‘’WHY I ENDORSE BUHARI/OSINBAJO TICKET’’ – (THE COMPLETE ARTICLE PARTS 1-6) BY PASTOR SUNDAY ADELAJA Dear friends, This article is divided into six parts for easier reading and digestion. Part 1. The Professor Yemi Osinbajo that I know Part 2. My personal encounter with President Goodluck Jonathan Part 3. Is Gen. Buhari an Islamic fundamentalist? Part 4. Why I believe President Jonathan is far more a fundamentalist than Gen. Buhari Part 5. ‘‘Pastor Sunday how dare you support a Muslim candidate’’? Part 6. Reasons why I cannot support Jonathan/sambo ticket. INTRODUCTION: To paraphrase the great quotation ‘PLATO IS MY FRIEND — ARISTOTLE IS MY FRIEND — BUT MY GREATEST FRIEND IS THE TRUTH’ BY ISAAC NEWTON. IN MY WORDS, I WILL SAY ‘JONATHAN IS MY PRESIDENT, GOODLUCK IS A CHRISTIAN, BUT NIGERIA IS MY GREATEST LOVE’ I will like to appeal to everyone that will see this article not to be in a hurry to ‘stone’ me, especially before you finish reading it. This is because I have seen a lot of emotions, sentiments and prejudices from the comments that were written under the article I had earlier posted on my Facebook page. As a matter of fact, I was not planning to make my position a public knowledge, but seeing the reactions and the emotions that any form of support for Buhari/Osinbajo generates among Christians, I decided to make my position known at least to those who see me as a leader in the body of Christ. AS EXPRESSED IN THE ABOVE MENTIONED QUOTATION – TO ME THE DESTINY AND FUTURE OF NIGERIA IS PARAMOUNT TO ANY SENTIMENT. I THEREFORE BELIEVE THAT I OWE IT TO MY FRIENDS, COLLEAGUES AND POSTERITY TO EXPLAIN WHY I BELIEVE THE BUHARI/OSINBAJO TICKET IS THE LIFE LINE TO THE NIGERIAN NATION RIGHT NOW. Of course you all have the right to your opinions and you have the right to agree or disagree, but I think it would be fair for you to hear my point of view. From the comments on my Facebook, I can envisage disappointment and disillusionment in a lot of my followers as a result of my position, I might actually be losing some friends and fans as a result but let’s not forget the words of Isaac newton ‘PLATO IS MY FRIEND— ARISTOTLE IS MY FRIEND — BUT MY GREATEST FRIEND IS THE TRUTH’ . THEREFORE I SAY ‘JONATHAN IS MY PRESIDENT, GOODLUCK IS A CHRISTIAN, BUT NIGERIA IS MY GREATEST LOVE’ I have never done this before, to voice my position on the political issues of Nigeria publicly, especially through social media, newspaper or internet, BUT THE FUTURE OF NIGERIA COMPELS ME. Ecclesiastics 10:16-17 16 Woe to you, O land, when your king is a child, And your princes feast in the morning! 17 Blessed are you, O land, when your king is the son of nobles, And your princes feast at the proper time— For strength and not for drunkenness! PART 1 THE PROFESSOR YEMI OSINBAJO THAT I KNOW Until Gen. Buhari picked Professor Yemi Osinbajo as his running mate, I was not certain about my decision. In my opinion the choice of Professor Osinbajo wasn’t just a choice made by man, I believe it was God who handpicked him as Gen. Buhari’s running mate. Why do I think so? I know the man! I would dare to say that I personally do not know any other Christian leader in Nigeria with the kind of impeccable reputation, character and integrity as that of Professor Osinbajo. Friends, THE MAN IS REAL! Everyone talks about the integrity and the purity of Pastor Adeboye and rightly so, I dare to say that Professor Osinbajo is a son and a carbon copy of Pastor Adeboye when it comes to integrity and character. Anybody who has met him will affirm the same. There is no other person like Professor Osinbajo! Anyone that knows him very well will tell you the same thing. He is in a class of his own. I can confidently vouch for him and say to my fellow Nigerians that with the emergence of Professor Osinbajo, we can say at last that Nigeria as a nation has started releasing her best sons to the seat of government. Ecclesiastics 10:16-17 16 Woe to you, O land, when your king is a child, And your princes feast in the morning! 17 Blessed are you, O land, when your king is the son of nobles, And your princes feast at the proper time— For strength and not for drunkenness! In the ticket of Gen. Buhari and Professor Osinbajo, I see sons of nobles becoming the kings of Nigeria. I see in these people, princes that would feast at the proper time- for strength and not for drunkenness. Unfortunately, what has been happening in Nigeria in the last six years can only be compared to a situation where the kings of our land have been like children, who feast in the morning. THE PREDICTABLE OUTCOME OF SUCH A PREDICAMENT IS A TALE OF WOES. As a result, Nigeria has not been able to set herself free from all sorts of calamities, adversaries, woes and troubles, because our rulers have been as children and our princes (government officials) are those who like to feast in the morning. NO PURPOSEFUL PERSON GOES TO FEAST IN THE MORNING, THE MORNING IS A TIME OF LABOR, HARD WORK AND DILIGENCE. BUT FROM THE STORIES WE HAVE BEEN HEARING OF HOW OUR NATURAL RESOURCES AND BILLIONS OF DOLLARS ARE BEEN DEPLETED, WE COULD SEE THAT OUR PRINCES ARE ON A ‘SHOPPING AND SPENDING SPREE’. However, we need sons of nobles, those who will know how to delay their gratification, restrain their appetite and those who will go to work hard on behalf of the nation. The Gen. Buhari and Professor Osibanjo that I know are men of Nobles that know how to delay gratification, men who don’t expect something for nothing, men of diligent labor. Professor Osinbajo is one of the youngest and most brilliant Professors of Law Nigeria has ever produced. He understands law, academics and economics. He is perfectly prepared to manage the nation. His eight years in the executive arm of the Lagos state government attest to this. He brought more reforms to the government than any attorney general has ever done. His reputation was so outstanding, pure and incorruptible that it gained a legendary status among those who know him. Friends, believe me, if he could do that in Lagos state, he can do it for Nigeria. PROFESSOR OSINBAJO IS NOT JUST AN INTELLECTUAL PER EXCELLENCE, BUT HE IS A GENUINE CHILD OF GOD, A PASTOR WHO CANNOT BE A STOOGE TO ANYONE. PART 2 MY PERSONAL ENCOUNTER WITH PRESIDENT GOODLUCK JONATHAN. Ecclesiastics 10:16-17 16 Woe to you, O land, when your king is a child, and your princes feast in the morning! 17 Blessed are you, O land, when your king is the son of nobles, and your princes feast at the proper time— For strength and not for drunkenness ‘PLATO IS MY FRIEND— ARISTOTLE IS MY FRIEND — BUT MY GREATEST FRIEND IS THE TRUTH’. THEREFORE I SAY ‘JONATHAN IS MY PRESIDENT, GOODLUCK IS A CHRISTIAN, BUT NIGERIA IS MY GREATEST LOVE’ I have personally met President Jonathan on two occasions while he was the vice-president of the country. THERE IS NO DOUBT THAT PRESIDENT JONATHAN IS A GOOD AND GENTLE MAN FROM MY OBSERVATIONS, BUT A GOOD MAN DOES NOT ALWAYS TRANSLATE TO A GOOD OR EFFICIENT LEADER. I have told everybody that cares to listen in my private conversations with my friends since 2007 that even though God must have given President Jonathan the chance to become Nigeria’s president, yet my feeling is that he is grossly limited. He would need a team of super-efficient leaders to make his government work, otherwise on his own he is simply not in the consciousness of what good governance is all about. My first major concern during our meetings is that HE WAS ALWAYS IN A ‘SLEEP MODE’. I don’t think he is ever fully awake and this was my impression on both occasions. He was always looking lost, sleepy and even out rightly dozing off during conversations, at least during my meetings with him. Please bear in mind that in