As The Church Slept… (4)
And when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine: and, behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters.” Matthew 8:31 & 32. Remember, “For the time is come that judgement must begin at the house of God…..” Therefore, all the swine possessed by evil spirits that are troubling Nigeria with mischief and deceit will soon be drowned in the sea and waters of God’s anger and judgement. Nigeria cannot continue like this.
Again, “Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain”.
Nigeria is at the moment in search of a credible leader with unimpeachable character and integrity. And of the major contenders for the presidency in the just concluded elections I dare say, without any fear of being contradicted, that Gen. Muhammadu Buhari fitted the bill handsomely, but because corrupt politicians have mastered the art of using religion and ethno-religious sentiments to cause splits when and where they perceive they are going to lose woefully, they deploy it effectively, usually with the grease of heavy cash.
This much was reported on page 7 of Leadership newspaper of Thursday, April 14, 2011 (two days before the presidential election) in a story captioned Yakowa Takes Campaign to Churches, which was reported by Isaiah Benjamin from Kaduna city. Part of the report reads: “LEADERSHIP gathered that few days before the National Assembly elections, Governor Patrick had gathered Christian pastors in a meeting at the Redeemed Christian Church of God on bank road in Kaduna where series of discussions between him and the pastors took place after which prayer session was held……. Sources also close to some of the pastors visited who pleaded anonymity disclosed to LEADERSHIP that Yakowa would always give an executive handshake to appease the Church leaders and followers before leaving.” Now, it’s never wrong for politicians to meet with religious leaders.
In fact, it should be encouraged if it is purely advisory for enhancing good governance, but for religious leaders to be appeased or induced financially by politicians as the story suggests in order to win their support is not healthy for the Church and the nation, for it means a much credible person without funds to give an executive handshake for appeasement will be ignored, and it amounts to Church-support-for-hire.
Could this be one of the reasons General Buhari was worked against by C.A.N., for the General ran a very austere campaign with very limited funds while the P.D.P. ran theirs for Jonathan with huge funds and incumbency factors? Corruption in the Church as in the society leads to spiritual blindness, and that which is good could be missed by both Church and society: “Israel hath cast off the thing that is good: the enemy shall pursue him. They have set up kings, but not by me: they have made princes, and I knew it not…..” Hosea 8:3 & 4. Is the enemy pursuing the Church already? ”For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind…...” Hosea 8:7. Is the whirlwind already tormenting the Church?
This brings the question: Can a Muslim become president or governor in a heterogeneous society like Nigeria if he or she has the required capacity to lead? The Bible has the answer: “Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free.” Ephesians 6:8. This settles the controversy and should suppress the unhealthy appetite for “it must either be one of us or not at all”, for this Scripture says “any man”, and whether “bond or free.” If you like, it means whether believer or unbeliever. You could have a Church-going politician who is bereft of vision, honesty, character, charisma and integrity and we have plenty of such in Nigeria, whereas a non-Christian could have such attributes.
You only have to look at Obasanjo himself, Olabode George, some State governors and a host of others that are Church attendees. Also, recently some Bible clutching bank executives have either been sent to jail or are still undergoing trial for looting depositors’ funds and other sundry financial crimes. When it is clear that such people have run the nation aground should the Church just blindly back any person with a name lifted from the pages of the Holy Bible, or because the person attends Church? The devil can also boast of having his name in the Holy Bible and also attends some Church. The Church should and must see persons the way God sees them as long as we are on this earth, for “….if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.”
James 2:9. As sons and daughters of God we must imitate Him, for “….God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.” Acts 10:34 & 35. So, a non-Christian with a good conscience and integrity can be supported into political or business office for the good of all, for “Moreover the profit of the earth is for all: the king himself is served by the field.” Ecclesiastes 5:9. This Scripture didn’t say the profit of heaven; it says the profit of the earth. The parameters for going to heaven are different from how we govern ourselves here on earth, even though some of the sound qualities for good behavior and good governance, like honesty and integrity, could be assets for the journey to heaven.
