Adeboye, Oyakhilome at war over a parcel of land

By Ameh Comrade Godwin 

There’s currently an ongoing war between two respected clerics, Pastor Enoch Adeboye of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) and Pastor Chris Oyakhilome of the Christ Embassy over a parcel of land located along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
It has been gathered that the two men of God are battling over a portion of land, which spread across Oloke, Asese, Maba and Gideon Villages in Ogun State and have been engaging in war of words.
Reliable sources around the area said that, in March, this year; there was a big fracas between mercenaries of the two churches on the controversial land where some reportedly lost their lives.
We learnt that the Christ Embassy’s thugs were led by one Lukman Jimoh, popularly known as Ogo Oluwa and they drove to the place in a Volvo Car and Toyota Hiace Bus.

Our findings revealed that, the RCCG has petitioned the Inspector General of Police, and asked him to wade into the matter, which is almost going out of hand.
RCCG in the petition, a copy made available to an online magazine called orijoreporter, while recounting how they came about the property, said that despite the fact that the land falls under the government acquisition area, the church had in June 1999 paid ratification fees for the land to the late Alhaji Tajudeen Ogoluwa (Lukman’s father) who gave the church a Deed of Surrender, signed by him and witnessed by one Waidi Ogunsesan.
The church added that it was also given allocation of the land for 99 years by the Ogun State Government in a letter signed by the Director-General, Bureau of Lands and Survey, Surveyor Gbenga Ogunnoike.
RCCG also alleged that Ogun State Government issued a Certificate of Occupancy with the number 025748, dated November 7, 2006 and signed by the governor.
The IG, it was gathered, directed the Eleweran Police Headquarter in Ogun State to resolve the matter between the two men of God, Pastor Adeboye and Pastor Oyakhilome.

DailyPost

Confused 'Christian' Group Threatens el-Rufai

By The Paradigm
Operatives of an unknown Christian group has threatened to "reciprocate in equal measure" the anti-Christ comments allegedly made by a former Minister FCT, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai.

The group which called itself Christian Youth Vanguard was said to have been hurriedly put together towards 2015 in a bid to 'put el-Rufai in order' a source told The Paradigm.

The group which claims to be a coalition of various Christian youth organisations, on Wednesday in Abuja said they would beam their searchlight on Prophet Mohammed and the Sultan of Sokoto and President-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, Alhaji Muhammad Sa'ad Abubakar 111.

Investigations by The Paradigm reveals that the youth do not know or cannot recall what 'blasphemous' comment el-Rufai made against Jesus Christ. The group in a statement casually refers to "blasphemous and abominable tweets about our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ" but can't state in specific, what comment was made.

A Nigerian micro-blogger Ogunyemi Bukola has tweeted:
"If Jesus criticizes Jonathan's govt, Maku/Abati/Okupe will say he slept with Mary Madgalene."

This tweet was a direct response to the Goodluck Jonathan led government's reaction to a lecture delivered by former World Bank Vice President (Africa) Oby Ezekwesili where she highlighted the extent of waste and corruption under the administration.

The government in reacting called her out and was just short of calling her a thief. This reaction is nothing new as it is the modus operandi of a system that obsessively refuses to take corrections to better itself.

Mallam Nasir el-Rufai retweeted the tweet by Ogunyemi Bukola and it has since turned a propagada tool.

Also, the former FCT minister had recently made comments describing the Christian Association of Nigeria and its President, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, has appendages of the Peoples Democratic Party.

The CYV in a statement by its National Coordinator, Yakubu Mecham; and Secretary, Emeka Okoli said from el-Rufai's uncomplimentary remarks against CAN , Oritsejafor and the Christian faith in Nigeria,  someone needed "to help the ex-minister before he goes completely mental."

The NYV recalled how el-Rufai recently "made blasphemous and abominable tweets about our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ" but that the incident was swept under the carpet for peace sake.

The group wondered what would have been the consequence if such a blasphemous remark was made about Prophet Mohammed.