both cases I came with teams of leaders from different countries such as: USA, Sweden, Spain, Ukraine, Nigeria, yet my vice-president was listening to us half asleep. Now friends, I am not such that would be quick to judge, so I tried to give him the benefit of a doubt. However, my subsequent observations of President Jonathan through videos and photographs of his meetings, confirm the obvious, that this man is never in the ‘here and now’. If you compare my experience with President Jonathan to my meetings with President Olusegun Obasanjo. President Obasanjo wasn’t just awake, in the ‘here and now’. He was always at alert, sharp, responsive and more so, he would immediately pick up his phone calling ministers and assistants to act on the proposals and suggestions that we were bringing to the table. PRESIDENT JONATHAN IN MY OPINION LACKS DECISION MAKING SKILLS. I brought in some proposals that could earn the nation of Nigeria and every state of the federation investments worth millions of US dollars yearly. I was expecting him to respond with action like President Obasanjo did, instead his response was passive, he suggested that I should go to the states and meet with the Governors, which I had done, but the foreign philanthropists needed assurance from a top government official. Yet, here was my vice president not acting and not been proactive in any way. The foreigners who were with me had to leave Nigeria disappointed with the lack of interest and inactive position of the second citizen of the country. I am sure some people will be reading this thinking I was offended and had some business interests. No! These were not business interests at all, these were projects concerning humanitarian aids for the poor, disabled and elderly. These were projects to help train our police force in values and integrity. These were projects to equip our states with technical schools and colleges. I had nothing really to gain from it whatsoever. They were supposed to be Christian donations to the people of Nigeria as a whole. The point I am making is about the necessary skills and sharpness required of the leader of a nation to take decisive decisions. His ability to make things happen. We are talking about his ability to provide solutions. THESE ARE THINGS THAT MAKE GREAT LEADERS. MORE SO, WHEN YOU ARE THE PRESIDENT OF A NATION YOU SURELY NEED THESE QUALITIES. PART 3 IS GEN. BUHARI AN ISLAMIC FUNDAMENTALIST? Ecclesiastics 10:16-17 16 Woe to you, O land, when your king is a child, And your princes feast in the morning! 17 Blessed are you, O land, when your king is the son of nobles and your princes feast at the proper time— For strength and not for drunkenness ‘PLATO IS MY FRIEND— ARISTOTLE IS MY FRIEND — BUT MY GREATEST FRIEND IS THE TRUTH’. THEREFORE I SAY ‘JONATHAN IS MY PRESIDENT, GOODLUCK IS A CHRISTIAN, BUT NIGERIA IS MY GREATEST LOVE’ YOU CAN SELL THAT PROPAGANDA TO ANYONE BUT A THINKING PERSON, THIS PROPAGANDA IS THE CHEAPEST AND THE MOST UNTHOUGHTFUL BY PEOPLE WHO USE IT. 1) If Gen. Buhari had been a fundamentalist, he would have Islamized Nigeria the very first time he became the head of state and had all the military power. A time when no one could tell him what to do or what not to do. I was a young man in Nigeria at the time of his presidency and I remember clearly the kind of awe and fear everyone had for his government. Almost nobody could stop him from doing whatever he wanted to do at that time. SO IF HE HAD WANTED TO ISLAMIZE NIGERIA WHY DIDN’T HE DO IT THEN? REMEMBER THAT BOTH GEN. BUHARI AND HIS DEPUTY GEN. TUNDE IDIAGBON WERE COMMITTED MUSLIMS, YET THEY DID NOT ISLAMIZE NIGERIA. SO IT IS LUDICROUS TO BRING FORTH THIS ARGUMENT IN A DEMOCRATIC SETTING. Hello my dear propagandists of the theory of Gen. Buhari been an Islamic fundamentalist, why didn’t he turn Nigeria into a Muslim state when he had all the power in a non-democratic system of Government? If he didn’t do that when he had all the 3 arms of government, the legislative, executive and judiciary in his hands, What makes you think he would be able to do that now? Even if he has that intention now, when he has just one arm of government, the executive in his hands, he still cannot with such a formidable opposition in PDP. WHO ON EARTH IS BELIEVING THIS TYPE OF PROPAGANDA? FRIENDS WAKE UP! 2) WHY IS IT THAT IT IS NOT BUHARI THAT TOOK US TO THE ORGANIZATION OF ISLAMIC COOPERATION (OIC)? The documents are there to prove that it was Gen. Babangida’s government that did it, contrary to the rumors dubious individuals are spreading about Gen. Buhari. 3) Contrary to the wide spread belief in some circles in Nigeria, Gen. Buhari is not the sponsor of Boko Haram and it is so sad that Nigerians will be so mischievous to be saying things they cannot substantiate. How do I know this? Because the track record of Gen. Buhari tells us that he cannot be Boko Haram’s sponsor. I WAS IN NIGERIA AS A YOUNG MAN WHEN ANOTHER ISLAMIC SECT CALLED MAITATSINE WAS TRYING TO RISE UP IN THE THEN KANO STATE MUCH LIKE BOKO HARAM IS DOING NOW, IT WAS GEN. BUHARI’S GOVERNMENT THAT CRUSHED THE UPRISING IN 1985. Matthew 7: 16 you shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Jesus said that by their fruits you shall know them. Not by people’s propaganda. The fruits of Gen. Buhari’s life prove to me that he is the direct opposite of what the propagandists say he is. THE FACT THAT GEN. BUHARI CRUSHED THE UPRISING OF MAITATSINE RADICAL MUSLIM UPRISING SHOWS THAT HE HAS WHAT IT TAKES TO DEAL WITH THE PRESENT PREDICAMENT WE ARE FACING WITH BOKO HARAM. 4) As an Army General I think Gen. Buhari has the rudiments and qualifications to adequately respond to our national security challenges. Especially with him coming from the north and a Muslim. It would be easier for him to crack down on Islamic extremism, because he will not be accused of discrimination since he is not a Christian who could later be accused of discriminating against Muslims. 5) HOW GEN. BUHARI CONSTITUTED HIS GOVERNMENT WHEN HE WAS HEAD OF STATE IN 1982-1984: Gen. Buharis Governors 1984-1985: 1. Allison Madueke - Christian-Anambra. 2. Jeremiah Useni - Christian - Bendel. 3. Micheal Bamidele - Christian Ondo. 4. Oladipo Diya - Christian - Ogun. 5. David Mark - Christian - Niger. 6. John Kpera - Christian - Benue. 7. Dan Achibong - Christian - C/Rivers. 8. Ike Nwachukwu -Christian -Imo. 9. Oladipo Popoola - Christian - Oyo. 10. Bitrus Atukum - Christian - Plateau. 11. B.L. Letimah - Christian - Rivers. 12. Salaudeen Latinwo - Muslim-Kwara. 13. Gbolahan Mudasiru - Atheist-Lagos. 14. Sani Sami -Muslim - Bauchi. 15. Abubakar Waziri - Muslim - Borno. 16. Muhammadu Jega - Muslim - Gongola. 17. Usman Muazu - Muslim - Kaduna. 18. Hamza Abdullahi - Muslim - Kano. 19. Garba Duba -Muslim -Sokoto Out of 19 governors: 11 Christians, 1 atheist, 7 Muslims. Buharis Ministers: 1. Domkat Bali - Christian - Defence. 2. Onaolapo Sholeye -Christian-Finance. 3. Emmanuel Nsan - Christian - Health. 4. Sam Omeruah - Christian-Information. 5. Tam David West - Christian - Petroleum. 6. Patrick Koshoni - Christian - Works. 7. Chike Offodile - Christian - Justice. *Clement Isong - Christian Gov, CBN. Defence, works, petroleum, justice, finance and CBN governor were all Christians. Friends wakeup and don’t be deceived by baseless accusations, an Islamic fundamentalist would not put in his government, Christians mostly. IT IS A PITY THAT MANY HAVE GIVEN THEMSELVES TO DECEIT. LET’S STOP THE BASELESS ACCUSATION AGAINST THIS AGENT OF CHANGE AND FACE REALITY. LET US VOTE FOR CHANGE. PLEASE DONT BE DECEIVED. LETS CHANGE NIGERIA! PART 4. WHY I BELIEVE PRESIDENT JONATHAN IS FAR MORE A FUNDAMENTALIST THAN GEN. BUHARI Ecclesiastics 10:16-17 16 Woe to you, O land, when your king is a child, and your princes feast in the morning! 