OPEN LETTER TO PROF YEMI OSINBAJO

OPEN LETTER TO PROF YEMI OSINBAJO

by Deji Yesufu

I greet you sir in the name of our blessed Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Prof. Yemi Osinbajo

I trust God that it is well with you and all of yours. I, along with other Nigerians, came into this new week - a week preceding the coming election - with the news that the leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), along with prominent members of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), held a meeting at the Redeemed Camp along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway over the weekend, with you present, where it was said that the candidacy of Goodluck Jonathan was endorsed over Gen. Buhari for the coming elections1. I wish to state categorically in this letter that CAN has not expressed the general opinion of Nigerian Christians. I want to encourage your spirit by saying that even if leading Pastors in this country have chosen Jonathan ahead of Buhari, your principal in the coming elections; there are some Nigerian Christians who disagree with this position. And I want to apologize to you for the trauma that you must have endured this last weekend as you watched men in the same work of Christ along with you, reject you for whatever reasons best known to them. I will start my letter to you by briefly telling you the story of my conversion to Buharism. Then I will try to locate the underlying motive behind the decision of these pastors in rejecting you. Finally, I would encourage you to focus on the task ahead of not just winning this election but also helping to salvage Nigeria from the grip of the lawlessness ones.

My Conversion to Buharism

As a Christian minister, there is an incidence in the bible that I am sure you are familiar with. It is one that involved the bible character Joshua. It reads: "13 And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? 14 And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant? 15 And the captain of the LORD'S host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so."2 Many bible scholars agree that this story is one of many incidences where the Lord Jesus Christ appeared in his pre-incarnate form in the Old Testament. Here our Lord gives a relevant instruction to both Joshua and all of us Christians as you face probably the biggest warfare of your life. Joshua waned to know whether Jesus was for Israel or for the enemies. Jesus announces to him that he was for neither. In the process Joshua discovers something that causes him to worship God. I believe what Joshua discovered was that at the point of life's greatest wars, God never appears to take side with any group; rather he stands on the path of truth, verity and justice. And God will side with any group that has these elements present in their make up. I wish to state that God is neither for a Christian candidate in the election nor for a Muslim candidate; he neither for CAN or for a Muslim group; rather God is siding with any group or party that espouses the principles of truth, justice and

Gen. Muhammadu Buhari

development this country desperately needs at these times. Any other group that might mouth these tenets but deny them in practice will not have the support of the Almighty God.

These are essentially the sentiments that I came to grasp with when I converted to Buharism. Following Pastor Tunde Bakare and the Save Nigeria Group's endorsement of the candidacy of Gen. Buhari in December 2010, I gave the GMB option a thorough study and came to the conclusion that he was a better presidential candiditate in the 2011 elections. What solidified my position further was the attitude and sentiments expressed by fellow Christians to this decision of mine. It was clear to me that unlike our Lord and Savior who will side only with truth, Christians very readily threw away the Buhari option merely because he was a Muslim. The lie that he would Islamize Nigeria also did not help. On becoming a Buharist, I sat down to understudy the whole foundation of my faith in Christ and I discovered that many of it was faulty. Since then I have had to discard many cherished practices in the Christian faith and even leave the local assembly I had worshipped with for eight years. At the close of the day, Buharism brought me into a firmer and clearer grasp of the person of Jesus Christ. And I am sure anyone will agree that this is spiritual growth indeed. Buharism showed me that Christianity is not a mere religion but sincere love for human beings, regardless of the faith they profess. It showed me that truth and justice are the foundation on which God's throne was founded. It showed me that a person need not profess Christ to be used by him to better society. It showed me that God could still replay the story of Cyrus in rebuilding a fallen nation of Israel in our present political history. Despite my conversion to Buharism, I remain a Christian. But a Christian with a clearer grasp of the person of Jesus Christ. I am now a Christian that is not bound by mere religious sentiments or parochial mindsets. This is what I believe a lot of Christians become when they come to know and support the candidacy of Gen. Buhari.

