26012020 - How bad an example was set in Zamfara

SUNDAY Vanguard, JANUARY 26, 2020,PAGE 29
EXECUTION OF CAN CHAIRMAN:
They tell us B/Haram is gone
but everyday Nigerians are
killed —Omobude, PFN President
• ‘Those who are benefiting from the system will deny that there’s no suffering
but you and I know that the common man is going through pains’
By Sam Eyoboka
REVEREND Felix Ilaweagbon
Omobude, the National President of
the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria
(PFN), speaks on the execution of the
Michika local government area of Adamawa
State Chairman of Christian Association of
Nigeria, CAN, Rev. Lawan Andimi, by Boko
Haram among other issues. Excerpts:
On Andimi
The killing of the CAN Chairman for Michika
local government area of Adamawa State is
tragic, condemnable, callous and a devilish
act. Boko Haram has left no one in doubt that
the Church is their main target and they had
continued to push this since inception. The
cases of the Chibok girls, Leah Sharibu, aid
workers as well as several unrecorded cases
are fresh in our memory and yet they have
continued in this evil expedition. But the PFN
is certain that good must overcome evil; no
matter how dark the night is, light will conquer
darkness. We cannot hold the government
blameless on the issue of this fallen man of
God because government has the
responsibility to the citizens of this nation,
irrespective of tribe or tongue or religion, and
they failed to deliver; they should not believe
that the people will keep quiet. Government
wants us to believe that they have decimated
Boko Haram; Boko Haram has been
tactically defeated...and there has not been
peace. Every week, these people either ravage
a whole village and abduct whoever they want
to abduct; they even confront army formations,
so why are they lying to people that Boko
Haram has been decimated? Without doubt,
they still have all it takes to seize weapons
from our military. With all due respect, I
respect the efforts of our military men but let’s
face the situation and do not let the world
believe that the war against insurgency is over.
It is not! The callousness of these people and
by what they are doing, the issue for them goes
beyond ransom. They actually wanted to
execute the CAN Chairman and they
accomplished their mission.
We are not certain yet what the Adamawa
governor did after he heard the appeal of the
abducted CAN Chairman in a video sent to
him and the Federal Government.....
I don’t want to believe that the governor
didn’t do anything: whether what he did was
enough is another thing. Whether he did it
when they needed it is another thing. At times,
when you look at the scope of these things, it’s
beyond a state government. I don’t think the
Federal Government can wash their hands
off this and put the blame on the state. It’s a
national issue. It’s a national war. The people
are out to cause mayhem to discredit the
government of the day. They want to prompt
religious disharmony among the people. And
no responsible government should fold its
hands and watch this happen.
It’s an understatement to say whether the
Federal Government is aware of what’s
happening and they know the enormity of the
task. They know the viciousness of Boko
Haram or ISWAP. A government that engages
in deceiving the people, making us feel that
there’s nothing when there’s something calls
for major concern. It’s the concern of the
Church. We will understand if government has
failed and says they have lost control of security
and tell Christians to move out; but they tell
us this place is safe and everyday people are
killed. We heard about four seminarians who
were abducted a few days ago at the Good
Shepherd of Kakau Major Seminary along
Kaduna-Abuja highway. These things keep
happening and, whenever they happen, you
condemn them. It’s not about condemning
alone. It’s not enough! We need action.
What’s the Church doing to engage
government?
At various fora we have made our stand
known. We have made representations. CAN
has presented our position a number of times
to the Presidency. We have made state-of-thenation
addresses and we have at various
opportunities...We are Nigerians and we love
the country. We are patriotic. We don’t want to
make things terrible for everybody. What they
are trying to cause is an ill-wind that will blow
nobody any good. No one has monopoly of
violence. We are trying to control our young
people and pacify them and we expect
government to do the needful by getting these
people to account for their sins. Many of them
are out-of-school and there are no jobs for
them, so what do you expect? The Church
cannot pick up arms. We cannot call for
uprising to cause more trouble in the land. So
we continue to hold our elected officers
responsible because they swore to an oath to
protect the lives of Nigerian people. And this,
they have failed. The Church will continue to
speak out.
Should the Church just continue to pray
without exploring other options?
You suggest to us. Are we going to cause
violence? Will that be the best for everyone? I
still believe there’s nothing better in this
circumstance than prayer and engagement
of government. We engaged in inter-religious
dialogue even as we engage the traditional
institutions. For now, that appears to be the
limit of what we can do. Whether government
listens or not, the beautiful thing is that
democracy gives a people a time-frame.
Although democracy has not matured in
Nigeria, you can’t fool the people for ever. If a
party comes to the people and promises to
give security, power and water and, at the
expiration of their term, they didn’t deliver on
any of these, democracy provides an
opportunity for the people to revolt with their
votes. So, if anybody thinks they can deceive
Nigerians forever, buying them bags of rice,
wrappers thinking that will solve their
problems, Nigerians are getting wiser.
As a Christian leader, will you say that there
are elections in this country?
In all frankness, I will not say that the results
of elections in Nigeria reflect the will of the
people. But it is a step forward. The days that
one man will hold on to power with the gun
and without recourse to the
Constitution are over. We
all now must begin to
enlighten our people and
fight the social ills. People
buy their way to power and
circumvent whatever laws
that were made for the
sanctity of elections and,
going by recent
happenings, people are
beginning to lose faith in
the judiciary. But, to me, it’s
all part of the process. We
are getting there but very
slowly.
