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.

BUHARI AND THE RELIGION FACTOR

Buhari

No matter how we look at it, the two leading factors that will determine the manner with which people will vote in the coming presidential elections are religion and ethnicity. In my previous essay, I had come down hard on Christians for their inability to objectively weigh the candidature of Gen. Muhammadu “Okechuckwu” Buhari beyond the mere fact that he was a Muslim. But if I must be honest with myself, I will admit that the majority of those voting for Buhari  are doing so because they are of the same relgion with him or they are from the northern of Nigeria. So the Christians should not be blamed too much. Following the dismal performance of President Goodluck Jonathan in office this past six years, Muslims in the south-west are generally rooting for Buhari. Christians are largely divided over voting for Goodluck Jonathan. Many Christians agree that Jonathan has not performed well in office these six years but they still cannot fathom the thought of voting in a Muslim into office – especially one that they allege to be a fundamentalist. As we face the 2015 elections, the ethnic factor will yet play a deciding role on who becomes president too. It can be taken for granted that the core north will be voting overwhelmingly for Buhari, while the South-south and the South-east (in spite of the public denunciation of Jonathan by Fr. Mbaka) will vote largely for Jonathan. The South-West will be the deciding factor for the coming elections and the All Progressive Congress (APC) in choosing a South-western Christian as Vice-Presidential Candidate, may actually have thrown in the joker that will cause for the elections to favor Buhari in “FeBUHARI”14th.

In this essay I hope to analyze the religious aspect of the coming elections and come to conclusions that would favor Buhari in the coming elections. Despite being a professing Christian, I think that religion can have a negative consequence on the manner people handle issues of life. That is why any true Christian with knowledge

of scriptures will agree that religion is an antithesis of what Jesus Christ advocated. In fact I could argue further that it was religion, helped by the political powers of that time, which crucified Jesus on the cross. So when he rose again and bequeathed Christianity to us, he certainly was not giving us mere religious duties to observe. Our Lord bequeathed a way of life that will transcend religion in all aspects. When the ordinary man looks at the true Christian, he might conclude that he is a man of religion but the Christian knows that what he practices goes beyond religion. So despite the fact that the coming elections will be determined by whether  the leading candidates are either Christians or Muslims, I am particularly interested in expressing the views of some folks like myself who are not blindly led by religion in their decision making. These men and women are not religious in the strict sense of the word and so can judge the candidates objectively. I hope that my conclusions will help other people roped into viewing the candidates from a religious prism alone cease from doing this. As a Christian, my essay is directed to other Christian. I am arguing basically that even if the Muslim decides to vote Buhari on mere religious sentiments alone, the true Christian, not bound by the blind folding nature of religion, should not be voting Jonathan on religious sentiments too.

Sunday Adelaja

Pastor Sunday Adelaja is a charismatic pastor of the Pentecostal type and leads one of the largest churches in Europe. In a six part paper series the cleric lent his voice to the candidature of Gen. Buhari. He explained in his papers that he was not initially decided on who to vote for until the APC picked Prof. Osibanjo as Buhari’s running mate. Knowing Osibanjo well, it was not difficult for him to pitch his tent with the team Buhari. Following this development, he took his time to research the man Buhari and he published his discoveries in his papers. This man’s Damascus-like conversion to Buharism reminds me of how I also became a Buharist. I had been a long time enthusiast of Pastor Tunde Bakare. One day in December 2010, a friend of mine approached me in church and told me that the Save Nigeria Group, the civil society group Bakare leads, has thrown in their support for Buhari. I couldn’t believe it, “Buhari ke” I said in Yoruba vernacular. Days after that time I took my time to research the person of Buhari and came to same conclusions that Pastor Adelaja enumerated in his papers. What was the challenge initially was that I could not think of voting Buhari before this time in December 2010 because I was largely ignorant of his person and was falsely informed by the information his enemies had sold out on him. The truth was that Buhari was not even among my first three candidates at that time. Unfortunately majority of Christians who cannot fathom themselves voting for Buhari today were like me in 2010: bound by religious and ethnic prejudice, and largely ignorant or misinformed on the person of Buhari. You may look up the essay of Pastor Adelaja to see some of the things about Buhari that he enumerated there but I will just pick on a few and discuss them here.

One thing the Pastor discussed about that I wish to shed light on was the manner with which Christians were failing to obey the Golden Rule Jesus Christ gave to us. The Golden Rule simply states that every man should treat other men the way and manner they themselves wish to be treated (Matthew 7:12). Pastor Adelaja explained that if Buhari had been associating with Muslim clerics in the same manner and frequency that Jonathan does with Christian leaders, he would have been called something worse than the Muslim fundamentalist that he is being alleged to be today. The Pastor wonders why no one calls Jonathan a Christian fundamentalist. He even goes further to explain that the Muslim community in Nigeria has been more tolerant of Christians than Christians have been of their Muslim counterpart and I

Religious Harmony

think this is a great indictment on the church. Incidentally, the occasion that led many Christians to conclude that Buhari is a Muslim fundamentalist was the one occasion in 2001 where he chaired an Islamic program that was discussing the shariah. His statements in that program were misconstrued to mean he was advocating shariah for the nation and it was also published in ThisDay Newspaper. Buhari has since explained his true position on the matter(), but the Christian inquisitionists have refused to hear and have run to town with their own version of the story. It is not enough for them when they are told that as paramount ruler of this country in 1984/85, Buhari did not Islamize Nigeria, rather Christians were predominant on his cabinet. Many have explained how Buhari’s close associates in his private life are Christians and the fact that in all his four times running for President, he has only had Christian running mates. No one has been able to provide a verifiable document for the lie that Buhari sought to bring Nigeria into the IOC when he was head of state. All that the Christian needs to do at this moment is to judge Buhari in the same manner with which he himself wishes to be judged.