17 Blessed are you, O land, when your king is the son of nobles, and your princes feast at the proper time— For strength and not for drunkenness ‘PLATO IS MY FRIEND— ARISTOTLE IS MY FRIEND — BUT MY GREATEST FRIEND IS THE TRUTH’. THEREFORE I SAY ‘JONATHAN IS MY PRESIDENT, GOODLUCK IS A CHRISTIAN, BUT NIGERIA IS MY GREATEST LOVE’ I am a pastor and I am happy that we have so many growing ministries and churches in Nigeria. It is our pride that Christianity is so popular in our country and that we have such a freedom of religion. Dear readers, let’s imagine ourselves as Muslims for a minute. Let’s assume you are a Muslim and what you see almost on a weekly basis is that your president is always flanked by leaders of his religion in a country where we don’t just have only Christians. In a diverse country like ours where Christians and Muslim are mostly on an equal footing, a Muslim could easily think why should his President often be surrounded mainly by Christian leaders? Either he is with the respected leaders of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) or on the prayer ground of some of the highly regarded and respected Christian churches. Supposing you are a Muslim and you see your president in such situations, is it not understandable for a Muslim to call him a Christian fundamentalist? Now let’s imagine that it’s a Muslim president (for example Gen. Buhari) that is always going from one mosque to the other always surrounded by various Muslim groups. I can imagine what kind of accusations would have been coming from my Christian brothers and sisters, in which case Gen.Buhari would not only be accused of been a fundamentalist, he would also have been accused of Islamizing Nigeria. But here is a Christian president doing what we would have called a fundamentalist act, yet we are accusing Gen. Buhari of been a fundamentalist when he doesn’t even do such things. As a pastor myself, I think it’s a good thing that the president is doing this. I would be happy if the president comes to my church too. I think it’s a good thing that we have that kind of freedom of worship in Nigeria. BUT LET’S BE FAIR, WHAT WOULD WE ACTUALLY SAY IF GEN. BUHARI IS SEEN DOING THE SAME THING? MY POINT IS THAT WE SHOULD HAVE A FAIR PLAY. GEN. BUHARI SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO PRACTISE HIS RELIGION JUST AS PRESIDENT JONATHAN IS ALLOWED TO PRACTICE HIS RELIGION. The fundamental principle of the Christian faith states that we should treat others like we would like them to treat us. Matthew 7:12 Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets. Most often we don’t want to give a fair treatment to our fellow countrymen that belong to another religion. THAT IS WRONG! IT IS NOT FAIR!! OUR GOD IS FIRST AND FOREMOST A GOD OF LOVE!!! Can someone tell me the last time you saw Gen. Buhari been flanked by popular leaders of his religion or kneeling down, praying with his Muslim clerics in a mosque? No, he makes his faith a personal affair. This is not the action of a Muslim fundamentalist! But rather from the actions of President Jonathan, it is tempting to say he is more of a fundamentalist than Gen. Buhari. Now, my Christian brothers and sisters- believe it, I am a Pastor and am not backsliding. Let’s just be objective! Put yourself in the shoes of another Nigerian who is not a Christian, someone who is not in any way a more inferior Nigerian by our constitution. Would you deny him the right to have a Muslim president in his own country just like we have our Christian president in President Goodluck Jonathan? How comfortable should a Muslim be to call himself a Nigerian after seeing that his president is always with leaders of his Christian religion? How comfortable will you be to say that this man is still my president if you were in their shoes? However, the Muslims in Nigeria have largely been gracious enough to know and understand that this is freedom of religion and not to raise too much alarm about it. But here we are as Christians calling a decent and modest Muslim, a fundamentalist just, because he is serious about his religion, despite his efforts to keep it private. He is not even the president yet! What would we then say if he were to be flaunting his faith out there just like President Jonathan does? Please understand me, I am not saying this is necessarily bad but let’s put ourselves in others position. THAT IS WHAT OBJECTIVITY MEANS. THAT IS WHAT TOLERANCE DEMANDS. It is bigotry, and it is religious nepotism that makes us think that when it benefits us we have all the right, but when it comes to others they don’t have the same right. For us it is acceptable. For us everything goes, but for others it is not acceptable. Why should we feel as Christians that we have a better or greater ownership of the country? Are we not all citizens of the same country with equal rights? Please let us think about the feelings of others who are fellow Nigerians of different religions who are not to be blamed that they were born in a non-Christian home. It could be anyone of us in their position. Mark 12:3 And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself. ‘There is no other commandment greater than these.” The greatest commandment of our Christian religion demands from us to be considerate of others. My fellow brothers and sister, let us be Christians not just in name but also in practice. To love your neighbor as yourself means we should love the Muslims and the pagans as we will love our fellow Christians, and even more so we should love them as much as we love ourselves. That is to say we should wish for them those things that we wish ourselves. Part 5 ‘‘PASTOR SUNDAY HOW DARE YOU SUPPORT A MUSLIM CANDIDATE’’? Ecclesiastics 10:16-17 16 Woe to you, O land, when your king is a child, And your princes feast in the morning! 17 Blessed are you, O land, when your king is the son of nobles, And your princes feast at the proper time— For strength and not for drunkenness ‘PLATO IS MY FRIEND— ARISTOTLE IS MY FRIEND — BUT MY GREATEST FRIEND IS THE TRUTH’. THEREFORE I SAY ‘JONATHAN IS MY PRESIDENT, GOODLUCK IS A CHRISTIAN, BUT NIGERIA IS MY GREATEST LOVE’ 1) Apart from the points that I have highlighted above, I think it is legitimate for me and any other Nigerian to support any good ticket even if the representatives are not of your own religion. As long as the flag bearer for that ticket is a Nigerian, he has the right to be elected as the president or into any other position, because he is a citizen of this country. Fellow Nigerians, brothers and sisters, what if somebody comes up to say a Muslim should never vote for a Christian, that means no Christian will ever win the presidential elections in Nigeria, because without the Muslim votes from the north, south, east and west, it just won’t be possible. SO IT IS NOT FAIR TO SAY NO CHRISTIAN SHOULD VOTE FOR A MUSLIM, BECAUSE WE ARE NOT TALKING ABOUT RELIGION HERE BUT ABOUT GOOD LEADERSHIP. 2) WHAT DETERMINES WHOM I SUPPORT DEPENDS ON THE PERSONALITY, COMPETENCE, INTEGRITY AND REPUTATION OF THE PERSON INVOLVED. Another factor is the program the candidate puts forward. If I believe in the program, I will support them even if they are Muslims. I AM AWARE THAT MANY NIGERIANS HAVE THE HABIT IN THE LAST DECADES OF TRAVELING TO DUBAI WHICH IS AN ISLAMIC NATION, RULED BY ISLAMIC FUNDAMENTALISTS, YET WE GO TO LEARN FROM THEM, THEY ARE DOING BETTER THAN US, THEY HAVE BUILT A BETTER COUNTRY, SO WHAT IS THE ARGUMENT ABOUT? HEY, LET’S USE OUR MINDS. LET’S WAKEUP, LET’S FACE REALITY, LET’S BE LESS RELIGIOUS AND AMBIGUOUS IN OUR THINKING. 