National President of Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), Bishop Felix Omobude, spoke with Sunday Oguntola on the state of the nation. Excerpts:
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo a few days ago spoke about the Fulanisation agenda. The PFN has also been talking about that agenda. Does his statement justify the stand of the PFN on that issue?
Well, President Obasanjo of course has more insights that some of us. If he had to say something the way he said it, then it must be of concerns to Nigerians. But the church is not afraid of any group or religious body taking on the church.
No one has the monopoly of violence. We believe in peaceful co-existence, tolerance and good neighborliness that should not be taken as weakness.
I believe that the task before this government is to make Nigeria safe enough in their country and make them a very viable stakeholder in their country affairs and re-assure Nigerians that one ethnic or religious group is not going to lord it over the other. Let Nigeria be a nation for everybody. That is what we stand for.
Leah Sharibu has just celebrated her 16th birthday and second year in captivity. The PFN has consistently called on the federal government to do everything possible to get her out. What does it say that she is still in detention?
Every day that Leah remains in captivity fuels insecurity in the minds of Nigerians. It spells the fact that Nigeria has no religious freedom. If she was abducted and no reason for her being kept back was given, that is a different thing.
But because she refused to renounce her faith, she is held back. She is suffering for what she believes. No nation can claim to be free if the people are not free to express their religious beliefs.
So, we consistently call on government and we have received words that they are working towards her freedom and we believe them. We just want to see the manifestation.
I am aware of the intricacies, I am aware that the river is deeper than what we see but we want to see Leah released at all cost.
Even if means paying ransom to get her out or swapping?
Well, whatever they did to get the others out, they should do for her too. She is just a small girl. On May 27, children celebrated their day and Leah was denied her right.
Boko Haram and kidnapping were restricted to the North East and North West but have moved to the south. People are asking what is the church doing? How much more can the church take?
I am happy that people believe that the church can do much but the church will not take up arms. The state has the responsibility to keep safe her citizens. The church will work as much as possible with the government so we can have a peaceful and safe society.
Boko Haram insurgency in the North-East, cattle rustling in Zamfara, high way banditry and all others spell insecurity and a secured Nigeria will be better for all of us.
As the President goes in for a second term, Nigerians are asking for a secured nation with secured borders, a nation where you can travel day or night without the fear of being waylaid, a nation where women can go to the farm, do their work and return home without fear of being molested. It is a task the government must rise up to, and all well-meaning Nigerians should co-operate with our security forces, so we can secure a safer nation.
The spate of suicide in Nigeria has assumed a worrisome dimension in recent times and some people have started pointing accusing fingers at the church, saying the church is preaching prosperity and materialism leading many to the point of depression and suicide. How do you react to this?
I think that is not facing the reality. How many people go to church in this country? I think the real issue is that the poverty level in the country is high. And we must all work towards ensuring that the minds, especially of our teeming youths, are properly engaged.
While I accept the fact that the church must accept her responsibility in preaching the total gospel, not a section of it, we must face the reality.
If a young man struggles in this country, he struggles to pass WAEC and JAMB. He goes to the university, struggles through and gets a degree. He comes out and waits for a job for years. What do you think will happen?
The church will continue to present a message of hope but we also have a responsibility to call on our leaders to do the needful and create more job opportunities.
In a few days’ time, CAN elections will take place in Abuja and there are so many contentions expectedly. Can’t we have a CAN election without intrigues and hitches?
Well, unfortunately I don’t know of so many contentions. I know that the election process is on and two people are standing out. CAN will follow its constitution and out of the two, one will be elected
Which of the constitutions? The one under review?
If the constitution is under review, and it has not been adopted, then it is still not in force. We are using the one we know.
A lot of people, especially those from the north are clamouring for a northern candidate to lead CAN for once. Is that call justifiable?
I think the church should be fair and should play by the rules it has set for itself. There are five blocs in CAN and each of these blocs is entitled to lead CAN. CPFN/PFN, which I lead today will stand for a just cause and equitable leadership.
I think that there is nothing unusual in CAN elections. If anybody qualifies from the north, why should he be denied? It is not a north/south thing. It is the issue of our constitution and our faith.
But people are saying that a particular bloc has been there like for forever and there are two blocs that have never had a shot at the presidency…
…There are constitutional ways of addressing it. So I don’t think that some people are deliberately being denied. This election provides opportunity for us to address ourselves.