All available evidence shows that Buhari is a true Muslim. A man of religion who religious persuasions have informed his manner of life both in private and public. Very few people know that despite the liberty that his religion permits him in regards to the numbers of wives he could marry, Buhari had only always been married to one wife at a time. His first wife had four girls for him and this did not push him to marry another wife so as to give him a male child. Buhari’s leading problem might be his inability to trumpet himself – the very mark of a man of integrity. The Babangida government that slammed him in jail for three years after he was removed from office could not find one evidence of corruption against him. The Obasanjo government that proscribed the PTF that he chaired could not find one evidence of corruption against him. He remains the only former head of State that does not have a foreign account. He remains the only former chairman of NNPC that owns no oil rig. Following the 2011 elections, he had to move out of the apartment he rented in Abuja because he could not afford to pay the rent. At the moment he still owes his party, the APC, N21.5 Million on the presidential form that he bought, which he

The People’s General

insists on paying for himself. He is said to collect only 10% of the monthly allowance that the government pays past heads of state. He wrote a letter to the ministry of finance explaining that the money that was supposedly meant for him was too much and will amount to corruption if he accepts it. Buhari built only one house for himself in Kaduna and inherited another from his father in Daura, Katsina State. Every function he has undertaken to carry for Nigeria following his retirement from the military has always been for free as he insists that the government was already paying his pension allowance. It is not for nothing that the northern people call his “mai gaskiya”. Buhari, over the years, has shown himself to be a man of integrity and one that is committed to truth. It was his penchant for sticking to what is right that led to his government being overthrown in 1985, as corrupt elements in the military were becoming increasingly threatened by his upright manner of life and saw to it that he was gotten rid of. Prof Pious Adesanmi, in a recent debate on the coming election, argued that the only problem with the Nigeria system was the lack of integrity found in virtually all of its institutions. He then proposed that it makes abundant sense to elect a man like Buhari with integrity to lead this country in a time like this. Hopefully, his life of integrity will rub off Nigeria and all that is our problem will begin to find solution.

I wish to remind my Christian brethren who are still not settled on the candidature of Buhari to look up the life and words of our Lord Jesus Christ. Christ never advocated any religion. In fact many believe that Jesus was not even a Christian – he would more accurately be called a Judaist. Jesus however taught a basic principle and that is that the true godly man was the man who does what is right not just the man who professes what is right (Matthew 7:21). We have all sort of leaders in this country, including the present that professes Christianity but is alleged to have a “body language” that supports corruption. None of these leaders have measured up to Buhari in integrity. In the same manner that he towers over all past leaders in physical height, so also does he lead them in integrity and manner of life. Nigeria is in desperate times again and in the same manner that Buhari and his colleagues helped save Nigeria from collapse in the second republic, Providence may have returned him again to help deliver this nation now. I call on my Christian brethren to vote beyond religious sentiments; to look up the lives of the candidates presenting themselves for president; and to vote based on the conclusions they find. The conclusion that I have found on Gen. Buhari based on the information I have on him is that this man is a man of integrity and a man that possesses the requisite qualities to lead Nigeria in these times.

BUHARI AND THE BORN AGAIN CHRISTIAN

As we draw near to the 2015 General Elections, it is important that all vital questions are answered; especially the ones regarding the candidature of Gen. Muhammadu Buhari. As a Buhari supporter and also a born again Christian, I encounter questions from fellow believers that range from “should a Christian vote for a Muslim, since we are taught in scriptures not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers?” to “how does a Christian vote for a Muslim, seeing that Muslims are one of the goals in our evangelistic efforts?” The answers to these questions are not easy ones but we must provide them or we run the risk of losing a large section of the electorate to the “other side” or to indifference which is making some people decide to stay home rather than vote for either of the two leading candidates.

The born-again Christian community in the Nigerian political space has since become a force to reckon with since the advent of steady democratic process in 1999. In 2011, Gen. Buhari recognized this and adopted Pastor Tunde Bakare of the Latter Rain Assembly, Lagos, as his running mate. In the same period the two of them went and court the blessing of Pastor E.A. Adeboye of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, a leading Pentecostal minister in the country. In like manner, President Goodluck Jonathan attended the Redeemed Church Annual Holy Ghost Convention and that picture of the president kneeling before a towering and praying Adeboye might have single handedly handed over the 2011 elections to Jonathan. Though Adeboye never made his preferred candidate known publicly, most born-again Christians concluded from that picture that Jonathan was “Baba’s” preferred candidate and like they say, the rest is history today. It is no longer news that Buhari has since settled again for another born-again individual, in the person of Prof. Osibanjo, as his running mate for the 2015 elections. Osibanjo happens to also be a Redeemed Pastor. Quite naturally the born-again Christian is not fooled by these political maneuvering. He still has questions in his heart. He still wants to understand whether it is right, in a moral sense, to cast his vote for a Muslim. He want to understand whether he is not being unequally yoked with an unbeliever for choosing to support Buhari.

To answer these questions we as born-again Christians must first understand that voting and being voted for is a civic responsibility that we are enjoined on by scriptures to carry out. Romans 13:1 says “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God…” God is the author of ordered society. And it happens that in our time, the monarchical system of government that was prevalent in bible times has given way to democracy. And democracy consist of the populace voting in its leaders so that the individual that carries the most vote becomes the ruler. Therefore, part of being "subject to higher powers" will be to partake actively in the process in which these powers are elected. It is important to know that Romans 13:1ff did not give some conditions for Christians to be subject to the rulers. It didn't say "be subject only if the rulers are good rulers"; neither did it say "be subject only if the rulers are born again or professing Christians". It simply commanded us to be subject to all authority, as rulers are of God. Submitting to civil authorities and its processes is therefore submission to God. So it is safe to say that the basis of choosing a ruler cannot be based on the individual's religious persuasion but on his competence. For this election, the born again Christian has essentially two people before him: he must choose between them both based on their record of performance in public office and not just their religious profession.