That is why the Church cannot afford to be partisan, rather she could educate the voters in her midst to prayerfully choose candidates based on honour, honesty, integrity, character and vision, but surely, surely not because a candidate goes to some Church. So, a non-Christian who is known to have sown the seed of integrity, honesty and sound character in public life can be supported based on the injunction we read earlier; “Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free.” Ephesians 6:8. God further qualified this Scripture this way: “…….for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” Galatians 6:7.
This is a universal law – the law of seed time and harvest time. That is why a generous Muslim will be more prosperous than a stingy Christian, for “….God is no respecter of persons.” That is why for the Church to allow herself to be used by unscrupulous and dishonest politicians to frustrate noble and honest politicians like Gen. Muhammadu Buhari is tantamount to fighting God and His principles, for it was a clear and dangerous effort to deny the General his God given harvest.
This is one of the cases God will surely judge in the Church, thwarting a legitimate harvest based on selfish and unworthy sentiments. And the nation will not be better off in this kind of sentiments, for I have not seen how Goodluck Jonathan will make roads for only Christians to ply, markets with good prices for only Christians, steady electricity for only Christians, steady and qualitative education for only Christians, etc, etc and neither can I see how General Buhari can Islamize Nigeria in a democracy as uninformed and gullible Christians have been made to believe of him. The bottom line is we need honest people that will provide good governance based on justice and compassion.
We must understand that as long as we remain on earth we must have a symbiotic relationship with all other groups till eternal judgement time. Dapo Thomas, in the same article referred to above capture this truth succinctly. He said, “Indeed our interdependence is deliberately designed by GOD to remove absolutism from the reach of man because of the evil that man can do with it.”
Before the flight to eternal paradise, what does a group in a heterogeneous and multicultural society like Nigeria want to monopolise power for, considering that the region, or group that was hitherto accused of such monopoly has denounced and rejected such monopoly and has opened up to power sharing?
Is it to engage in absolutism with its inherent tendency for evil as suggested by Dapo Thomas, or is it for revenge? And does God want us to revenge any perceived injustice? And by the way, which injustice? A senior editorial staff and columnist with the Daily Trust newspaper sometime last year wrote about how some northern intelligentsia including himself, all of them Muslims, met at a location in Kaduna and discussed how to get a credible presidential material from the north that will unite the glaringly fractured north, and will also have a sentimental appeal to the southerners. They unanimously agreed on Gen. T.Y. Danjuma, a Christian and a well known middle belter, after which they met him and told him of their consideration of him. He declined, citing some personal reasons. Till date the General has not denied this story.
Now, I brought this up so that certain prejudices against certain groups or persons should be known as misplaced. By God’s injunction the tendency for vengeance by man is foolish and could lead man to fall into the devil’s snare.
Therefore the Church cannot afford to be partisan, by way of instructing worshippers to vote persons only because they attend some church, and not because of proven piety, honesty, integrity, character, passion and compassion for the less privileged and for national development. Bishop David Oyedepo, in a press briefing ahead of the 30th anniversary of his ministry said, “Prophets cannot afford to be partisan or else they will lose God’s backing.”
(The Nation, Friday, April 29, 2011, page 8.) I wish this great man of God has made this press briefing before the elections, for it would probably have helped the Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor led C.A.N. from the wholesale endorsement and pulpits campaigns for President Jonathan.
This has the potential of causing rifts within the Christian community as every worshipper could have a different perception of the candidates; some based on ethnic or regional affiliation; some based on a proper study of the character and antecedents of the candidates; some based on the manifest vision or campaign manifesto of the candidates, etc. Imagine a presidential contest in which Prof. Maurice Iwu and Prof. Attahiru Jega, or Prof. Chukwuma Charles Soludo and Mallam Lamido Sanusi, or Godswill Akpabio, Godson Ikedi Ohakim and Raji Fashola are the major contenders and you go to Church one morning and the Pastor instructs that you should vote “in defence of the faith.”
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