One of the
biggest misconceptions of the world, in my opinion, is the view held by
some that members of the clergy should not participate in politics or
government.
I have read The Holy Bible and The Quran and to the best of my knowledge, nowhere in both books is such a notion promoted.
As a matter
of fact, the first usage of the word ‘government’ comes from The Holy
Bible and the United States of America lifted the word ‘President’
directly from The Bible book of Daniel (chapter 6 verse 3).
Some of the
greatest figures in The Bible were prophets and political leaders at the
same time. Joseph was Prime Minister of Egypt and political ruler of
the then known world but he was also described as a prophet and diviner
of God’s will.
Daniel was appointed President of Babylon by King Darius yet he continued to function in office as a judge and prophet.
In the New
Testament, Joseph of Arimathea was a counsellor (the equivalent of
today’s Senator) and he was a devotee of Our Lord and Saviour, Yeshu’a
(whom some call Jesus). Likewise, the first African Christian, the
Ethiopian Eunuch, was a high official in Queen Candace’s government.
So, there is nothing wrong with men of God coming into politics. It is desired and it will help clean up politics.
What is
wrong however, is for men of God to come into politics and instead of
being agents of transforming politics with the light of their moral
compass, they end up conforming to the prevailing political culture such
that you can not differentiate between them and a regular politician.
In The
Bible, we read how an anointed man of God, a prophet by name Balaam,
allowed his love for power and money mislead him into accepting to curse
the anointed of God after he had been hired by King Balak of Moab to do
just that.
Eventually,
Balaam recognized the folly of his ways after an angelic visitation
which prompted his donkey to speak to him. This divine visitation caused
him to repudiate the lure of money and power dangled by King Balak to
whom he uttered the now very famous words “How shall I curse, whom God
hath not cursed?”-Numbers 23:8.
It was this
historical incident that came to my mind when I read Professor Yemi
Osinbajo’s words of condemnation on Twitter where he had said President
Jonathan runs a “visionless” government.
Professor
Osinbajo is an ordained pastor as I am and one of the ethics of our
calling, enshrined in the homiletic code, is that men of God should not
criticize out of a desire for personal gain, but should do so advisedly
and only if there are genuine and compelling reasons to do so.
As a matter
of fact, Philippians 2:3 says we should “do nothing out of selfish
ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above
yourselves”.
So let me ask, is it really true that President Jonathan runs a visionless government?
In fact, on a
day that coincided with Professor Osinbajo’s day of casting stones at
President Jonathan, Bill Gates was celebrating Nigeria’s ability to
reduce incidences of the Wild Polio Virus from hundreds of cases just
three years ago to only 6 cases in 2014.
Mr. Gates
actions only corroborated those of the United Nations which earlier in
the year had given President Jonathan an award celebrating Nigeria for
eradicating the scourge of Guinea Worm infestation.
The truth is
that not only does President Jonathan run a purposeful and visionary
government, one can even begin to see the crystallization of his vision
into tangible benefits for the Nigerian masses.
Professor
Yemi Osinbajo is a pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God which
has perhaps the largest indoor camp in West Africa along the
Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
Every year,
millions of Nigerian parishioners of the RCCG troop to The Redemption
Camp. They are faced with terrible traffic gridlock as the multitude try
their best to get to the venue on time. The sheer number of users on
that road overwhelms the capacity of the highway and members have been
praying for an intervention that will ease their annual journey.
Enter President Jonathan, whose vision prompted him to initiate the Lagos-Ibadan High Speed Railway which is underway.
This service
will not only facilitate the movement of RCCG’s parishioners to The
Redemption Camp thereby easing the pressure on the roads, it will also
make it possible to live in Ibadan and work in Lagos, with stops along
the way.
The world
renowned global consultancy, KPMG, which monitors trends, in November of
2014 included this High Speed Interstate Railway as one of the world’s
top 100 infrastructure projects. KPMG praised the Jonathan
administration for its vision in initiating such a project.
And it does not stop there.
Even the
Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, long abandoned to the elements by previous
administrations, is at the receiving end of some of the fastest
construction work in Africa. Two construction firms are working to
reconstruct the road in record time. Julius Berger is working from the
Lagos end while RCC is working from the Ibadan end with the intention to
meet somewhere in the middle so that the work is completed in record
time.