It warned, "Enough of this insults on our Christian faith and our CAN President. The CYV hereby notify el-Rufai and his group of unpatriotic Nigerians that we will not sit back and tolerate insults aimed at our Christian leader any longer.

"We wish to stress very emphatically that henceforth any further careless statements, comments or insults on our Faith or on the person of our CAN President will be reciprocated in equal measure. A word, they say, is enough for the wise."

TheParadigm

Ex-Dep Gov., Ojikutu To Face Trial Over Alleged N130m Fraud -PM News, Lagos

Former Lagos Deputy Gov. Alhaja Sinatu Ojikutu

By Akin Kuponiyi

Barring unforeseen hitches, former Deputy Governor of Lagos State, western Nigeria, Alhaja Sinatu Ojikutu and Sampson Ojikutu, will be arraigned by the Special Fraud Unit, SFU, of the Nigeria Police Force before a Federal High Court in Lagos tomorrow on a three-count charge of conspiracy, obtaining by false pretence and stealing.
Sources close to SFU informed P.M.NEWS that Ojikutu, who is currently in the United States of America, USA, will be repatriated to Nigeria and arraigned tomorrow.
In a criminal charge number FHC/L/C/343c/13 filed before the court by CSP Effiong Asuquo from the SFU, it was alleged that Ojikutu and Sampson in September 2011 at Lekki Phase 1, Victoria Island, Lagos, conspired to commit felony to wit, obtaining the sum of N130 million.
The money was allegedly collected from a Lagos businessman, Cajetan Okekearu, under the pretence that they have a plot of land at Lekki Phase 1 at Victoria Island to sell to him.
Sources close to SFU informed P.M.NEWS Ojikutu’s proposed repatriation was effected with the assistance of the US Embassy in Nigeria.
The sources disclosed that all arrangements have been put in place for Ojikutu’s repatriation to Nigeria today.
  Saharareporters

BREAKING: Gunmen in Army uniform storm Abuja Legislative Quarters, eight reportedly killed [PHOTOS]

By Wale Odunsi

The Police have confirmed that seven persons were shot dead in two uncompleted buildings behind the National Assembly Quarters in Apo, Abuja , early on Friday.
The buildings are located at Zone E in the area.
Mr Sunday Odukoya, the Assistant Commissioner of Police in-Charge of Abuja Metro Area Command, confirmed the killings to newsmen on Friday.
Commenting on an allegation that the victims were killed by soldiers, Odukoya said: “I have not heard something like that. “But the issue is when a matter happens like this, we do investigation, people will tell us what happened, we will gather more intelligence.’’
Some people, who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) at the scene of the incident, said that gunshots were heard at midnight and that the shooting lasted for an hour.
A resident of the area, Umar, said nine people had been taken to hospital apart from the seven dead. Umar alleged that the people who did the shooting were in uniform. “They came and shared themselves, some lay on the floor, some went inside, some standing,’’ he said.
A resident of the area, who identified himself as Femi, told NAN that the shooting started about 11.45p.m. on Thursday and lasted till midnight. “This morning we heard that a lot of people died, while some were wounded and had been taken to the hospital.
The FCT Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Altine Daniel, confirmed that there was an incident at the uncompleted buildings but added: “I do not have the briefing, honestly.’’
However, Malam Huwal Umaru, the leader of labourers in the area, said six men in army uniform came into the uncompleted building where no fewer than 100 laborers were staying and started shooting.
“At the end of the operation, seven of my people were killed and many were injured, the uniformed men also went away with 15 of our people.
“We don’t even know their fate now, may be they are alive or dead and when we took a count we could not account for three,’’ Umaru said.
He said the armed men came in two jeeps, the white one was parked at the entrance of the gate leading to the street while the black one was stationed at the junction adjacent to the street.
He said when they got to the front of the building; they started shooting, rousing the people from sleep.
“It was the sound of the gun that woke the people up, they were confused and ran to the direction of the attackers.
“Those that were not sleeping were able to prevent more people from running outside,’’ he said.
Umaru said that before the tragic event, a security man from Kaduna State, had left the building with his girlfriend and his friend.
Umaru said for more than one year they had been living peacefully in the uncompleted building,
“We are into various menial jobs like shoe shining, masonry, selling tea, while some drive keke NAPEP (tricycle).
“This is a place we have been living for over one year, not free of charge and we don’t constitute nuisance to anybody,’’ he said.
Umaru said that on Wednesday the owner of the building came to pay the security man guarding the structure his salary and in the process noticed some movements within.
He said after series of investigation and questioning, he got to know that some people were hibernating in the building and he gave them a week’s notice to vacate.
“The man warned us that if we don’t vacate the building by Wednesday, he would make life unbearable for us, as he would bring solders to chase us away,’’ Umaru said.
He said they had an agreement with the security man to be paying N200 weekly per person.
“We don’t have problem with anybody, all we do is to go out in the morning to look for our daily bread and come back to lay our head,’’ Umaru said.
One of the security men in one of the houses on the street said that the uniformed men were more than six but only six went for the operation.

