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