3) I support the Buhari/Osinbajo ticket because I believe in the leadership attributes of the man. Gen. Buhari is one of the most disciplined, diligent, focused and hardworking Nigerian leaders alive today. His track record confirms this. Gen. Buhari ruled Nigeria for less than 2 years and accomplished much more than what most governments in Nigeria history has ever accomplished. Let’s see the facts. Some of his Achievements: i) His administration initiated a public campaign against indiscipline known as War against Indiscipline (WAI) when he realized the civilian government he took over from as head of states was HOPELESSLY CORRUPT. The campaign is still lauded by many to have instilled the most orderly conduct of public and private affairs in Nigeria since its independence in 1960. ii) In his time as head of state he reduced inflation from 23% to 4%, by fiscal discipline and a homegrown economic team (not achieved under any other era both civilian and military). iii) He supervised and birthed our only existing refineries (1976-1978) iv) What he did in road construction while in the PTF hasnt been matched in 16 years of democracy. v) The hospitals and universities around the country never witnessed as much benefits as they got from the PTF than any other government after or before his time. vi) The Gen. Buhari regime rebuffed all entreaties by IMF and World Bank to devalue the naira, remove subsidies on services and increase pump price on fuel. vii) The Nigerian Naira was exchanged between 0.724 -0.894 to 1 Us Dollar during Gen. Buharis regime (1983-1985). Imagine our Naira was more than the dollar just 29 years ago when I left the country to study in Europe. Please check out these facts about Gen. Buhari. By the time you confirm the information below, you will agree with me that this is not just the best presidential candidate we have running today, but maybe he is one of the best citizens Nigeria has ever produced. I hope after finding out about the statistics below you will also join me in praying and hoping that Buhari/Osinbajo ticket takes the day. 4) WHILE FORMER LEADERS CAME TO LINE THEIR POCKETS WITH THE NATIONAL WEALTH BY PROMOTING THEMSELVES TO ‘GENERALS OF FORTUNE’. BY NAMING SOME IMPORTANT STREETS, EDIFICES, AND TOWNS IN NIGERIA AFTER THEMSELVES. IT WAS NOT SO WITH GENERAL BUHARI. HE WAS DRIVEN BY PATRIOTIC ZEAL TO SERVE NIGERIA. EVEN AFTER BEING THE HEAD OF STATE FOR 20 MONTHS, HE NEVER PROMOTED HIMSELF TO A FOUR-STAR GENERAL LIKE OTHERS WHO CAME BEFORE OR AFTER HIM. IT’S ALSO IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT HE DID NOT CREATE THE OFFICE OF FIRST LADY, WHICH OTHERS DID AS A MEANS OF STEALING THE NATIONAL AND COMMON WEALTH. • Gen. Buhari presently has 2 houses, one owned by his father and one he built with his pension • He has no house or land in Abuja • No property or savings abroad • He has 2 cars (one belongs to his wife) • He has no oil wells, no petrol station. • His monetary assets was 6.5 million naira which now remains 1million naira after he paid 5.5 million naira for his presidential nomination form (compared to 750 million declared by President Jonathan) • Gen. Buhari and Nelson Mandela were the only private African individuals invited to the white house during president Barrack Obama’s Inauguration why? Because they are men of integrity. • Above all, he is not associated with corruption of any form or sort. 5) For those who are making too much ado about Gen. Buhari’s age. I RATHER THINK, THAT GEN. BUHARI BEING A SEPTUAGENARIAN, AND KNOWING THAT NOT TOO MANY PEOPLE ARE GIVEN A SECOND CHANCE IN LIFE, WOULD LIKE TO EXCEED HIS PREVIOUS ACHIEVEMENTS. So I believe it is better to give Gen. Buhari the chance to render his best service and to leave the best legacy he could possibly leave for the posterity of Nigerians. President Jonathan has already been given 6 years to prove his worth and Nigerians can now give a similar chance to Gen. Buhari. If he fails to deliver then we are free to remove him as well and give the chance to another person. If we reelect President Jonathan now it means he will be ruling Nigeria for 10 years and the only person to have ruled Nigeria for that long was Gen. Gowon (9 years). 6) GEN. BUHARI ACHIEVED SO MUCH IN HIS WAR AGAINST CORRUPTION BETWEEN DEC1983 AND AUG 1985.HE IS A MAN OF INTEGRITY. HE IS THE ONLY OR ONE OF A FEW EX-LEADERS NOT LIVING IN OPULENCE. Gen. Buhari’s government jailed over 600 corrupt politicians and businessmen and refused to release them until their loot was recovered. I must admit though, that there were probably a lot of excesses in his government’s fight against corruption, yet we cannot but commend his efforts. Only those who do nothing make no mistakes. He even tried to forcefully kidnap President Shagaris defense minister from the UK, who had stolen from the coffers of the government. This action was necessary after British government refused to send him back to Nigeria. During his rule, there was less crime, he took a hard line on all crime especially armed robbers and drug traffickers. Jerry Rawlings of Ghana, that many Nigerians admire, actually modelled himself after Gen. Buhari. Nigerias number one problem is corruption. Once corruption is tackled, all other challenges facing the nation from credible elections to economic development and infrastructures like electricity, water, transports would work better. 7) I believe that if Pastor Bakare will agree to be a running mate to someone, then that must be a good person, because Pastor Tunde Bakare is a no nonsense pastor yet he agreed to run with Gen. Buhari in 2011. After that experience even now Pastor Bakare though not running still says he will never speak against Gen. Buhari, because he has seen the content of his character. Now if Pastor Osinbajo is supporting the same presidential candidate, it means there is something in this man that Nigerians should pay attention to. THESE ARE NOT PEOPLE THAT CAN BE EASILY MANIPULATED OR BOUGHT OVER. THESE TWO NIGERIANS CANNOT BE BOUGHT OVER BY ANY AMOUNT OF MONEY. 8) I have heard from reliable sources about Gen. Buhari’s impeccable reputation, from people whose names I will not like to disclose here without a prior agreement. These are men of integrity, Christian men, pastors who have met one on one with Gen. Buhari and their testimony is that they have never seen a man of such quality, humility and strength of character in Nigeria. THESE ARE PASTORS TALKING OF HOW IMPECCABLE GEN. BUHARI’S CHARACTER IS AMONG ALL THE PEOPLE THEY HAVE EVER MET. I WOULD RATHER VOTE FOR THAT KIND OF MAN THAN SUPPORT SOMEONE WHO IS JUST A ‘CHRISTIAN’ WITHOUT CHARACTER OR INTEGRITY. ANOTHER FRIEND OF MINE WHO IS ALSO A PASTOR OF A GREAT REPUTE WHOM I DON’T HAVE ANY BASIS TO DOUBT, TOLD ME THAT GEN. BUHARI HIMSELF DISCLOSED TO HIM THAT HIS PERSONAL DRIVER OF OVER TWO OR THREE DECADES IS A CHRISTIAN. HE ALSO DISCLOSED THAT GEN. BUHARI TOLD HIM THAT HIS PERSONAL COOK, IS A CHRISTIAN WOMAN. THESE ARE TWO OF THE CLOSEST AND MOST TRUST WORTHY PEOPLE IN ANYBODY’S LIFE AS YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON THEM. Gen. Buhari surrounds himself with Christians not just Muslims. I don’t believe such a man hates Christians. More so I also have another firsthand information from another friend about Gen. Buhari’s quality. This friend of mine is a Christian from the south-south region of Nigeria, and he wanted to get some assurances from Gov. Tinubu about the personality of Gen. Buhari, He therefor asked Gov. Tinubu the question, if Gen. Buhari was a Muslim fundamentalist that did not like Christians, to which Tinubu said, ‘you don’t need to believe my words, come here tomorrow morning, Gen. Buhari will be here then you can sit down with him and ask him whatever questions you have yourself’. The meeting took place and at the end of this meeting this south-south Christian leader became a converted believer in the integrity and credibility of Gen. Buhari as one of the soundest, most realistic and most sincere persons he has ever met in his entire life. Dear friends these are people I know personally with Character of the highest level, I believe them, so I choose to support Buhari /Oshibajo ticket. 