Do you agree with the
school of thought that the
increasing wave of
insecurity is part of the
plan to Islamize the
country?
I think that people
Every week, these
people either
ravage a whole
village and abduct
whoever they want
to abduct; they
even confront
army formations,
so why are they
lying to people
that Boko Haram
has been
decimated?
overemphasize this
Islamization thing as if the
Church is weak or afraid
and lacks capacity. That’s not the case. The
Church is not sleeping. Muslims have a right
to evangelise if they will do it peacefully, just
as Christians have a right to do same and we
are doing that in our own way. Let me remind
you that many attempts have been made in
the past and to some extent they didn’t yield
the fruits that the enemies expected. While I
will not ask the Church to go to sleep, we
should not have sleepless nights over
Islamphobia. I don’t think that that day is
soon, if it will ever come. The Church is not
sleeping. We are still working, praying
because Nigeria belongs to all
of us. In this country, OIC
came and people thought that
overnight it would bring a
cloud over us. Then Sharia
came; even when we cannot
claim total victory yet, those
who are enemies of the
Church know it is not a
walkover in Nigeria.
But they appear to be
making inroads...
We are also making
inroads, not through
bow and arrows, not
through violence
but we are
making inroads.
The Church is the
g r e a t e s t
nightmare of
Islam. I think we
should also
harness our
strength. That
Constitution thing
fell like a pack of cards and whatever they
have raised up... If there still be a Goliath,
God still has a David.
Catholic Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah
made a profound statement, comparing the
Federal Government with Boko Haram and
saying the only difference is that terrorists
use bomb to achieve their aims. Do you
agree?
I respect Bishop Kukah. I hold him in high
esteem. I believe he’s more knowledgeable
than me especially in this area. So, I don’t
take his words with a pinch of salt. I didn’t
read that statement but it’s up to government
to tell the world that they are not what the
Catholic Bishop described. Nigerians today
are wise enough to know the truth. We voted
this government into power in what we
supposed was a civilized method. And if the
government is not measuring up, the people
have the prerogative to voice their grievance
in whatever way they can. I think that’s what
Bishop Kukah has done. It’s a language of
dissatisfaction with government.
Is that sinking down to the
generality of Nigerians
because we also saw the
attempt by Omoyele Sowore
to lead a protest against
government and what
happened to him eventually?
I can tell that there are
challenges that developing
countries face. We have to
fight totalitarianism and the
people need to be enlightened
and someone must pay the
price for it, like the one
Sowore has had to pay. It also
underscores the point that no
matter how strong you are, the
voice of the people will be
heard. To your question, when
this government came into
power, the Naira was
exchanging for dollar at N170
or so and they promised to
make it to exchange at one to
one. But instead, they devalued
it and, today, you need about
N360 to buy one dollar whereas wages have
not insignificantly increased. The people have
been under severe pain as new people are not
being employed while every year thousands
of graduates are turned out of schools. Those
who have served for 35 years in the civil service
are being retired but new ones are not
employed. You can ask questions...do you turn
your water tap and you see public water
running? Everyone is sinking borehole
everywhere. These are indices. Go to the
hospitals or the schools...in most states of the
country, pupils are sitting on the floor...more
•Rev Omobude
and more people are buying power
generators. That’s the situation. Majority of
Nigerians are in pains. Those who are
benefiting from the system will deny that
there’s no suffering but you and I know that
the common man is going through pains.
But shall we continue like this?
Honestly, I know that even in developed
countries they have their challenges and, at
times, the dimension is great. I believe that if
we fail to do the right thing, we may not
automatically be like Britain or America but
attempts to do the right thing will move us
forward. To the credit of this government, they
launched a war against corruption which is
what every Nigerian needs to support if it’s
wholesome. Because corruption has set us
behind in no small measure and it is still
reigning in this country despite all that is being
said or done. Even in the public service, you
don’t need to go too far before you see it. It’s a
problem that we all must deal with decisively.
How do you score this government’s
economic programme in the last five years?
As far as I am concerned, the nation’s
economy is worse than what it was in 2015
when they came in. That’s the way it seems
and in every area. When they came in, petrol
was selling for N87 per litre but now it’s selling
for N145 and they say they are still subsidizing
the product. You are in Lagos while I live in
Benin City, there’s no difference in electricity
which is worse than what obtained when they
came in. On agriculture, I can give them credit
because during this Christmas Nigerians ate
made in Nigeria rice. That is a positive thing:
we must go back to the land. Nigerians should
consume what she produces. That’s a positive
thing to do and I only wish that they improve
on it.
We are increasing taxes and borrowing
more. Is that a positive thing too?
I am not an economist and I cannot talk
much on the borrowings and all the rest but I
can tell you that you can borrow and borrow
until you become a slave to the lender. That’s
in the Bible. The painful thing is that there’s
no nation that people don’t pay tax. We should
encourage our people to pay taxes, but the
people also want to see what their taxes are
used for. Anywhere you go, you see
governments upgrading their airports and
infrastructural facilities and people are happy
to pay their taxes because they can see what
governments are using their taxes for. But the
Benin-Lagos highway has been under
construction since the Olusegun Obasanjo
administration, President Goodluck Jonathan
inherited it, it outlasted him and the Buhari
government’s first term is over and the portions
that were completed when it started have
spoiled. So, what do you say?