He said he and his colleagues were outside the building when the people came and ordered them to go inside their house and lock the windows.
He said that few minutes after the instruction; they heard gunshots and shouts of agony by people.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) learnt that the victims were all male.
NAN reports that the corpses were taken away in an ambulance belonging to the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps on Friday. (NAN)
The Police have confirmed that seven persons were shot dead in two uncompleted buildings behind the National Assembly Quarters in Apo, Abuja , early on Friday.
The buildings are located at Zone E in the area.
Mr Sunday Odukoya, the Assistant Commissioner of Police in-Charge of Abuja Metro Area Command, confirmed the killings to newsmen on Friday.
Commenting on an allegation that the victims were killed by soldiers, Odukoya said: “I have not heard something like that.
“But the issue is when a matter happens like this, we do investigation, people will tell us what happened, we will gather more intelligence.’’
Some people, who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) at the scene of the incident, said that gunshots were heard at midnight and that the shooting lasted for an hour.
A resident of the area, Umar, said nine people had been taken to hospital apart from the seven dead.
Umar alleged that the people who did the shooting were in uniform.
“They came and shared themselves, some lay on the floor, some went inside, some standing,’’ he said.
A resident of the area, who identified himself as Femi, told NAN that the shooting started about 11.45p.m. on Thursday and lasted till midnight.
“This morning we heard that a lot of people died, while some were wounded and had been taken to the hospital.
The FCT Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Altine Daniel, confirmed that there was an incident at the uncompleted buildings but added: “I do not have the briefing, honestly.’’
However, Malam Huwal Umaru, the leader of labourers in the area, said six men in army uniform came into the uncompleted building where no fewer than 100 laborers were staying and started shooting.
“At the end of the operation, seven of my people were killed and many were injured, the uniformed men also went away with 15 of our people.
“We don’t even know their fate now, may be they are alive or dead and when we took a count we could not account for three,’’ Umaru said.
He said the armed men came in two jeeps, the white one was parked at the entrance of the gate leading to the street while the black one was stationed at the junction adjacent to the street.
He said when they got to the front of the building; they started shooting, rousing the people from sleep.
“It was the sound of the gun that woke the people up, they were confused and ran to the direction of the attackers.
“Those that were not sleeping were able to prevent more people from running outside,’’ he said.
Umaru said that before the tragic event, a security man from Kaduna State, had left the building with his girlfriend and his friend.
Umaru said for more than one year they had been living peacefully in the uncompleted building,
“We are into various menial jobs like shoe shining, masonry, selling tea, while some drive keke NAPEP (tricycle).
“This is a place we have been living for over one year, not free of charge and we don’t constitute nuisance to anybody,’’ he said.
Umaru said that on Wednesday the owner of the building came to pay the security man guarding the structure his salary and in the process noticed some movements within.
He said after series of investigation and questioning, he got to know that some people were hibernating in the building and he gave them a week’s notice to vacate.
“The man warned us that if we don’t vacate the building by Wednesday, he would make life unbearable for us, as he would bring solders to chase us away,’’ Umaru said.
He said they had an agreement with the security man to be paying N200 weekly per person.
“We don’t have problem with anybody, all we do is to go out in the morning to look for our daily bread and come back to lay our head,’’ Umaru said.
One of the security men in one of the houses on the street said that the uniformed men were more than six but only six went for the operation.
He said he and his colleagues were outside the building when the people came and ordered them to go inside their house and lock the windows.
He said that few minutes after the instruction; they heard gunshots and shouts of agony by people.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) learnt that the victims were all male.
NAN reports that the corpses were taken away in an ambulance belonging to the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps on Friday. (NAN)