9) THE NEXT REASON WHY I SUPPORT THE BUHARI/OSINBAJO TICKET IS BECAUSE I BELIEVE GOD HAS USED GEN. BUHARI TO HIGHLIGHT AND TO BRING TO THE FOREFRONT ONE OF THE BEST MEN THAT WAS EVER BORN IN THE NATION OF NIGERIA, WHICH IS PROFESSOR YEMI OSINBAJO. I believe that by the grace of God, this ticket has a very good chance of winning just at least for Nigerians to have something to write home about their nation. So that this next generation will not be a wasted generation. Believe me friends if anyone can do it Gen Buhari/Prof Oshibajo can, they have what it takes. These men, friends are the real deal. 10) Even though I have high regard for President Jonathan as a person and for other Christian gentlemen that are in his government, but I dare to say that there is no body that brings a better representation of the church of the lord Jesus Christ to the Nigerian Government like professor Osinbajo. I BELIEVE WITH HIM AS VICE PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA, THE CHRISTIAN WORLD VIEW AND THE KINGDOM PERSPECTIVE WILL HAVE A BETTER EXPRESSION THAN WHAT WE HAVE RIGHT NOW. 11) Though Gen. Buhari is strong and I pray and believe God will give him long life, strength and vigor, yet he might not want to go for the second term, but might prefer to step down for his vice president for the second term. He might decide that he is too old to go for the second term after the first 4 years when he would be 76 years old, which could present the vice president, Professor Yemi Osinbajo a chance of supernaturally emerging as the next president of Nigeria. IF THAT HAPPENS I BELIEVE THAT MIGHT BE THE BEST DREAM FOR THE NEXT GENERATION OF NIGERIANS. 12) I believe that Gen. Buhari has what it takes to unite Nigeria like no other leader today in the country. Why? Because his biography and his track record proves that he is a committed Nigerian. I DON’T BELIEVE THAT GEN. BUHARI WANTS TO DIVIDE NIGERIA, BECAUSE HE RISKED HIS LIFE BY GOING TO WAR FOR A UNITED NIGERIA. HE WENT TO WAR TO PROTECT THE TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY OF NIGERIA. HE WAS READY TO DIE FOR NIGERIA. HE SACRIFICED HIS COMFORT, HIS YOUTH, AND HIS FAMILY’S COMFORT. HE RISKED EVERYTHING TO ALLOW US TO GROW UP IN A UNITED NIGERIA. His life is a better proof that he is a better Nigerian than most of the people who are criticizing him now. Most of the people criticizing him have not made the sacrifice he has made for Nigeria. Gen. Buhari has held the following positions in Nigeria enough to understand better than most people how to govern and unite Nigeria: I) Governor of North-Eastern State of Nigeria (August 1975 – March 1976) II) Minister For Petroleum and Natural Resources (March 1976- June 1978) III) Chairman Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (June 1978- July 1978) IV) 7th Head of State of Nigeria (Dec 31,1983- August 27, 1985) V) Chairman PTF(Mid 1994- July 1999) Antecedence of individuals is very important in human history, therefore Gen. Buharis antecedence speaks for itself. Whenever the history of corporate Nigeria is written, Gen. Buharis contribution will be written in Gold!!! My dear brothers and sister don’t let us be overly agitated. God still rules in the affairs of men. I remember I had this type of feeling when Gen. Obasanjo was coming out from the prison to rule Nigeria in 1999, then also so many Christian leaders and believers refused to support him, because they said he was a stooge of the northern Muslims. Even most Yorubas in the south west where he himself comes from refused to vote for him. But because it was the will of God and because God rules in the affairs of men, His will could not be stopped. Gen. Obasanjo emerged as the president in spite of the opposition from his own people and from his own Christian brethren. There are times when God will use the Cyrus’s of this world and the Babylonians to accomplish his purpose on earth for which He calls them his servants and his army. I BELIEVE THIS TICKET, BUHARI/OSIBAJO IS GODS DREAM TEAM TO RESCUE NIGERIA FROM AN IMMINENT SHIP WRECK. GOD BLESS NIGERIA! PART 6. REASONS WHY I CANNOT SUPPORT JONATHAN/SAMBO TICKET. Ecclesiastics 10:16-17 16 Woe to you, O land, when your king is a child, And your princes feast in the morning! 17 Blessed are you, O land, when your king is the son of nobles, And your princes feast at the proper time— For strength and not for drunkenness ‘PLATO IS MY FRIEND— ARISTOTLE IS MY FRIEND — BUT MY GREATEST FRIEND IS THE TRUTH’. THEREFORE I SAY ‘JONATHAN IS MY PRESIDENT, GOODLUCK IS A CHRISTIAN, BUT NIGERIA IS MY GREATEST LOVE’ Probably a more urgent reason why I feel this sixth part of the article is important is because of all the sentiments, bigotry and prejudice that I see from the side of my fellow Christian brothers and sisters. I FEEL THE WEIGHT OF RESPONSIBILITY ON MY SHOULDERS TO DESTROY THE MOUNTAIN OF IGNORANCE AND DARKNESS THAT I SEE EMANATING FROM THE CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY. I’m amazed and alarmed that Christians who are supposed to be having the mind of Christ, the wisdom of God and the analytical faculty to digest any complex situation are out rightly refusing to use their minds or their intellect for that matter. I agree that we all have our choices to make and every one of us has his or her own reasons why we make one decision or the other- but there must be reasons, there must be arguments, there must be facts and these facts and reasons must be credible. However, sadly from the Christian reactions that I have seen so far, excuse me for my use of words, it’s like we are hypnotized, brain washed or just out rightly biased. TOO MUCH OF EMOTIONS AND CLICHÉS BUT TOO LITTLE SUBSTANCE. To buttress my argument, I want to state the reasons, why I cannot endorse the Jonathan/Sambo ticket below, every point being backed up with facts and evidences. 1) I believe God chose President Jonathan for a reason and I also believe that his time span is over. Just like God choose Saul, he had his time, but God also chose David to take over from him. I PERSONALLY THINK THAT PRESIDENT JONATHAN HAS HAD HIS TIME TO PROVE HIS WORTH IN THE LAST SIX YEARS. WHAT HE COULD NOT DO IN SIX YEARS I DOUBT, IF HE WILL BE ABLE TO DO IN THE NEXT FOUR. • Five trillion naira is the summation of government funds said to have been stolen, according to: Mallam Nuhu Ribadu led Petroleum Task Force report, the Minister of Trade and Investment’s report on stolen crude, the House of Representatives fuel subsidy report and investigations into the ecological fund, SIM card registration and frequency band spectrum sale. • The Nuhu Ribadu report on the oil and gas sector put daily crude oil theft at a high 250,000 barrels daily at a cost of $6.3bn (N1.2trn) a year. This puts the total amount lost through oil theft in two years of Jonathan’s government at over $12.6bn (N2trn). 