The Motive of these Pastors in Rejecting You

About two weeks ago, a news items surfaced from one of the many online news agencies in our country. It said, among other things, that a certain individual had been given large sums of money from the presidency of Nigeria to distribute to leading pastors in this country to garner their support towards the coming presidential elections3. While the veracity of this news item can be disputed, it is yet to be refuted by the individual who was clearly named by the news agency. I hope to show here that the motive in rejecting you at that meeting last weekend may not be too far from this incidence. Jesus taught us that there are two gods men worship: mammon or God4. There are no other options. This challenge is bedeviling the Christian faith at the moment and the end result is that the motives that underlie people's actions generally in life might either be for gain or for God. It is not news anymore that Nigerian Christianity is becoming the leading harbinger of a money gospel that many have very appropriately labeled the prosperity gospel. Neither is it surprising that majority of the men who rejected you in that meeting are the leading propagators of the prosperity message in our country. While the prosperity message has many tenets that one cannot explore at the moment, the key point of it all is money: how to get it and how to retain it. Thus the harbingers of this message follow the gangster rapper's philosophy of life: "Get Money or Die Trying"5. This philosophy stands in stark contrast to that of our Lord that instructed us not to make money our god or that of the apostle Paul that taught that if we have food and clothing we should be content6.

Nigerian Pentecostal Pastors

Therefore, when these pastors who espouse a money gospel came face to face with deciding on who to support in the forthcoming elections, it was not difficult for them to decide against a sound and properly laid out manifesto of the APC; neither did they have any qualms in discarding brilliant minds in the person of yourself and other leading APC stalwarts; they could not see any virtue in a leader that has no trace of corruption in his record of public service in the person of Buhari; neither did they see the new opportunity for change that the APC offers. These pastors very easily chose what has from the foundation of their ministries informed every other decision they have made in the past: they simply chose what will bring them money, advantage, acceptance with the powers that be; they fell to the god of mammon and gain that they have all along worshipped.

The Road Ahead

I was part of the people who met with you at the "I Have Decided" rally held at Teslim Balogun Stadium two weekends ago. I had received an email requesting my presence and had to travel from Ibadan on short notice that weekend to see you enumerate in fifteen minutes the vision of the APC for the coming political dispensation. That vision is what I wish you will focus on now because we shall reach that goal as a nation by the help of God. At that meeting, you taught us, Christians and Muslims alike, to join forces together to deliver our streets, neighborhoods and offices to Gen. Muhammadu Buhari in the forthcoming elections. The "Change" fever has since caught everyone and most people I know are ready to vote anything but this present contraption we call a government. I receive calls for money and aids from Pastors in Maiduguri and I realize that what I could actually give them to help salvage that besieged Nigerian city is a new government of Buhari who is known to have tackled insurgency in the past and can do it again.

The road ahead will include a preparedness to enter into the greatest assignment of your life so far, which is to lead the largest black nation on earth. A nation that has been bastardized by years of harlot leaders but which now has the opportunity to have a scion of the late Obafemi Awolowo lead her and help introduce and implement the hundreds of laudable ideas that late sage had written in his books. You have a great opportunity to do well for Nigeria in the coming years. The road ahead will also include forgiveness and a reevaluation of your faith in Christ. When you come to power, like Joseph did, you must forgive your brethren who are at the moment selling you away for a pot of red porridge. You are coming to power to help save Nigeria from imminent doom and this is the path that God has chosen for you. These men, who have rejected you now, will face their shame in the days to come. But it is your duty and mine to forgive them and help them realize the folly of their action. To employ the words of the sitting president when he came to power in 2011, General Buhari and yourself "must hit the ground running" from May 29th onwards.

There is so much to do. There is a nation to save and rebuild. There are insurgent elements all around the country that must be silenced. There is an economy to revamp. There is a nation to help place in the map of advancing countries in the world of science and technology. There is a sea of human capitals among Nigerians youths waiting to be harnessed to turn this nation into a developed country. There is an African continent waiting for Nigeria to offer the lead to development and progress. The list is endless. In short, Nigeria is waiting for the manifestation of a son of God7.

Conclusion

It is my sincere hope that the aim of this letter, which is to uphold your hand in the events of the coming elections, has been achieved.

I had argued in previous essays that Christians were not participating enough in

#IHaveDecided

partisan politics. I envisioned that a day will arise when a position shall be left in public office that a Christian alone could fill and there would hardly be anyone around to fill it. I am happy to see that when that situation arose in the APC, the leadership of the party found an experienced individual in your person to fill the gap. Despite your rejection by an arm of Christian leaders in the country, please be informed that a host of others support you. And more than anything else, the God of heaven is with you8.