DailyPost

Why I Oppose Jonathan – Rotimi Amaechi

Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State has said he is opposed to President Goodluck Jonathan because the South-South region where the president hails from has not benefited from his administration.
The sorry state of the economy, poverty rate and poor infrastructure, especially the East-West Road, are some of the other reasons Amaechi said he is opposed to Jonathan’s presidency.
Reacting to comments by the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who spoke on the nation’s economy and Delta State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, who was rallying the South-south’s support for Jonathan, Amaechi stated that the Nigerian economy is struggling to survive, contrary to the rosy picture painted by the finance minister.
According to him, the federal government was yet to fully pay the Rivers State allocation for July.
On Uduaghan’s remarks that opposition to Jonathan should not come from the president’s South-South region, Amaechi stated that he considered Nigeria’s national interest far and above any other interest.
He lamented the way those fighting a just cause were being maligned on the altar of public criticism, pointing out that Nigerians usually suffered for not asking the relevant questions.
“When you are principled in Nigeria and you stand on your principles, what do they call you?”
“Stubborn,” the audience chorused.
“They expect you to compromise at a point but when you refuse to compromise, you are a very stubborn man.
“We (NGF) asked the Minister of Finance to resign if she is not able to manage the economy and she replied, ‘I dey kampe’. As at now, we are yet to receive the complete federation allocation for July.
“How strong is an economy that cannot fund its statutory state government federal allocation? Our entitlement as Rivers State Government in July was N19 billion, they have paid us only N14 billion, you get the point?
“Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) published (revenue) receipts of N1.05 trillion in July, so why do they say that there is no money? If we receive N1.05 trillion by July, why are they saying there is no money?” he queried.
Amaechi, who spoke at a programme organised by the Rotary International, District 9140 for young future leaders at the Rivers State University of Science and Technology, Port Harcourt, Thursday, said he was opening up to the youths, because as potential leaders they should learn how to ask their leaders questions.
“Now, why am I saying this to you? I am saying it because as potential leaders, you must learn to ask questions. If you think that the youths spur me, you don’t, you don’t inspire me. Why don’t you inspire me? Because you are learning to be like us. Let me paint the image of us – corrupt, poor leadership, that’s what you are copying.
“We produce oil and we are one of the poorest nations in the world, are we not? Which nation would allow a Commissioner of Police like (Joseph) Mbu to continue as commissioner other than in Nigeria?”
“Iraq, Syria,” the crowd replied.
Responding, he said: “Maybe Syria. So you see our peers – Syria, Iraq, Pakistan. I am sharing experiences with you before I talk about the issue of leadership.
“Now, I read today’s paper and my friend (Emmanuel) Uduaghan says anybody who is from South-South should not oppose our president, should not have a different view from our president. Did you read it?