The precedence of Buhari in public office is clear for all to see. The records of his performance in the military, as Chairman of the NNPC, as head of state and as chairman of the petroleum trust fund (PTF) are a testimony to excellent service to ones fatherland. The records of Goodluck Jonathan are also clear to all, especially his six year in office so far. So born again Christian, judge their performance in public office and vote rightly.

The Christian cannot also be said to be unequally yoked with an unbeliever for choosing to support and vote another person from another faith or religion. When scripture speaks of being unequally yoked with unbelievers in 2 Corinthians 6:14, it was talking about not partaking in the evil deeds that non Christians partake of. 2 Corinthians 6 was speaking about the need to walk in holiness as Christians and be separated from evil. It is interesting to note that Buhari, despite being Muslim, is the one out of the two leading candidates that has a public record of incorruptibility and uprightness. While President Jonathan had once being quoted as saying "corruption is not stealing". It makes a lot of sense that the Christian community will vote for a candidate who by his lifestyle and record in public office is known to be upright. This is what the bible will have us to be associated or yoked with! There is a lot of problem with an individual professing to be Christian in one hand and not living up to the tenets of the faith in another hand. This is certainly not one we should be yoked with. Islam and Christianity have diverse point of view on religion but they share some basic rules on morality. There is nothing wrong with associating with a Muslim who lives in a morally upright manner.

Lastly, voting in a Muslim does not compromise our evangelistic duty to Muslims or people of other faiths. Born again Christians must beware of one thing: we must not turn evangelism to a means of conquest. The very nature of our witnessing allows the individuals we witness to the freedom to accept or reject our views. Christian evangelism should not be reduced to the sort of Jihadism that Boko Haram and other extremist groups are championing. Our calling is not a political takeover of a society but a spiritual one. A situation where the Christian is known more for his fruit than just mere talk. The Christian greatest voice of evangelism is his lifestyle. The Christian also accentuates this with his preaching of the gospel where occasion demands it. When he preaches Christ, he is not meant to impose Christ. God by his Holy Spirit then uses the Christian's life and words to brings the Muslim and others to faith. So the manner in which we handle this political situation would go a long way in witnessing to the world. If others are voting on mere religious sentiments, the born again Christian should not be found doing the same.

There is a lie that is being sold that voting in Buhari is voting in someone who will Islamize Nigeria. If Buhari did not Islamize this country as paramount military ruler some thirty years ago when he had all the machinery of government to do it; if he crushed the very first Boko Haram menace, the Maitescine group, in one fell sweep; he will not islamize Nigeria under a democratic rule. Rather he would allow for religious freedom and help crush Boko Haram as he did in 1983/84. No one can Christianize or Islamize Nigeria. This country is a secular state run by a secular constitution. What Christians should fear is a party whose chairman helped implement sharia when he was state governor. And whose presidential candidate has not been able to solve the Boko Haram menace six years since assuming office.

Brother or Sister Born Again Christian, you do not need to fear voting Buhari as President. By doing this, you will be carrying out your civic duty in a manner that will receive the blessing of God and also secure a future for our unborn children.

APC AND PDP: SPOT THE DIFFERENCE

by Deji Yesufu

As we draw close to another general elections in Nigeria, we encounter a large section of the electorate affirming that there is essentially no difference between the ruling part, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), and their biggest opposition, the All Progressive Congress (APC). Their reaction to this quagmire is one of two things:

some have resorted to staying with the devil they know than plunge into the deep blue sea. Others have simply made up their minds not to vote at all. This kind of mindset for a nation's electorate heading for a crucial election that might determine the future existence of that nation is not good at all and I shall be endeavoring to sway such individuals reading this article to take a firm position and that that position should be to vote for the Presidential candidate of the APC, Gen. Buhari and his deputy Prof. Osibanjo. To do this I will try to enumerate major differences between these two leading parties.

The first major difference is the attitude of the two parties to the concept of democracy. Since the advent of democratic rule in this country in 1999, the main complaint that Nigerians have had has been that we have not been able to practice true democracy. From rigged election, to trumped up primaries, coupled with a litany of election cases in couts, Nigerians have become acustomed to a kwashiokor kind of democracy. This remained until the APC organized and cocluded its presidential primaries that produced Gen. Buhari as their presidential candidate. In an

unprecedented manner, we saw votes casted transparently, votes counted and right before the eyes of everyone, the winner declared. In another unprecedented manner, the loosers congratulated the winner right there, accepting the outcome of the elections and pledging their commitment to the overall interest of the party. Contrast this with the PDP "primaries" that had president Goodluck Jonathan as sole candidate. And he was sole candidate because the largest party in Africa printed only one presidential nomination form. No opportunity was given for any other candidate to express interest to run. Jonathan was overwhelmingly selected as the PDP presidential candidate for the February 2015 elections.

Another clear distinction between the APC and the PDP is the manner their

presidential aspirants have sought to fund their various campaign programmes. While Gen. Buhari of the APC has declared that his campaign funds will come from donations made to him by ordinary Nigerians, the PDP on the other hand got business men, government agencies, state Governors and other financial heavy weights to come for Jonathan’s reelection campaign where a whooping sum of N22 Billion was raised. Three state governors that had not paid salaries to their workers in three months donated N1 Billion between them. Buhari and his team, on the other hand, declared they had raised N58 Million so far and were very grateful to all Nigerians who sent in funds. Even in this matter, it has become incredibly difficult for the PDP to publish the names of her fund donors but the APC plans to publish periodical statement on its campaign funds. It is very easy to know which party, from the forgoing, will come to power with a sense of indebtedness to the ordinary people with a commitment to serving them. While it is clear what party will continue the as usual manner of government Nigeria has been plagued with, that seeks to serve a few rich goons in a self enriching manner.