Be rest assured that the prayers of God's people are with you and you have our unalloyed support in this mission. The duty of nation building is undoubtedly prominently connected with our responsibility to make disciples of all nations. If Nigeria, our Jerusalem, knows peace and progress; our calling to reach the world with the gospel of Christ will only be made a lot easier. Go forth and make history.

God bless you.

References

1. www.pmnewsnigeria.com/2015/02/02/bakare-blasts-can-pfn-for-endorsing-jonathan/www.pmnewsnigeria.com/2015/02/02/bakare-blasts-can-pfn-for-endorsing-jonathan/
2. Joshua 5:13-15
3. www.saharareporters.com/2015/01/29/kennedy-okpara-distributing-jonathan’s-bribes-pastors
4. Matthew 6:24
5."Get Money or Die Trying" is the name of the hit album by American Gangster Rapper 50cents. One finds that the Prosperity Preachers share similar philosophy with Rappers.
6. 1 Timothy 6:6
7. Romans 8:19
8. Hebrew 13:5

WHAT IS GOD SAYING?

WHAT IS GOD SAYING ABOUT WHO BECOMES NIGERIA'S NEXT PRESIDENT?

Revelation  1:15 And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.

On the morning of the last Presidential election in 2011 that had president Jonathan pitted against Gen. Buhari, I had a strange experience. I am certain I heard no voice but I suddenly became aware that Buhari would loose the elections. Having put in so much effort in convincing friends about him, I was naturally disappointed but the "word" I received that morning was one of consolation because the conclusion seem to me then to be this: though Buhari will loose, time will show the Nigerian electorate that they made a mistake in rejecting him. Is February 14th 2015 the day Nigeria will rectify her mistake? I don't know. But I wish to say a thing about what God may possibly be saying about who becomes the next President of Nigeria.

We are in desperate times and with the advent of Pentecostal Christianity, many have simply given up the hard duty of faith and hope in God concerning issues of life, and simply turned to overnight prophets to tell them what the future holds. They thereafter pattern all their lives after these prophecies, many times to their own hurt. The coming elections have not been without its own share of prophecies. What gives me consolation is that the folly of the prophecies lie in the fact that God seem to be saying different things. The same God that prophecies continuity in one prophet, speak of change in another. Should it not be clear to us all that these prophets are hearing their own lusts?

On the other hand, their is a school of Christian thoughts that teach that God never speaks. This is an unhealthy extreme. How can we say the same God that made the mouth and ears, cannot speak? Sure he speaks in his word, the bible and he tells us that "my sheep hear my voice..." So God speaks and if we are not hearing him, we should return to him, possibly in repentance.

I believe that God has already spoken about who should be the next president of Nigeria. The question is not what he is saying but what are we hearing. The above scripture describes Jesus as one who speaks with a voice of many waters. Waters in scriptures denotes people. Christ speaks through his Word, people (good or bad), circumstances, etc. A truly spiritual man hears God everywhere because God has designed the whole world to proclaim himself. So that beholding the sunrise, nature, animals, etc, we can see God's love and providence. In life circumstances we can hear God's counsel concerning life issues. And concerning Nigeria, God has spoken.

God would have every Nigerian electorate to judge the candidates projecting themselves for President and conclude which of them from their precedence should be president. We have a sitting president who has spent six years in power. Has he done well enough to continue? What he claims to have not been able to do in six years, can he do it in another four years? Has he kept his promises? Is Nigeria safer under him? Are the corruption index lesser under him? Does he have what it takes to truly lead? Beyond religious sentiments, does Jonathan have a justification to seek another four years in office?

What about his leading contender at the poles? Does Buhari have what it takes to lead Nigeria? Has he succeeded in leadership responsibilities in the past? Beyond religion, what is his record on the matter of integrity and corruption? Does he possess a team that can revamp Nigeria? What is he promising to do? Are they practical? Does Nigeria deserve to continue in the same direction or do we deserve another try in another direction? What are Buhari's credentials regarding combating terrorists? Has he done it before; can he do it again? What about corruption: does Buhari possess a body language that supports corruption?

These are what God is saying. God has not told anyone who will become the next Nigerian of president. Whoever said he had such is "prophelying". God is speaking through the "many waters" of the Nigerian situation and asking the Nigerian electorate to judge for themselves and decide by themselves who they feel is most competent to rule this country. Indeed God's voice is intertwined with the voice of the Nigerian people. Whoever we vote into power is God's will for us.

That, ladies and Gentlemen, is what God is saying to the Nigerian nation.