“I will reply him but let me start replying him from here. First, I am a Nigerian. The reason why you have the South-South, South-West, South-East, South this, North-West, North that, is because in Nigeria what you have in leadership is a wrecked culture.
“I would have brought you a book titled ‘It’s Our Turn to Eat’ on Kenya. In Nigeria, it should be what, ‘It’s Our Turn to Chop’.
“The reason you have this South-West, South-East, North-West, North this, North that and all that is because you have a wrecked culture, where all we care about is how to share the till.
“So the South-south has shared for four years, how many of you have benefitted from the sharing for four years, raise your hands; how many of you?”
“None,” the crowd again responded.
“So none. How many of you passed through the East-West Road, how was the road?”
“Bad,” the audience said.
“And our president is from the South-South, so you see; should I support the president?” he asked.
“Nooooo,” the crowd drawled in unison.
“So the basic rule is that none of us should oppose our president if you are from South-South, that is what the man (Uduaghan) tells us,” he said.
He urged the youths to arm themselves with education to revive Nigeria which is comatose, expressing sadness that the country’s poverty rate had risen to unbearable levels where many Nigerians hardly get enough to eat.
“Now for you as young men and women, we present you a nation that is yearning for repair. For me, the nation does not only need repair, it requires change.
“In 1970, the poverty rate in Nigeria was 30 per cent. How many of you know the poverty rate now? I was in a meeting where I said it was 70 per cent but the Minister of Finance said it was 68 per cent. What’s the difference between 68 and 70? So we are giving you a nation that is in a comatose state, that’s what we are handing over to you.
“If it is a nation that is progressing, from 30 per cent in 1970, we should be talking of about 15 per cent now. So you have work to do and the first step to that work is get an education,” Amaechi said.
He explained that his administration introduced free education in the state to provide everyone, particularly poor parents, the opportunity to send their children to school, lamenting that the cost of education in the country had denied education to most Nigerians.
Amaechi also used the occasion to commend Rotary International for complementing the state governors in the fight against polio.
Earlier, the District Governor of Rotary International District 9140, Dr. Charles Oniawan, said Rotary unites people from all nationalities and backgrounds, adding that the programme was designed to give youths leadership skills to serve the people and humanity.

InformationNigeria

Pastor Oritsejafor cossets and pampers the government of the day – Nasir El-Rufai

In the raging media war between former Minister of the Federal Public and the President of the increasingly political CAN President Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor has taken a new turn with the release of this press statement by the former Minister. It is published be

Oritsejafor not synonymous with CAN

 

Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai

 

Many in Nigeria today may not remember the name of Cardinal Anthony Olubunmi Okogie, but if there was any opposition to the military regimes of the eighties and nineties, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) under him definitely represented a voice of resistance to those governments’ excesses. At a time when many people kept silent in the face of human rights abuses, Okogie faced down the military government and told them some home truths. It didn’t matter if the victims were Muslims or Christians; it didn’t matter whether they were from the north or south; CAN fought for all Nigerians. Okogie had the moral authority to act, and did so with dignity, to the admiration of all of us.

 

Okogie’s bravery was not unusual for CAN leaders; if anything, in the turbulent history of this country, there is a proud tradition of leaders of CAN who spoke for and stood by the people of this country. They used their moral authority to defend the rights of all Nigerians even during the most brutal military dictatorships or corrupt and inept civilian administrations. The courage of the likes of Cardinal Anthony Olubunmi Okogie, Archbishop Peter Jasper Akinola, the Reverend SundayMbang and Cardinal John Onaiyekan, for instance, are shining examples of faith in action, with compassion for the oppressed and chastisement for the tyrants.

 

It is a mark of the sad and uncertain times our country faces that we have to be reminded that previous leaders of CAN have used that platform for nobler purposes than we currently see. In spite of the corruption that blights much discourse these days, it is evident that a clear distinction exists between CAN as a body and the individual that leads it. Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor cannot be allowed to conflate himself with CAN. He bears personal accountability for the conduct and utterances that portray him as a messenger of the powerful, or as an active soldier of the ruling party. Except for the informed, the casual observer may mistake Oritsejafor for a minor protocol official of government, so pathetically has he cheapened the erstwhile integrity of the CAN presidency.

 

Pastor Oritsejafor’s utterances and behaviour amount to repudiation of the moral authority, fair-mindedness and high standing his predecessors invested in that office. While they spoke truth to power in the exalted prophetic tradition, he cossets and pampers the government of the day. He even champions their politics of ethnic and religious division by making unfounded allegations against opposition leaders. How else can any neutral observer rationalize his two calls for General Buhari’s arrest? In contrast, Oritsejafor was dead silent when persons that are Jonathan’s sidekicks threatened the nation with violence if he is not voted president in 2015! The dissonance between the glorious past and now is rather loud.