2) In October 2012, the African Insurance Organization ranked Nigeria as the “Kidnap-for-Ransom Capital of the World,” accounting for 25 per cent of global kidnappings. The President admitted that there are sponsors of Boko Haram in his government. If that is the case why don’t you bring them to book? Why can’t you catch them? Why can’t you prosecute them? Are you not the president? A PRESIDENT THAT WILL ADMIT SUCH A THING, AND YET DO NOTHING ABOUT IT SHOULD NOT BE OCCUPYING THAT SIT. President Jonathan alleged that the dreaded Islamic sect, Boko Haram, had infiltrated his government. He claimed some members of the group, which had claimed responsibility for the killings in parts of the North, were in the executive, legislative and judiciary arms of government as well as the police and armed forces. GIVE ME A BREAK, AM I THE PRESIDENT? WHY COMPLAIN TO ME? I AM ONLY A CITIZEN. ONE OF THE MOST FUNDAMENTAL REASONS FOR GOVERNMENTS IS TO PROVIDE SECURITY FOR ITS CITIZENS, IF A GOVERNMENT IS NOT DOING THAT THEN WE DON’T HAVE A GOVERNMENT. Jonathan spoke during an inter-denominational service to mark the 2012 Armed Forces Remembrance Day. 3) Recently the respected global audit financial advisory firm KPMG rated Nigeria as the most fraudulent country in Africa. The firm also said that Nigeria’s fraud profile has been compounded by fraud and corruption in the oil sector, with “bribes in the private and public sector, misappropriation, and contract inflation” as common forms of fraud. Nigeria is regarded as one of the most corrupt nations in the world. This should be no news, but what is however news, is the response of our Nation’s Commander-in-Chief, President Goodluck Jonathan. He said “There is no corruption but mere stealing in Nigeria” during one of his last Presidential Media Chats. This statement is not only alarming, but it is upsetting and disquieting. It is simply terrifying. A MAN WHO IS SAYING STEALING IS NOT CORRUPTION HAS NOTHING TO DO IN GOVERNMENT ESPECIALLY BEING THE PRESIDENT OF A NATION. 4) If some respected Individuals who fought for President Jonathan to take over from Yar’ Adua are now leading the campaign for him to step down even though they were his staunch supporters yesterday, that tells me that we must read in between the lines. • Pastor Tunde Bakare led the “Save Nigeria Group” to campaign for the instalment of President Jonathan in place of the ailing president Yar’ Adua. Today Pastor Tunde Bakare is one of the most passionate people calling for a change in the Nigerian government. • It was after the popular outburst of President Obasanjo against the Yar’ Adua’s cabal that a real change took place and President Jonathan was instated, today however President Obasanjo is leading the call for President Jonathan not to run for another term. • Gov. Rotimi Ameachi and an array of other famous individuals of integrity who once supported President Jonathan are now leading the call for his resignation. • One other person is Oby Ezekwesili an exceptionally gifted Nigerian woman. I know she supported President Jonathan to replace President Yar’Adua, but she is now leading the protest against President Jonathan’s government through the organization, ‘Bring Back Our Girls’. That should tell any thoughtful person something. • I know these people are being accused of having ulterior motives. I think the truth is that they simply love Nigeria more than they love President Jonathan. They all have the opportunity to go the easy way and sell their allegiance, but they have refused to compromise at the price of personal loss. If these people who have access to inside information about President Jonathan and his regime more than an average Nigeria are saying he must go, let’s think twice. 5) LEADING COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD ARE APPALLED BY THE LEVEL OF CORRUPTION IN PRESIDENT JONATHAN’S GOVERNMENT AND IF THEY ARE NOT AFRAID TO VOICE OUT THEIR CONCERNS ABOUT NIGERIA, WHY SHOULD WE BE SILENT? Normally nations are careful to voice their opinion on matters of other sovereign countries. Things have gotten so bad that countries that were willing to come to our aid to help fight Boko haram and bring back our girls are now leaving, getting frustrated and saying there is nothing they can do as far as this government is in power. Former United States’ Secretary of State Hilary Clinton in a public interview with ABC’s Robin Roberts, lambasted President Jonathans’ government, in her words, “They have squandered their oil wealth, they have allowed corruption to fester and now they are losing control of parts of their territory because they wouldn’t make hard choices” 6) On a personal note, I have reasons to have pledged my allegiance to President Jonathan like many other Christian leaders. First of all he was kind enough to receive me at The Aso rock Presidential Villa. Secondly his government gave the opportunity to serve to another sound, unique and exceptional Nigerian who happens to be my Premier disciple, Prof Vincent Anigbogu. He has had exclusive privilege and opportunity to be invited to minister and serve President Jonathan on several occasions. At least for the sake of friendship, it would have been easier for me to keep quite. However like I said earlier, ‘Plato is my friend — Aristotle is my friend — but my greatest friend is the truth’- Isaac newton. In my words, ‘Jonathan is my president, Goodluck is a Christian but Nigeria is my greatest love’. NIGERIA IS ON THE VERGE OF COMPLETE COLLAPSE AND DESTRUCTION. SO I MUST RAISE MY VOICE, DESPITE THE INCONVENIENCES THIS MIGHT BE TO ME PERSONALLY. I’M DOING THIS AS AN EXAMPLE TO THE NEXT GENERATION, FOR THEM TO KNOW HOW TO STAND UP FOR THE TRUTH, REGARDLESS OF WHO IS INVOLVED; CHRISTIANS, MUSLIMS OR WHOEVER. THE TRUTH IS WORTH DEFENDING WITHOUT BIAS AND BIGOTRY. 7) It is my belief that things would have been worse under the Jonathan’s Presidency, but for some exceptional leaders and ministers he was able to bring to his team. People like the: Prof. Ngozi Okonjo Iweala minister of Finance, Akinwumi Adesina minister of Agriculture, Olusegun Aganga Minister of Trade and investment Prof. Chinedu O. Nebo the minister of power. These are the few that I either know personally or of whom I have received the highest commendation. I pray that when the next government in Nigeria emerges, they will have the wisdom to include all the best Nigerians from past regimes. Especially these individuals who have proven over the years that they are some of the best professionals that this country has ever produced. BUT DESPITE HOW GOOD THESE MEN ARE, THEY ALL NEEDED A COMMANDER – IN - CHIEF THAT IS STRONG ENOUGH TO GIVE THEM A BETTER LEADERSHIP. I DON’T BELIEVE PRESIDENT JONATHAN IS STRONG ENOUGH TO PROVIDE THAT LEADERSHIP. 8) EVERYTHING RISES AND FALLS ON LEADERSHIP. A president must be able to provide leadership. Even with the best of men, if the man at the top is not strong, much would not be accomplished. Some of the best performing government officials in our recent past that I had the opportunity to listen to all credited their success in government to one factor- their leader. Most Nigerians are grateful to the late Professor Dora Akunyili. She personally told me that she would not have achieved all she achieved in government without the backing of the then President. At a meeting with the finance Minister (Hon. Ngozi Okonjo Iweala) as I was thanking her for eradicating our debt burden and all other land mark achievements during her tenure in the Nigerian government. She was quick to note that it was due to the fact that she had a strong commander - in - Chief in the person of President Olusegun Obasanjo. I heard Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai say the same thing. The same notion was echoed by Nuhu Ribadu. THE POINT I AM MAKING IS, EVERYTHING RISES AND FALLS ON GOOD OR BAD LEADERSHIP – NIGERIA DESERVES A MORE QUALIFIED LEADER. 