The antecedents of the two leading individuals running for the most exalted public office is another difference that is clear as noon day between them. Buhari led a Government for only eighteen months in 1983/84 and still has many testifying to the national transformation his economic and social programmes brought. Jonathan has been in power for six years and many of his leading supporters find it an herculean task to state his achievements. Buhari has a no tolerance attitude to corruption,while Jonathan has been said to have a body language that encourages corruption. Buhari put out the first Boko Haram menace, the Maitatsine, we had in this nation in a few months of their inception. Jonathan’s government has no answer to Boko Haram except for the no less than 3,000 military and civilian casualities. Buhari had a sound

ecomic policy that laughed at World Bank experimental policies, which Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, presently emir of Kano, once called Buharinomics. An economic policy that thrived despite western powers effort to furstrate it. Jonathan administration, on the othe hand, has enjoyed the highest foreign exchanges on oil, until recently, but has little to show for it except a depleted foreign reserve. Buhari's high moral and discipline mein has not been tainted one bit despite countless number religious mudslinging at him. On the hand the hundred of religious pontiffs that are known to associate with Jonathan both in public and private have not been able to bestow an ounce of sainthood on him.

The allegations that the APC and PDP are one and the same is an intellectually lazy position because it is one that comes from individuals who choose not to make a little effort to study the two parties. If the uneducated or half baked graduates push such position one can understand but it becomes criminal when supposedly enlightened fellows make such conclusions. Any elementary school pupil can play the "spot the difference" game in newspapers. These things were not designed for mere entertainment. They were made to help us in times like these. That two situations can look incredibly similar but a little effort can help bring out the differences between them. I encourage my readers to continue to spot the difference between the APC and PDP and to vote in the coming elections based on their discoveries. I can assure you that there is a world of difference between the APC and the PDP and voting for the APC, especially Muhammadu Buhari, its presidential candidate, will not be a waste.

ELECTING BUHARI IN 2015

A Call to my Constituency, the Church, to Vote Gen. Muhammadu Buhari in the Coming Elections

Introduction

In this article, I will be calling on Christians to vote for the person of General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) in the forth coming Presidential elections in Nigeria. I am a fellow Christian; a minister of the gospel, who is

however convinced that a person like Buhari is one who has the leadership potentials to lead Nigeria out of the unfortunate situation we have found ourselves as a country. I do not know the General personally and I have not been paid by him or his associates to write this.

Why Buhari? 

The Nigerian political melodrama is shoring up three individuals that are likely to be the leading candidates for the Febuary 14th, 2015 presidential elections. They are the incumbent president of the nation, Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and Gen. Muhammadu Buhari. Atiku and Buhari are likely to square it out at the All Progressive Congress (APC) presidential primaries, and the political permutations give Buhari the advantage because of his popularity with the leaders of the party. Therefore there is the high probability that the 2015 presidential elections shall be a repeat of the 2011 one that was between Jonathan and Buhari. I hereby state ten quick reasons why Buhari will excel as presidentnt of Nigeria.

• Buhari's antecedents as head of state of this country in 1984/85 revealed that he is a highly disciplined individual that commands the respect of his associates, and can replicate the very successful War Against Indiscipline (WAI) of that time to help curb the raging corruption almost crippling this nation today. 
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• Buhari as a militarycommander in Borno State in the 80's helped conquer an insurgent group that was troubling that region of the country. When he was head of state, he gave the orders that quelled the Maitatsine uprising. The Boko Haram uprsing, an offshoot of Maitatsine, is certain to be curtailed by this experienced military officer if voted into office. 
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• Buhari's economic prowess as military head of state has been touted the best economic initiative this nation has ever recorded. Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, former Governor of the Central Bank, called it Buharinomics. 
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• Buhari has a thing for attracting the best of human associates and permits them the liberty to function. Many owe the success of Buhari's regime in 1984 to the ingenuity of the late Brig. Gen. Tunde Idiagbon. Buhari should however be credited for allowing his associates to function; a fit he is likely to repeat with individuals like Raji Fashola (present Gov' of Lagos State), Mallam Nasir El-Rufai (former Minister of the FCT), Dr. Obi Ezekwesili, and a host of other individuals who are at the moment supporting his candidacy and might be working in his government. 
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• Buhari is not a money bag and will not be buying the loyalty of individuals to support him. Those who do this and then come into political office are the ones that are constrained to steal public money to recoup their "investments". 
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• Buhari's record as head of Petroleum Trust Fund is untainted and examplary. 
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• Buhari as an elder stateman is experienced and knowledgeable, and has the ability to translate this to help to solve the nation's myriads of problems. 
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• Buhari is not an Islamic extremist. Many of his associates and subordinates in his private life are Christians. The statements credited to Buhari, which his detractors use to label him an Islamic fundamentalist, simply tell of an individual who is true to himself and his faith, and who will not compromise his faith for political advantage. 
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• Buhari is popular among ordinary Nigerians and if he elected will serve these people and not political godfathers. 
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• Buhari is a man of truth. He is called "mai gaskya" in the north. This country has the opportunity to elect for the first time in her history an individual who will not lie to us and who will carry out the promises he makes to us in the forthcoming manifesto of his political party.

Goodluck Jonathan 

A friend, Bayo Adeyinka, has enumerated ten reasons why President Goodluck Jonathan should be re-elected into office (http://www.bayoadeyinka.com/bayoadeyinka/index.php/entry/goodluck-jonathan-a-balanced-scorecard-by-bayo-adeyinka). These points cannot be disputed and they are commendable indeed. The only trouble with these points is that Nigerians must come to learn that there is a difference between a government's responsibility and its achievements. If government build roads, pay salaries, refurbish the railway, build schools, and permit some stability for the economy, that government has carried out its duties or its responsibilities. It is when that government has done high and above these things enumerated that we can say that government has achieved something upon which it could be considered for re-election. When we consider two things: the speed with which nations are advancing and the amount of resources this country gathers as revenue year in year out, we must of a necessity hold any government in power responsible for not achieving anything. We should not be found praising them for carrying out their responsibilities. 