 

While Pastor Oritsejafor chose to be a subaltern to power, other men of faith rose to stem division and help the country achieve peace, efforts for which Cardinal John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan and the Sultan of Sokoto were nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Such an esteemed global honour is a measurement of leadership quality and character; as distinct from Oritsejafor who prefers earthly gains and ostentatious lifestyle of private jets! Everyone can recall that November morning in 2012 when Oritsejafor accepted the gift of a private jet in the presence of a smiling President Jonathan.

 

Observers of Oritsejafor’s record should pause and ponder why the Catholic leaders took the recent unprecedented decision to temporarily opt out of CAN! It is not because Christians in Nigeria today are markedly different from those that lived in the days when Okogie, Akinola and Mbang led CAN honourably, it is because the Oritsejafor style has driven the organisation into the ignominious politics of hatred and division.

 

Due to how sensitive any discourse about religion has become in Nigeria, many have refrained from pointing out the errant ways of Oritsejafor, but if we are to build the Nigeria of our dreams, we must have the courage to point out transgressions against all Nigerians by people masking themselves in religious toga to create strife in the country. The truth is that Oritsejafor is neither a personalization of CAN, nor an example of the compassion, grace and modesty Christianity teaches. 

 

A case of the descent into toxic politics is evident from the statement purportedly issued in CAN’s name in defence of Oritsejafor. The language of the statement is very similar to the gutter language usually spewed out of the Presidential Villa whenever any citizen expresses the right to question the corruption, impunity and incompetence of the Jonathan administration. The sudden attempt to assume the role of political adviser to General Muhammadu Buhari, a person that Oritsejafor has done everything to malign and smear, amounts to everything a religious organisation should not be. When purportedly religious leaders or organisations become brazenly partisan, they should not complain directly and through surrogates when they are responded to in like manner.

 

God’s work cannot be reduced to petty electoral calculations. Neither should those who claim to be on the Almighty’s mission indulge in base blackmail and falsehood, or encroach on God’s prerogative to bestow grace, provide final justice and avenge wrong.

 

Let the leaders of faith show good example when they step into the public arena. The merchants of religiosity, those who specialise in distorting the sobriety of faith into wares to be traded for political and commercial favours, should not be allowed to divide our country or to derail the diversity of our creeds and tongues into a reason for strife. Above all else, we are all human, sharing the same biology and deserving to be free and secure, whatever our beliefs and ethnic origins. In the final analysis, the needs and wants of a less privileged Christian destitute in Abia is not that much different from that of a Muslim Almajiri in Zamfara!

 