9) The Economic Intelligence Unit EIC declared that Nigeria is the worst country for anyone to be born in in 2013. Nigeria ranked 80 among the 80 countries accessed. A PRESIDENT THAT CANNOT DEMAND FOR ACCOUNTABILITY AND EFFICIENCY DESPITE ALL THE WEALTH GENERATED IN THE LAND IS NOT FIT TO RULE. 10) President Jonathan’s government justifies the sum of about N1 trillion spent on security, despite the growing insecurity situation in the country. Yet, the military and security officials are still considered ill-equipped to tackle the Boko Haram insurgency. Despite all manner of sporadic bombings in the country by Boko Haram our president maintains that the federal government is winning the war on terror, that Nigeria is safe for living. A MAN WHO GOES OUT TO SAY ALL IS WELL WHEN THINGS ARE FALLING APART AROUND HIM CAN BE SAID TO BE OBLIVIOUS AND IGNORANT OF THE PLIGHT AND SUFFERINGS OF PEOPLE HE SWORE TO PROTECT AND SERVE. MOREOVER, AS THOUSANDS OF NIGERIAN FAMILIES ARE GOING FOR THE FUNERALS OF THEIR LOVED ONES, OUR PRESIDENT IS BUSY MOVING FROM ONE PARTY/CEREMONY TO THE OTHER. 11) According to the BBC on the 29th January 2014: 5 former governors of PDP 16 senators 49 representatives Have all defected to APC. THAT IS AN ALARM FOR THOSE WHO CAN AFFORD TO LISTEN THAT THERE IS A PROBLEM IN THE PDP CAMP. TO ME IT MEANS IT’S TIME FOR A CHANGE OF GUARD. I don’t buy into the argument that all these people are bad or have their own ulterior motives. 12) I was in Lagos and I saw the transformation that Gov. Fashola has brought to that state. Despite the fact that he is a Muslim, he was able to perform better than most Christian governors of other states. Initially, there were people who were also against him because he was a Muslim, but his track record has proven that it is not religion that determines good leadership, but the individual qualities of the man. I had the opportunity of meeting Gov. Fashola personally and I can tell you that He is a new breed of leaders; sound, intelligent, analytical, progressive and effective. By the way he was in the same team with Prof Osinbajo for 8 years in the Lagos state government under the leadership of Gov. Tinubu. What I am trying to say is, if such a man is saying that the Jonathan government is a failure, I listen. I hope Nigerians listen too. Let’s hear what Gov. Fashola has to say about President Jonathan. These are not just the words of an opposition politician but they are words that ring a bell in the heads of most Nigerians. “Now what is on the other side (PDP), because I spent about an hour listening to the president in my state? For almost the same period, I saw a very angry president. I saw a president who is lamenting about people judging his performance and blaming all those who ruled before him, forgetting that he has been on this job for six years’’ “And he kept saying ‘they say we don’t have a plan’ and for almost 45 minutes he did not reveal a plan on security, he did not reveal a plan on corruption. I listened to him. Now after six years without being able to articulate what he has done and what he will do, but blaming everybody and forgetting that he is the Commander-in-Chief. If the kitchen is becoming too hot as it’s becoming obvious he must get out of it’’ IF GOVERNORS LIKE ADAMS OSHIOMOLE, ROCHAS OKOROCHA, RAUF AREGBESOLA, WHO HAVE PROVEN THEIR QUALITY BY THEIR RESULTS ARE ALL SAYING NIGERIA NEEDS A DIFFERENT LEADERSHIP I THINK IT IS WISE TO LISTEN. THEIR PARTY MEMBERSHIP NOTWITHSTANDING. 13) There is a popular misconception that Gen. Buhari promised to make Nigeria ungovernable if he didn’t win the 2011 elections against President Jonathan but that has been found to be completely false. • Major General Muhammadu Buhari never said he will make Nigeria ungovernable in 2011 in any format. • It was a PDP politician, Alhaji Lawal Kaita who actually said Nigeria would be ungovernable if Jonathan became president in 2011. • It was Jonathan’s media spokesman, Reuben Abati who sat down and largely concocted the slanderous libel against Gen. Buhari in April 2011. • General Muhammadu Buhari took Reuben Abati to court for damaging his name. • The Jonathan Presidency begged Gen. Buhari to settle the case with Reuben Abati and the Guardian Newspaper out of court. • General Buhari obliged and settled out of court. • Reuben Abati with The Guardian Newspaper published an unreserved apology to Gen. Buhari in the Guardian of 11th July, 2013. IT IS BASED ON FALSEHOOD SO I WILL NOT SUPPORT A RE-ELECTION BID THAT IS GROUNDED ON LIES AND DECEPTION OF THE ELECTORATE. 14) Gen. Buhari has a credible leadership track record and has won awards to that effect. He is known among his people as ‘Mai Gaskiya’ interpreted in English as ‘Person of truth or integrity’. NO ACT OF CORRUPTION HAS BEEN TRACED TO HIS PREVIOUS TENURE IN ANY GOVERNMENTAL POSITION. • Gen. Buhari presently has 2 houses, one owned by his father and one he built with his pension • He has no house or land in Abuja • No property or savings abroad • He has 2 cars (one belongs to his wife) • He has no oil wells, no petrol station. • His monetary assets was 6.5 million naira which now remains 1million naira after he paid 5.5 million naira for his presidential nomination form (compared to 750 million declared by GEJ) • Gen. Buhari and Nelson Mandela were the only private African individuals invited to the white house during president Barrack Obama’s Inauguration why? Because they are men of integrity. • Above all, he is not associated with corruption of any form or sort. • His administration initiated a public campaign against indiscipline known as War Against Indiscipline (WAI) when he realized the civilian government he took over from as head of states was HOPELESSLY CORRUPT. The campaign is still lauded by many to have instilled the most orderly conduct of public and private affairs in Nigeria since its independence in 1960. • In his time as head of state he reduced inflation from 23% to 4%, by fiscal discipline and a homegrown economic team (not achieved under any other era both civilian and military). • He supervised and birthed our only existing refineries (1976-1978) • What he did in road construction while in the PTF hasnt been matched in 16 years of democracy. • The hospitals and universities around the country never witnessed as much benefits as they got from the PTF than any other government after or before his time. • The Gen. Buhari regime rebuffed all entreaties by IMF and World Bank to devalue the naira, remove subsidies on services and increase pump price on fuel. • The Nigerian Naira was exchanged between 0.724 -0.894 to 1 Us Dollar during Gen. Buharis regime (1983-1985). Imagine our Naira was more than the dollar just 29 years ago when I left the country to study in Europe. Unfortunately, because there is so much conflicting information in the media in Nigeria, sometimes it takes somebody like myself who lives outside the country to see the true picture of things. I have a feeling that some of the facts that I am referring to in this my articles might not be known to majority of my fellow countrymen. I hope they are of help to some of you. MY CLOSING REMARKS This is the last of my six part article on why I endorsed Buhari/Osinbajo ticket. I want to use this opportunity to say thank you to everyone that has taken his or her time to go through all or part of these articles. I also want to thank those who expressed their opinions either for or against. This is what freedom of expression and democracy is all about. More so, the ‘love of truth’ compels us to express our true feelings without hypocrisy and double standards. OUR GOD IS A GOD OF TRUTH -SO TRUTH MUST BE ENCOURAGED NOT JUST AMONG THE POPULOUS, BUT ESPECIALLY FROM THE PULPIT. 