We have to be fair. We have to show good example to the political class outside. The church should show good example
CAN is still smarting from the recent criticism against the courtesy visit to President Muhammadu Buhari. The elders’ forum said that you should not have gone to visit a President, whose election they believe is flawed. Can you clear the air on what transpired at the meeting?
Well, the elders’ forum has their right of views. Unfortunately, I was not home and did not go to the villa. As at today, we have a President…
You stay away deliberately…?
No, I was out of the country. But I can a man can receive nothing, unless it is given to him by God. So, don’t look at the man that is there, respect the institution.
We have a President and an election was conducted in this country. Whether or not it was free or fair is another issue. There are bodies that judge that. I don’t see what is wrong if the church pays a solidarity visit to the President.
The church is not in the position to judge whether an election is free or fair. This is not the first time that CAN is paying a visit to the President. So, I don’t see the noise about it. May 29th is here, are they going to stop the inauguration of the President?
Until a court comes to tell us that the conducted election was null and void, we have a President. We must face things the way they are.
If you were to be in a room with President Muhammadu Buhari, what will you tell him as he starts his second term?
I will tell him to put up a team that will be fair in serving Nigeria. I will tell him to look broadly across the length and breadth of Nigeria and pick up capable hands, who love Nigeria and will serve Nigeria with the drop of their blood, and help move Nigeria forward.
I will tell the President to ensure that Nigerians have electricity as he has promised before because nothing has changed between 2015 and 2019. I will tell him to ensure that Nigerian have good drinking water and sound health.
I will tell him that if the war against corruption is the right thing to do, then he should fight it, not considering or looking at anybody’s face but he should tackle it holistically.
I will also encourage him to improve our agriculture and build infrastructure for Nigerians. I will encourage him to use to use this opportunity to address the cry of imbalance in his government, and set things right, making Nigerians part of Nigeria.
One of the key components that people are calling for in re-structuring is the establishment of state police. Will this be a right move in the right direction?
If I am opportune, I will advise the President to look deeply into it. People are calling for re-structuring Nigeria, not necessarily dividing the north-south dichotomy but people should be free to manage some of their own resources that come out of their own soil. There is no reason why we should wait for the centre, Abuja to manage our resources.
I think that the idea of state police is due; the police operatives will know the terrain and locality better than people from another area. People are saying that it will be abused but we had local police years back and we managed it well. We should give state police a trial, to help our security issue.
There is also the concept of local government autonomy. The federal government is proposing direct allocation to local government as against the current trend where the allocation goes to the state who then distributes it to the local government the way they feel. Do you support this; won’t this bring corruption to the grassroots?
I think the issue has virtually not been the absence of legislation, it is more of enforcement. I think that local government autonomy will bring government closer to the people but like anything else, where there are no boundaries, abuse is imminent. So, I think the local government should have autonomy.
And institutions like INEC, the judiciary, they must have their autonomy. They must be free to do what they are sent to do. That is how a healthy democracy functions.
The fear of many people is the governors have said that they don’t want this because the local government is under them constitutionally. The State Assembly legislate for the local government so it is the state that should determine what the local government gets, not them getting whatever the government wants to give to them.
I think that if there is a federal allocation to the local government, it should go directly to them without it being filtered anywhere, the local government has the IGRs, there might be occasional cross-overs between the state and local government but they can be harmonised as they are all working for the interest of the people. I believe that autonomy to the local government will help foster growth and development.
A Pastor in Kaduna was kidnapped some days ago in an ECWA church. If I were a Pastor in the north and I get to hear that someone is coming to attack me, what should I do?
The problem of insecurity is not only a northern issue. If you think that you are safe in the south, you better think well. A pastor was killed in his farm in Edo state recently.
So I think the issue of insecurity is one that is a great challenge. Be that as it may, churches must now do all that it can to also improve their security. I have said it before that there is no law that stops you from defending yourself. So you cannot fold your arms and watch things happen. Since we now know that this is the kind of society that we live in, then we must do all that we can, we will pray and fast but we must also take necessary actions as allowed by the law.
What’s your advice to Nigeria?
Nigerians should lift up their heads high, hope in God and believe that our leaders will be used by God to lead us well. Nigerian should look around and harness the resources given to us positively.
This is a great nation. Our diversity should be like a coat of many colours. We must do the best we can to live in peace, with God and with man.
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