2015: A word for Osinbajo on December 27, 2014 / in Features 6:15 pm / Comments By Femi Fani-Kayode I am glad that the APC eventually took my advice and saw the wisdom in not fielding a Muslim/Muslim ticket for the 2015 presidential election even though I hear that, right up till the last minute, they almost did. I congratulate my friend and brother, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, on his nomination as the vice presidential candidate of the APC and running mate to General Muhammadu Buhari. *Fani-Kayode *Fani-Kayode I have known Yemi for a number of years and I must say that he is not only a very pleasant and civilised person with a warm and gentle disposition, but he is also a cerebal lawyer with a brilliant mind. I have immense respect for him. Yet, sadly, ever since I heard about his nomination and announcement as Buhari’s running mate, I have felt nothing but sheer pity for him and a deep sense of pathos. My counsel and words for him are as follows: A respected pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, a devout and committed Christian and an intellectually-sound, well-bred and well educated professor of law accepts to be running mate to a military dictator and a die-hard believer in the philosophy of ‘’born to rule.” This is serious. A gifted servant of God, who is a favored spiritual son of Pastor Enoch Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church Of God, is associating with one of the troublers of the faith and one of the most consistent enemies of democracy and Nigeria? This is very sad. Adeboye is, undoubtedly, one of God’s greatest and most respected generals on the planet and one of the Church’s most humble and best-loved precious gems, yet one of his spiritual sons has surely let him, and indeed the Kingdom of God, down by choosing to play ‘’man Friday’’ and second fiddle to an individual that represents everything that is troubling to the 21st century? What a tragedy. A professor of law and a senior member of the Nigerian Bar, who is the leading authority on the law of evidence and who has written numerous books on that topic, chooses to play number two to a military dictator! Quest for power It is only in Nigeria that this sort of thing can happen. Poor Yemi. Look at what a dictator’s apostles have done to him and look at what they have reduced him to. Is there anything that these creatures will not do? Is there anyone that they will not use in their quest for power? APC Presidential Candidate, Gen. Mohammed Buhari with his running mate Prof. Yemi Osinbajo SAN in Abuja. Photo: Gbemiga Olamikan APC Presidential Candidate, Gen. Mohammed Buhari with his running mate Prof. Yemi Osinbajo SAN in Abuja. Photo: Gbemiga Olamikan The truth is that each and everyone one of us, including my friend, Yemi, will ultimately have to answer to God for the choices that we make and we must live with the consequences of those choices. It is no wonder that the Redeemed Christian Church of God has disassociated itself from the claim that the church and, by implication, Pastor Adeboye, was supporting the Buhari/Osinbajo ticket. One can always trust Pastor Adeboye to do and say the right thing because he is a man that is truly ‘’after God’s heart’’. Yet the denial of an endorsement and tacit support from his church is just the first of many shockers and unwelcome surprises that Yemi will be served within the next few weeks. He will get shock after shock and surprise after surprise until the battle is over and circumstances compel him to go back to his very lucrative legal practice. Sharia spread Those that say Buhari has changed simply because he chose a pastor as his running mate are ignorant. Did he not have a pastor as his running mate in his last outing in 2011? Did he not still say that it was his intention to ‘’spread Sharia throughout the country’’ and that ‘’an attack on Boko Haram is an attack on the North’’? Did he not oppose a state of emergency in the north eastern states and say that it was unfair for the military to kill Boko Haram members? Did he not say that instead of killing them they should forgive them, pamper them and treat them in the same way that the Niger Delta militants were treated? Did the spokesman of his party, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, not say that the proscription of Boko Haram by the Federal Government was ‘’unjust” and ‘’unconstitutional”? How does the fact that Buhari has opted for a Christian running mate change any of these things? In any case, he only opted for a Christian running mate because he was compelled to do so as a consequence of the hues and cries that the prospect of a Muslim/Muslim ticket had already started to generate. Are those that cite the fact that he has a Christian running mate as evidence of his new-found love for Christians aware of the fact that during the American civil war, a small, ignorant, misguided and deluded group of negro slaves actually fought on the side of the southern confederate forces in an attempt to keep slavery in place? Did that suggest that the leaders of the southern confederate ‘’secession” states suddenly changed their minds and fell in love with the blacks that they had enslaved and treated like animals? Is Buhari’s claim of not being partial to his own Hausa-Fulani tribe not a little far-fetched? Did he not lead a northern delegation to Alhaji Lam Adesina, the late governor of Oyo State, some years ago, when some Fulani herdsmen were slaughtering Yoruba farmers on their own land and asked him, ‘’Why are YOUR people killing MY people?” Apparently, Buhari believed that the aggressors that had invaded the land and farms of others and that killed all the occupants had a right to do so simply because they were Fulani. Yet some people still claim that the man is not a tribalist. Ignorance and lack of knowledge is a terrible affliction but, in this context, it is not only terrible but also very dangerous. Buhari’s choice of a pastor as his running mate means nothing and changes nothing about him or his entrenched views and ancient mindset. It rather provides clear evidence of his sheer desperation to win power at all costs and it is a reflection of his obvious and deep-seated deceit. Let the truth be told even though the heavens may fall: Christian vice president or no Christian Vice President, Buhari’s heart remains anti-Christianity. We shall meet him in the field. Let God’s will be done. *Fani-Kayode was Aviation Minister
Posted on: Wed, 31 Dec 2014 19:28:27 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015