Unfortunately, two things act as Achilles' for the presidency of Goodluck Jonathan. They are violence and corruption. The Boko Haram insurgency and the inability of the government of Goodluck Jonathan to quell their activities continue to be a major minus for this administration. For the first time since the Civil War in this nation, a section of the country has been annexed and taken over by religious militants with uncountable number of Nigerian citizens being killed every day in the north-eastern part of the country. Jonathan, as commander-in-chief of the armed forces, has not been able to rally them to end this continual dissemination of a section of the country. In fact, many political watchers claim that the president is way too weak to handle the situation and the insurgents seem to have discovered this and are taking advantage of it to the full. Since Goodluck Jonathan came into office in 2011, the country has not been able to celebrate it annual Independence ceremony in public for the fear of attack from insurgents. Despite the havoc Boko Haram has wrecked on the North Eastern part of the nation, Jonathan has only visited them once; and even that was a political statement to stop those criticizing him when Governors in the opposition went and walked the streets of Maiduguri. In spite of the call on the president to show sympathy to the people of Chibok, who lost over 200 of their girls to insurgent activites in Borno State, he has not visited them; citing security reasons. The long and short of this all is the truth that Jonathan has failed to make Nigeria safe and should not be permitted another four years in office. 

Sometimes ago the Speaker of the House of Assembly was compelled to say that the body language of Mr. President lent support for corruption in the land. The President will later support this position himself when he declared that "stealing was not corruption." If stealing is not corruption, what else could it be? This government has shown great laxity towards matters of corruption, especially those that involve individuals close to the President. The minister of Petroleum, Diezani Allison-Madueke has continually been fingered in one corruption case or the other, but this government has refused to beam any search light on her activities. The NNPC, were she exercises oversight, is brimming with allegation of corrupt practices. The President himself was recently alleged to be worth $100 million dollars by an online news outfit. 

This allegation had to be dropped after the presidency threatened legal actions against the outfit. Nevertheless many Nigerians argue that anyone could come to any conclusion on how much Jonathan is worth considering the fact that he has refused to declare his assets in public. A question to which our president has responded that he does not give a damn about answering. In this light, Rudolph Okonkwo of the Saharareporters, stated that the President was worth $120 million and he also said that he was ready to be sued for his assertions (http://saharareporters.com/2014/10/14/sue-me-jonathan-youre-worth-120-million-dollars-least-rudolf-ogoo-okonkwo). Since Jonathan came into power, the two apparatus of government that were set up by the administration of Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo to curtail corruption, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), have been rendered useless. The list is endless. A vote for Jonathan is a vote for corruption to continue to disseminate the length and breath of this country. 

The Religious Rivalry 

It is really unfortunate that the Presidential contest again might degenerate to a religious contest between Muslims and Christians like it did in 2011. I am calling on my Christians friends to rise above these religious sentiments in making the decision of whom to vote for in 2015. What is going on between Muslims and Christians is a simple case of rivalry between two prominent

religions in the land. Christians should be blamed for not being political savvy enough to be at the forefront when political candidates for political parties are being selected. We should learn from this and become more politically involved in our nation. For now, we have a sincere, upright, disciplined and visionary individual in the opposition contesting against a supposed Christian; and we should be found making the decision to vote for the Muslim above religious sentiments because we know that he would run our country well. Let us remember that it was a non-Jewish King, the person of Cyrus, that God used to bring Israel out of the political and economic captivity they were in at Babylon. Today, Nigeria is in a similar situation and it might please God to use Buhari, a Muslim, to save the Christian church, resident in Nigeria, from another political and economic captivity. 

Conclusion 

I am again calling on my Christian brethren to vote for Buhari. I use this opportunity to call on Tunde Bakare and the Save Nigeria Group to again rally behind the General, like they did in 2011, to see to it that he is elected into office. The All Progressive Congress (APC), the political party under which the General is running, is not a perfect body that consists of saints. There are indeed individuals there whose records in public office are questionable. But like it has been said so many times in many forums in this country: the problem of Nigeria is a leadership one. If we can endeavor to elect a leader that has integrity, discipline and vision, the team that will work with him will have to follow suit. 

Vote Wisely. Vote Gen. Muhammadu Buhari come Febuary 14th, 2015 as President of this country. And may God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria. 

Amen.

RULES OF ENGAGEMENT

RULES OF ENGAGEMENT

A Plea for the Lives of Twelve Nigerian Soldiers on Death Row

In 1942 C. S. Lewis began a series of radio talks that were eventually published under the book title “Mere Christianity”. This period was a time of war; a time when the Second World War was at its peak. Lewis was making a case for Christianity in an increasing godless world, but his counsel also resounded as a message of hope to many British troops who were facing uncertain death, as they were shipped off to face Hitler’s Nazi soldiers in a bloody war. Quoting from Wikipedia’s note on the book, “Lewis spends most of his defense of the Christian faith on an argument from morality, a point which persuaded him from atheism to Christianity. He bases his case on a moral law, a ‘rule about right and wrong’ commonly known to all human beings, citing the example of Nazism; both Christians and atheists believed that Hitler’s actions were morally wrong.” I have drawn our attention to this relatively ancient book to remind the Nigerian people that this nation again is at war. 

