rule the country the way he did in 1984 with the late Tunde Idiagbon because they were both military men.

"There is a great difference between then and now, then, it was rule by decree, but, now, it is by the constitution, the rule of law must be followed and this is why the people must continue to pray for him to succeed, the job can only be easy for him with the cooperation and willingness of all to be change agents.

"All hands must be on deck, people should shun fraudulent activities, greed, violence and other vices, because, if he is there in Abuja advocating the right thing by his nature and the people are doing exactly the opposite of what he is saying and doing, then we will be on the same spot", the clergy said. 

During the programme, Abegunrin who delivered the message of Pope Francis on the World Communication Day with the theme 'Communicating the Family: A Privileged Place of Encounter with Gift of Love', urged the people to assist Buhari with "good works and good work".

On the message of the Pope, the Clergy said, "it is in the context of the family that we first learn how to communicate and focusing on this context can help to make our communication more authentic and humane while helping us to view the family in a new perspective".

He charged media practitioners not to allow their members of families to be victims of the various hazard they face on their jobs by showing great love to them, making provisions for their needs and ensure that their children are properly educated.

"The family is not a subject of debate or a terrain for ideological skirmishes, rather, it is an environment in which we learn to communicate in an experience of closeness, a setting where communication takes place, 'a communicating community'.

"The family is a community which provides help, which celebrates life and is fruitful. Once we realize this, we will once more be able to see how the family continues to be a rich human resource as opposed to a problem or an institution in crisis", he added.