1Timothy 3:15 ‘’ … which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth’’ THE CHURCH SHOULD STAND FOR THE TRUTH, PROPAGATE THE TRUTH, ESTABLISH THE TRUTH AND UP HOLD THE SOCIETY WITH THE POWER OF TRUTH. 1) One of the most important concerns of the people writing comments on my article is the declaration or the intention of the fundamentalists to Islamize Nigeria. I don’t know why my fellow Christians should be afraid of that. The Muslims have the right to declare their own intentions as much as we have the right to declare ours. I would rather say kudos to the Muslims for organizing themselves with an agenda even though that agenda could be evil, but they must be commended for having a plan, a goal and an organization to implement it. MY THINKING IS THAT WE THE BODY OF CHRIST SHOULD TAKE IT AS A CHALLENGE. IT IS A WAKEUP CALL TO THE CHURCH IN NIGERIA, TO WAKE UP FROM SLUMBER. IT IS A CALL FOR US TO UNITE AS WELL, STRUCTURE OURSELVES AND WORK OUT A MASTER PLAN TO CHRISTIANIZE NIGERIA. I DON’T KNOW ABOUT YOU BUT I WANT THE WHOLE OF NIGERIA TO BE CHRISTIANIZED. I WANT THE WHOLE WORLD TO BE CHRISTIANIZED. THAT IS WHY I AM A CHRISTIAN PREACHER, SO I ALSO HAVE AN AGENDA. Every church in the world must have that same agenda, to turn the whole world to Christianity. We should not be afraid, if the Muslims want to do the same thing. Let them do it fairly without hatred, violence, and war. Same thing goes to the Christians. So instead of us connecting the Abuja declaration to Gen. Buhari’s election under APC, we should rather channel our energy to organizing ourselves and putting our acts together. I SINCERELY THINK IT IS CHEAP TO USE THAT KIND OF ARGUMENT AS THE REASON WHY GEN. BUHARI SHOULD NOT BE SUPPORTED BY CHRISTIANS. 2) Another recurrent argument I hear from my Christian critics is that I should be aware of the fact that the nation of Turkey used to be a Christian nation and the same thing could happen to Nigeria. This argument is in the same category as the first one. I live in a country that is an hour flight from Turkey, so I know the history quite well. But why should we put the responsibility of Nigeria not becoming a Muslim nation on the Muslims? I thought we should put it on the Christian church. We are the ones to make sure that our country is not Islamized. At the end of the day the church decides, not APC nor Gen. Buhari or any political party whatsoever. We should only be worried about the outside enemy if our house is divided within itself. Mark 3:24 -‘’If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.’’ IF WE ARE SOLID AS A CHURCH WE DON’T NEED TO FEAR OUTSIDE ENEMIES. I THINK WE SHOULD RATHER DIRECT THE EFFORT WE ARE USING TO FIGHT THE MUSLIMS TO DEVELOP OURSELVES, GET THE CHURCH READY AND HEALTHY. IF WE FOCUS SO MUCH ON THE OUTWARD ENEMY WE WILL NOT NOTICE WHEN AND HOW DECADENCE PENETRATES INTO THE MIDST OF THE CHURCH. Mathew 11:15 – ‘’Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.” 3) Some Christians say that we Christians don’t go about killing people to convert them to our own religion like the Muslims do. Maybe this is true, but that kind of attitude starts from what I witness after each one of my articles this week. KILLING PEOPLE STARTS FROM SENTIMENTS, BIGOTRY, LACK OF TOLERANCE AND OBJECTIVITY. WHEN WE ARE BIASED, PREJUDICED, LACK THE PATIENCE TO CONSIDER THE OPINIONS OF OTHERS, THEN WE ARE NOT WALKING IN LOVE SAME AS THE MUSLIM FUNDAMENTALISTS. I AM AFRAID THAT IF WE ALSO CONTINUE WITH LACK OF TOLERANCE TOWARDS OTHERS WE MIGHT SOON BE KILLING PEOPLE MAYBE NOT PHYSICALLY BUT AT LEAST IN OUR ATTITUDES. 1John 3:15 - Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. For us not to become murderers we must learn to be tolerant. By so doing we can strip the sword out of the hands of the radical Islamic fundamentalists. LOVE OVERCOMES, LOVE WINS, WE WIN. If we would be tolerant to our opponents, if we would try our best to understand them, we shall reap what we sow. They too will equally begin to respond to us in love and tolerance. Matthew 5: 43-46 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? MAY GOD HELP US MAY GOD HELP NIGERIA MAY GOD HELP THE CHURCH! 4) For those who chose to rather insult me instead of bringing out their reasons and arguments, I say THE YOUNG SHALL GROW. When people are void of reasons they result to abuses and insults. I pray that our society will grow up, not just spiritually but mentally and intellectually as well. Only then will the authority of truth, facts and statistics play a greater role in our society than the power of emotions and shouts. 5) For those who say they are disappointed at me delving into Nigeria’s political landscape. Well, I welcome your opinion. But you must also recognize the fact that just like you, I have the right to an opinion as well. So if you as a believer or pastor feel that a minister should not talk about politics, it is your opinion, your choice - good for you! But if I happen to have an opposite opinion to yours, it is honorary for you to recognize that I too have the right to my own opinion. ‘’THE ONLY THING NECESSARY FOR THE TRIUMPH OF EVIL IS FOR GOOD MEN TO DO NOTHING.’’ - EDMUND BURKE My actions are based on my own understanding of life and the scriptures - old and New Testament. I am only doing what I believe to be scripturally right. The fact that others don’t do it underlines the importance of diversity in life. OUR GOD IS A GOD OF DIVERSITY. That is why we have people of different heights, sizes, colors. Even the disciples of Jesus Christ who listened to the gospel from his mouth still understood the same message differently, hence the four different gospels, (Matthew, mark, Luke and John) each one with their unique understanding of the same event. Even though the gospels were not all written by immediate disciples of Jesus the point still remains the same. I believe that God intentionally put all the four gospels in the bible so as to teach us to accommodate each other’s diverse views and opinions. Some of us would have simply taken one account of the gospel and condemn the three others, but not God. GOD IS A TOLERANT GOD. He is tolerant to everything but sin. So dear brothers and sisters let us learn to be tolerant of each other even if we don’t belong to the same culture, party or religion. I think the life experience of the German protestant pastor Martin Niemoller would best explain to my critics my position on political matters FIRST THEY CAME FOR THE SOCIALISTS, AND I DID NOT SPEAK OUT— BECAUSE I WAS NOT A SOCIALIST. THEN THEY CAME FOR THE TRADE UNIONISTS, AND I DID NOT SPEAK OUT— BECAUSE I WAS NOT A TRADE UNIONIST. THEN THEY CAME FOR THE JEWS, AND I DID NOT SPEAK OUT— BECAUSE I WAS NOT A JEW. THEN THEY CAME FOR ME—AND THERE WAS NO ONE LEFT TO SPEAK FOR ME I hope my speaking up at this critical hour in our nation’s history would play a significant role in deciding the destiny of our beloved country. I know I have probably lost a lot of friends, because I have been receiving so many messages and letters to that effect. Isaiah 62:1 - For Zions sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalems sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burns. What more can I say? In the words of the great protestant reformer Dr. Martin Luther ‘’UNLESS I AM CONVINCED BY PROOFS FROM SCRIPTURES OR BY PLAIN OR CLEAR REASONS AND ARGUMENTS. I CAN AND WILL NOT RETRACT FOR IT IS NEITHER SAFE NOR WISE TO DO ANYTHING AGAINST CONSCIENCE. HERE I STAND I CAN DO NO OTHER. GOD HELP ME, AMEN! GOD BLESS NIGERIA GOD BLESS MY BELOVED NATION GOD BLESS MY FATHER LAND GOD BLESS NIGERIA THE LAND OF GOOD PEOPLE GREAT NATION LONG LIVE THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA
Posted on: Fri, 16 Jan 2015 12:32:57 +0000
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