Omojuwa.com

El-Rufai Says CAN Not Synonymous With Oritsejafor

Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor

By SaharaReporters, New York

Former Minister of the Federal Capital Abuja, Nasir El Rufai has criticized the current leader of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, for betraying the group’s legacy of fighting against oppressive forces.
In a statement released today, Mr. El Rufai recalled the heroic role played by past CAN leader, Cardinal Anthony Olubunmi Okogie, as “a voice of resistance” to the despotic military regimes of the 1980s and 1990s. According to the former minister, at “a time when many people kept silent in the face of human rights abuses, Okogie faced down the military government and told them some home truths.” The minister added: “It didn’t matter if the victims were Muslims or Christians; it didn’t matter whether they were from the north or south; CAN fought for all Nigerians. Okogie had the moral authority to act, and did so with dignity, to the admiration of all of us.”
Mr. El Rufai also stated that Cardinal Okojie’s heroism was not an isolated one, adding that several other past CAN leaders lent their voices to the struggle for democratic governance in Nigeria. “Okogie’s bravery was not unusual for CAN leaders; if anything, in the turbulent history of this country, there is a proud tradition of leaders of CAN who spoke for and stood by the people of this country,” said the former minister. He lauded those CAN luminaries for using “their moral authority to defend the rights of all Nigerians even during the most brutal military dictatorships or corrupt and inept civilian administrations,” naming Archbishop Peter Jasper Akinola, the Reverend Sunday Mbang and Cardinal John Onaiyekan, as “shining examples of faith in action, with compassion for the oppressed and chastisement for the tyrants.”
Mr. El Rufai contrasted the noble era of CAN leadership with the current leadership of the Christian body, led by Pastor Oritsejafor. The former minister’s statement accused Oritsejafor of seeking to make himself and his personal political biases synonymous with those of CAN.
“In spite of the corruption that blights much discourse these days, it is evident that a clear distinction exists between CAN as a body and the individual that leads it. Ayo Oritsejafor cannot be allowed to conflate himself with CAN. He bears personal accountability for the conduct and utterances that portray him as a messenger of the powerful, or as an active soldier of the ruling party,” said Mr. El Rufai.
He added: “Except for the informed, the casual observer may mistake Oritsejafor for a minor protocol official of government, so pathetically has he cheapened the erstwhile integrity of the CAN presidency.”
He expressed dismay that Pastor Oritsejafor’s “utterances and behavior amount to repudiation of the moral authority, fair-mindedness and high standing his predecessors invested in that office.” According to him, while CAN’s past leaders “spoke truth to power in the exalted prophetic tradition,” the current leader “cossets and pampers the government of the day.” He also accused Pastor Oritsejafor of championing the “politics of ethnic and religious division by making unfounded allegations against opposition leaders.” He asked: “How else can any neutral observer rationalize his two calls for General Buhari’s arrest? In contrast, Oritsejafor was dead silent when persons that are Jonathan’s sidekicks threatened the nation with violence if he is not voted president in 2015!”
Mr. El Rufai accused Pastor Oritsejafor of choosing “”to be a subaltern to power,” but praised the efforts by other men of faith “to stem division and help the country achieve peace.” He added that such laudable efforts earned Cardinal John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan and the Sultan of Sokoto a joint nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize.”
Mr. El Rufai reminded the current CAN leader that nomination for the Nobel, an esteemed global honor, “is a measurement of leadership quality and character,” adding that it was “distinct from Oritsejafor who prefers earthly gains and ostentatious lifestyle of private jets!” He recalled that Pastor Oritsejafor had in November, 2012 accepted the gift of private jet “in the presence of a smiling President Jonathan.”
He remarked that Oritsejafor’s style of leadership had created division within CAN, illustrated by Catholic leaders’ “recent unprecedented decision to temporarily opt out of CAN!” Stated Mr. El Rufai: “It is not because Christians in Nigeria today are markedly different from those that lived in the days when Okogie, Akinola and Mbang led CAN honorably; it is because the Oritsejafor style has driven the organization into the ignominious politics of hatred and division.”
He said that the mood of sensitivity about religion had led many to refrain from “pointing out the errant ways of Oritsejafor, but if we are to build the Nigeria of our dreams, we must have the courage to point out transgressions against all Nigerians by people masking themselves in religious toga to create strife in the country.” He added that “Oritsejafor is neither a personalization of CAN, nor an example of the compassion, grace and modesty Christianity teaches.”
The former minister stated that a statement “purportedly issued in CAN’s name in defense of Oritsejafor” represented a “case of the descent into toxic politics.” He added that the “language of the statement is very similar to the gutter language usually spewed out of the Presidential Villa whenever any citizen expresses the right to question the corruption, impunity and incompetence of the Jonathan administration.”
Mr. El Rufai warned that when “purportedly religious leaders or organizations become brazenly partisan, they should not complain directly and through surrogates when they are responded to in like manner.” He cautioned against reducing God’s work “to petty electoral calculations” as well as religious leaders indulging “in base blackmail and falsehood.” He warned that leaders of faith must exhibit “good example in the public arena.”
According to him, religious leaders must not exploit their faith “for political and commercial favors.” He concluded that, “In the final analysis, the needs and wants of a less privileged Christian destitute in Abia is not that much different from that of a Muslim Almajiri in Zamfara!”
Saharareporters