Whatever else public commentaries are designed to achieve, they must also be a source of hope and encouragement for the Nigerian troops as they face the deadly Boko Haram forces at war in the North-Eastern part of the country. I also need to remind us of a certain military term called the “rules of engagement” (ROE), which in normal street language will mean the rules that govern the use of force by the military. This paper shall not be doing an academic exercise on the above topic; I would rather wish to narrow down on some incidences that the Boko Haram quagmire has roused up and help the public understand them, while at the same hoping to send a message of hope to myriads of our gallant soldiers fighting that war on behalf of all of us.

A few days ago the media reported the outcome of the military court martial of twelve Nigerian soldiers who had been accused of mutiny, in a case where it was said that these soldiers opened fire on their superior officer in protest of an order he gave that led to the death of many of their colleagues in far away Borno State. The twelve soldiers were sentenced to death. Virtually all the commentaries I have read on this matter have condemned the outcome of the court martial; most of them calling it unfair and ridiculous. I disagree. If we must remind ourselves of the concept of the military’s rules of engagement, and in the light of those rules remember that the army also has rules for right and wrong, one cannot but agree with the outcome of the court martial of those soldiers; in spite of how distasteful it might sound in our ears. The whole military structure is based on the strength of command. The moment the command structure is compromised, military formations are faced with certain defeat before the enemy. Soldiers are trained to “obey before complain” regardless of the outcome of their obedience. The military court martial also recognized the fact that the superior officer gave a poor command and handed him the punishment of a compulsory retirement; a decision I agree was too light in comparison to the consequence of his action. Nonetheless, a situation should never arise where junior officers will open fire on a superior officer within the same military formation. It is a grave sin in the military, similar to a coup, and should be severely dealt with. This is the only way the military can discourage a repetition within its ranks and the most effective way to preserve the hallowed system of command that makes the military very efficient.

Having said that, I must quickly enjoin the public to change its tone of commentary on the outcome of the military court martial of these twelve men from that of “right” to that of “plea”. Though these men are guilty, we should at this point begin to seek an avenue for some kind of pardon to be meted out to them. My premise for pardon is based on the fact that providence was kind on the military officer that was shot at and ensured that he was not killed. Also, no other person was killed in the incidence. And so on this basis, we the Nigerian public wish to plead with the highest military command in the land to forgive these twelve soldiers and possibly reduce the death sentence to outright dismissal from the army. I am using this medium to plead with the President of Nigeria, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, to consider using his veto powers to reduce the sentences of these men. I understand that the message that the court martial was wishing to pass to other men of the uniform has been heard clearly and I do not think anyone in his right senses will repeat the actions of these men again. This pardon is equally needed to encourage our soldiers, who are in the heat of the war against insurgency in the land. If they see that the demeanor of their colleagues has been pardoned as a result of public plea, they will know that the whole nation appreciate their sacrifices and while praying for their successes at the war front, are also doing everything within their powers to encourage them. Again, our request for pardon for these soldiers is not based on “right” but on mercy. We plead that they will be forgiven and their sentence reduced.

In conclusion, I use this medium to praise the efforts of the Nigerian soldiers in curtailing the murderous escapades of the Boko Haram sect. Despite the obvious support that these animals have been receiving from foreign terrorist groups through financial aid, weapon supply and mercenaries, our soldiers have continually disseminated their ranks. We praise your efforts. We also pray that the good Lord will crown all of your efforts with successes. We have confidence that at this rate the Boko Haram insurgency will soon come to an abrupt end. Already the result of the assault that these animals are receiving is showing off in their inability to carry out terrorists attacks on other parts of the country. Nigeria will see the end of this insurgency by grace of God. 

Amen.

RE: OF PASTORS, DIVORCE AND SCANDALS

RE: OF PASTORS, DIVORCE AND SCANDALS

This article should not be taken as a strict rebuttal of the above titled article published through The Woman of Virtue Network. The reason being that that article was written as an admonition to Christian couples about safe guarding their marriages. I agree completely with that aspect of the write up because I am married. Any Christian couple must not gloat over a divorce case; we are also in the flesh and can face similar temptations. My trouble however with the article is it's use of a natural challenge that can befall couples, that is divorce, to seemingly offer a soft landing for Pastor Chris Oyakhilome. I shall be arguing in this piece that Christian Oyakhilome deserves what has befallen him because men must reap what they naturally have sown.

I begin my discuss by saying that scripture recognizes that a christian can sin and offers ample solution for this. In fact this is the reason our Lord and Savior died (1John 1:8-9). Scriptures, however, has no solution for a "Christian" that makes a practice of sin (1John 3:9). In fact this scripture says boldly that Christians do not sin or do not make a practice of sin. When we juxtapose the reason for divorce offered by Anita Oyakhilome, adultery, with the plethora of allegations that have been making the rounds on the internet and the the print media about Pastor Chris not living with his wife; his nocturnal activities with lady pastors in the ministry, married and unmarried; his being caught in compromising positions with women in his matrimonial home while his wife is away in the UK; one is left with no choice than to believe that Christian Oyakhilome is not a saint and has a cupboard full of skeletons. Every married man reading this text must agree that our wives will shield and protect us, no matter the situation. How many women have been beaten to their deaths and still will not utter a word to outsiders in a bid to protect their man. Women are designed by God this way and we men must thank God for this if not... hmm(?)

What will make a woman come out to the public and declare that her husband, who is supposed to be a leading Christian minister, is an adulterer, must be likened to the proverbial driving of a goat to the wall who then turns around to attack when left with no choice. Reports making the rounds on the internet, especially that of the group sponsoring a Facebook campaign asking "Where is Rev Anita Oyakhilome" reveals that this seemingly charming, quiet and committed mother of two of Chris' children had been pastoring the UK branch of the church since 1999 but was suddenly removed from her post sometimes towards the end of last year. No reason was given to her church people for this. Rather, when the cacophony of protest about her whereabout was reaching a peak, Christian Oyakhilome went to the church and read out the riot act to them. In front of everyone and their first daughter, he said unprintable things about his wife. And stated that the church is not a democracy and if anyone is unhappy about what he has done with removing his wife from office, they can get out of the ministry. A few weeks later, Anita served papers of divorce to him on the basis of adultery. The Facebook group had alleged in earlier posts that Chris was having too close a relation with women in the church and that his wife should not be punished for protesting. Anita's action were simply those of a woman who had had enough.