As I write
this piece, the China Civil Engineering Construction Company, CCECC, has
officially announced that it has rounded off the track laying work of
Nigeria’s first standard gauge railway modernization project linking the
capital city of Abuja and the Northwestern state of Kaduna.
This is another project that has come to reality as a result of the vision of President Goodluck Jonathan.
So, when
Professor Osinbajo describes President Jonathan’s government as
“visionless” it is obvious that he has left the objectivity of the
pulpit for the subjectivity of partisan politics.
Or else, how
can any objective person call the man under whose guidance Nigeria
became the largest economy in Africa and the 26th largest economy in the
world, visionless? Is such a feat possible without vision, without
planning, without discipline?
Or was it
President Jonathan’s lack of vision that prompted the United Nations to
release data that showed that under Jonathan’s watch, Average Life
Expectancy in Nigeria has risen from 47 years in 2009 to 52 years today?
Is President
Jonathan “visionless” when all elections held under his watch have been
adjudged credible and transparent. From Edo, to Anambra, to Ondo, to
Ekiti to Osun and Niger, it has been a case of one man one vote, one
woman one vote, one youth, one vote.
A few Nigerians may not like the President’s Transformation Agenda, but at least, all Nigerians have heard of it.
The million
dollar question is who has heard of the agenda of Professor Osinbajo’s
party other than the use of the cliche ‘change’?
Yes, Obama used the key words ‘yes we can’ to ride to power in 2008, but he had a brain Trust that came up with a plan.
Are we meant to change for the sake of change?
I must
confess that I am personally fed up with politicians who speak
negatively about Nigeria and its leaders just because they want power.
Pastor
Osinbajo regularly leads his congregation in prayers. But let me ask him
if it makes any sense physically or spiritually to speak negatively
about your nation and pray positively about yourself as if you can
prosper in your home after cursing it with your mouth?
Nigerians
expect Professor Osinbajo to wake up and smell the coffee and start
telling them what he, his principal and their party plan for Nigeria and
not to spend his time throwing stones at the innocent.
Gone are the
days when you promote a candidate based on his region and religion. And
Nigerians are far too aware in 2014-5 for any politician to grandstand
by using highfalutin empty words to cast aspersions on his/her opponent
in order to hide the inadequacy of their vision and plans.
I understand
that when all you have is a hammer everything begins to look like a
nail and so having nothing but criticism to dish out, Osinbajo is likely
to keep throwing stones. However, seeing as he is a pastor, let me
remind Professor Osinbajo of the immortal words of Jesus to critics in
John 8:7-“he that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone”.
As we approach 2015, I would like to point out something to Professor Osinbajo.
In 2011,
there were four major Presidential candidates: President Goodluck
Jonathan of the PDP, Nuhu Ribadu of the ACN, Ibrahim Shekarau of the
ANPP and Muhamaddu Buhari of the CPC.
Does it not
say much about President Jonathan’s vision and his ability to
communicate it effectively that of the three candidates who contested
against him in 2011, two of them, Nuhu Ribadu and Ibrahim Shekarau,
today share his vision for Nigeria and are helping him actualize it
within the Peoples Democratic Party?
It says a lot about the President. And especially, it is evidence of the fact that President Jonathan is a man of vision.
Who knows, maybe Professor Osinbajo will see the light and come to appreciate the President’s vision after the 2015 election.
This has
been a constant pattern with Buhari’s running mates from 2007’s Ume
Ezeoke who saw enough reason to work with the PDP after that election,
to Pastor Tunde Bakare, who shared and participated in the President’s
vision for a National Conference for Nigeria.
In
conclusion, let me say that it is obvious to all discerning people that
God has blessed this man from Otuoke known as President Goodluck
Jonathan. Without godfather, without scheming, without over ambition,
God divinely set him on a trajectory that has seen him ascend the
highest office in the land.
Even when
power was within his grasp, the then Vice President Goodluck Jonathan
refused to take it, preferring to wait on God to elevate him.
I can say
without a shadow of a doubt in my mind that God has put President
Jonathan where he is. And until He is done with him, no man, no pastor,
no prophet can curse whom God has not cursed.
Reno Omokri, a pastor, is Special Assistant to the President on New Media.
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