What I have written so far is basically what can be seen and deduced from the dilemma befallen Chris Oyakhilome. But this itself is not the real problem with him, his church or churches like his. The real problem is not what they are doing in these churches; the problem is what they BELIEVE in these churches. The problem is doctrinal not practice. The underlining doctrine of the Christ Embassy Church, like many other Pentecostal churches in Nigeria and around the world is doctrinal. These churches preach a Word of Faith gospel. The result is that the pastors and the people under them believe in prosperity, success, healing, breakthoughs, deliverances, and blessings. These doctrines are the overarching teachings in these churches and the result is what we are seeing around us: first with the Ese Walters and Biodun Fatoyinbo saga and now Christian Oyakhilome adulterous relationships. These churches are convinced that these are the teachings of scripture. We argue otherwise. We tell them that if the true doctrines of scriptures are taught in churches, the result will be righteousness, peace and joy in the Spirit amongst God's people. If however another gospel is taught in the church the result will be scandals, cases of adultery, lies, theft, cheating, divorce and all kinds of demonic activities. Our own Lord and Master Jesus Christ had told us that false prophets will abound in the end times and the way to know them is by observing their fruits: the outcomes of their lives.  

I am not advocating a holiness movement. That unfortunately is what people propose in place of a prosperity gospel. Both of them are on unhealthy extremes. I am advocating the true teaching of a gospel of grace in the body of Christ. Jesus Christ came to earth to die for all men's sins. We must preach this gospel and believe it. We must understand that in the gospel, God had given man not only power for salvation but also for right living. And the litmus test as to whether the gospel we have heard is a true one or a false one is to patiently observe the fruit it is bearing in the lives of it's advocate. I am debating here that the true gospel possesses in itself grace to empower men's lives for holy living (Hebrew 13:9). This holiness is not the result of following church prescribed rules or bodily discipline; rather it is the effect of God's Holy Spirit in the heart of each believer, instructing us on the path of righteousness and empowering us also. In this sort of holy living, no man can boast. We know we are what we are by the grace of God alone. We live our lives indebted to this grace.

What we find in churches like Christ Embassy is a perverted version of this gospel of grace. That's when we begin to hear of "another level of grace". When a man is beneficiary of true grace, he becomes a slave to the laws of God written on his heart. He doesn't use his liberty to sin. These churches pervert the gospel further by teaching that the cross has not only secured a heaven for us up there but has also secured one down here. The only trouble with this teaching is that Jesus and his apostles taught of a heaven up there, while reminding us that that here on earth we have no abiding home (Hebrew 11).

The gospel of prosperity is ruining the soul of Pentecostal churches in Nigeria. Today, churches make it compulsory that members give a tithe of their income; pay firstfruit - their January salary; and give without reservations. This is giving churches too much access to easy money. My investigations show that no other church is more culpable in this matter than Christ Embassy. The result is that the leaders of these churches are living in obscene wealth. And with the coming of money also comes it twin - the root of all evil. All sort of demonic activities begin to break loose in church organizations. In some extreme cases, people have had others murdered to cover up malpractices in the handle of church finances. If anyone where to question the way church finances are handled, they are labelled devils and thrown out. Of course the church leader that has little discipline and permits the money and power he has assumed to get to his head, will forget that he is co-equal with his wife and begin to despise her and treat her like thrash. He may also choose to ship her out to a foreign and comfortable country so that he can enjoy greater liberty. This is the making of Christian Oyakhilome's troubles. He is not to be pitied, we only need to learn from him.

Finally, we must be careful what we call church and who we call Christian. Righteousness and truth is the foundation of the church of Jesus Christ. Where these are lacking you have a den of thieves. We must also beware of who we call a Christian. Christians may err but predominantly they bear the fruit of the Spirit. It is Christians and the church, the true church, scripture enjoins us to pray for. As for charlatans and false prophets, the bible commands us to beware if them and not to pray for them.

Shalom.

My Rebuttal to the article: http://www.bayoadeyinka.com/bayoadeyinka/index.php/bloghome/entry/of-pastors-divorce-and-scandal

GOD CAN SAVE NIGERIA

The Nigerian finance minister, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, was the guest of Christian Amanpour

Iweala on Amanpour

of the CNN, yesterday, 3rd July 2014. My personal evaluation of the interview was that it was below par. If the President of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan, had not fared well in similar interviews in the past, one would have expected that the one whom Amanpour introduced as a “leading” minister in Jonathan’s government would do better and help cover her principal’s inadequacies. Unfortunately she did not do this. Amanpour asked the Finance Minister, among other things, what the Jonathan government was doing to curb corruption in the land. Rather than answer directly, Okonjo-Iweala went on the defensive and tried to dis-abuse her interviewer's mind of the reason why corruption should not always be linked to the name “Nigeria”. She said that when the western media mentions Nigeria, the word “corruption” is the very next thing they tag the nation along with. She felt this was not supposed to be. I thought Amanpour was simply being too civil and kind to the Minister because, although she mentioned the issue of Sanusi’s whistle blowing on the missing $20 billion at the NNPC, Amanpour did not talk about the sitting minister who is also alleged to have squandered billions of naira to chatter private jets for her numerous trips around the world. If Amanpour had mentioned that, Okonjo-Iweala would have been thoroughly embarrassed. 

What I gleaned from that interview was that the Jonathan government has run out of options on proffering solutions to solve the nation’s myriad of problems. And that even the best brains in his cabinet also do not know what to do. It seems to me that the country has been set on auto-pilot, being propelled through space by Providence. I shall be showing in this article that prayers to God does work and a nation whose leaders have lost the capability to lead can still rely on God to save them. As we explore this thesis we shall also consider some scenarios on ground in the country at the moment. 

Ekiti: unprecedented in Nigeria

One would think that when an election year is fast approaching, and the ruling party has been found deficient in moving the country forward, that the opposition would take advantage of these lapses and proffer better alternatives to solving the nation’s problems. The All Progrssive Congress (APC), the country’s leading opposition party, seem to be lacking in this. Following its defeat at the just concluded Ekiti state gubernatorial elections, the party also seems to be loosing ground in the South-West were it is initially supposed to possess a strong hold. The elections, which was widely reported to have been free and fair, with the incumbent governor, Kayode Fayemi of the APC, congratulating the winner, Ayodele Fayose, in an unprecedented manner, reveals something more. Which is why the electorate, even though deeply unhappy with the ruling party and its performance at the Federal level, are not willing to trade the devil for the deep blue sea. The onus is on the APC today to prove to Nigerians that it can do a better job than the PDP at the federal level. That they are a worthy alternative. Already, events playing out within the party are not encouraging at all. I am at a loss as to why the APC cannot put its head together and produce a presidential candidate other than the person of General Mohammadu Buhari. While Buhari is a fine gentleman and his antecedent as a crusader against corruption along with his perfectly untainted career in public office will serve him well, his age is a terrible set back for him. But even if the APC will field Buhari for presidency, the idea of fielding Bola Ahmed Tinubu as his running mate is down right preposterous. 

If the APC does this, it will be fielding a Muslim-Muslim ticket and that is just plain political suicide. I do not have any problem with a Muslim-Muslim ticket but a lot of Nigerians, whose votes will make the ultimate decision of who becomes president of Nigeria, do have a problem with it. At the moment in the political life of our country, two primary things determine who people vote for: it is where they come from (tribal) and what religion they profess. In a country that is predominantly Muslim and Christian, a Muslim-Muslim ticket is certain to discourage the Christian populace, and the ruling party, the PDP, will simply play on this political error and field a Christian-Muslim ticket. They will split the votes that would originally have gone to the APC and then garner the votes of those who would naturally have voted for them. The result will be the greatest defeat that General Buhari has ever witnessed in his political career and no one would be blamed for this than himself and his political associates. It is simply not done. If indeed the reports going around about the APC desiring to field a Buhari-Tinubu ticket is true, it is my candid plea with them to shelve it. A Muslim-Muslim ticket could have been permissible for the ACN in 2011

Buhari, Tinubu, Fayemi

but even the result of that election, with Ribadu as presidential candidate, coming a distant third in the election, actually proves that no one will vote a party that is considered to be mono-religious. Already the security situation in the country is not helpful for this kind of political permutation. The dreaded sect, Boko Haram, that continues to wreck havoc in the northern part of the country, is generally seen as Muslim. Those who are enlightened know that Boko Haram are only Muslim in name and do not espouse true Islamic beliefs but some extreme, perverted and violent version; the ordinary Nigerian does not see it that way. 

If on one hand, the ruling party has run out of ideas on how to solve the nation’s troubles and the leading opposition party will allow ambition and personal political agendas to colour its decisions, then the country is left at the mercy of the situations on ground and therefore the need for all Nigerians to pray hard to God to save the nation. While discussing this dilemma with a friend, he suggested the option of a military take over. I reminded him that a military rule will come with too many uncertainties. The whole country will then be at the mercy of the whims and caprices of one man or a group of men. As wobbling as our democracy is, we can still debate issues and still sway our leaders through popular public opinion. In a military rule, such cannot happen. Then we considered the outcome of the Nation Conference and how it could help solve some of the trouble with the nation. But even that one has its challenges because the outcome of that conference will still be vetted by the present national assembly that many Nigerians do not trust. When we had gone through all the options, and the situation looked bleak in every direction, we resorted to the God option. 

Some people frown at the God option because they feel that it encourages lethargy, discourages people from taking responsibility for their actions and encourages resignation to fate. This is not exactly true. A true believer in God knows that God holds human beings responsible for their actions. So that nations that refused to learn from history and chose certain paths, along with their leaders, are today in prolonged war situations. It’s a simple principle of sowing and reaping. Nevertheless, those of us who believe in God understand that regardless of our efforts and even decisions, there is a God who chooses to show mercy on all of his creation and ensures that

things work out for them. This is the reason Nigerians must turn to God to save this country from imminent collapse. God can do all things. He may give to our present leaders such wisdom and ability to be able to solve the problems of this country, so that by 2015 when Nigerians go to the poles, they would have no qualms re-electing the present government into power. God can choose to ensure that the process of choosing a presidential candidate within the APC is so well organized that, far beyond our ability to reason it out, God can raise up such pristine, sound and visionary individuals within that party who will sell such an agenda to the Nigerian people such that they would not find it difficult to elect him to office. And lastly, God can go beyond the incumbent and the opposition, and bring for this country a redemption that only God can bring. When in the summer of 1998 the maximum ruler of this country, Sanni Abacha, suddenly died and in a space of weeks the leadership of this nation was changed, those of us who were praying were not surprised at all. That same God is alive and well, and can turn situation around as abruptly as he did in 1998.

At the moment, Nigeria is on auto-pilot. The blessing of such a situation for a plane is that the plane will continue to move, without any input from its pilot. The pilot may choose to go to sleep; the plane will continue to move. The problem with auto-pilot, however, is that if the plane continues in this state for too long a time and it runs out of gas, rather than continue in its flight, it would simply nose dive and crash. The trouble with a Nigeria on auto-pilot is that our situation has a time span. It is my prayer that we find solutions to our problems as a nation before our time elapses and the country self destructs.