From Geoffrey Anyanwu, Enugu
General Superintendent (GS), Assemblies of God, Rev. Paul Emeka, has admonished Christian leaders in Nigeria not hide under non-partisanship, saying this would allow evil men completely take over the country.
He said that the popularity of the Labour Party candidate, Peter Obi was not because he is an Igbo man or a Christian but because he has shown concern for the suffering Nigerian masses and equally has capacity to deliver good governance.
The GS advised that while being heavenly-minded Christians and Christian leaders must be conscious and relevant to their environment.
Emeka who made the remarks when the executive members of The Professional Christian Youth Leaders Forum, led by Dr. Emeka Ejim, paid him a courtesy visit in Enugu, said politics should today be the centre of emphasis, and that Christian leaders should be bold to point the way to the light for their congregations.
He said, “In Nigeria today any movement that does not take into consideration the fact of politics in Nigeria will become irrelevant. Even secular writers, critics of evangelical movements always indict we preachers, that we are so heavenly minded that we are of no earthly good. Time has come when we should pay attention to what is happening in the world.
“It is said that a hungry man cannot shout good halleluiah. So if you are preaching to your congregation, you should also do like Jesus whose aim was to take them to Heaven but He knew when they were hungry and multiplied bread. Any Christian movement that doesn’t touch on this thing is said to be answering a question that nobody is asking, is also like somebody scratching you where it is not itching.
“There are so many Christians and preachers like us who are scratching Nigeria where it is not itching and I am saying that presently, politics is on the centre of our emphasis, everything we do.
“We Christians especially preachers, we are told not to be partisan and we have tried not to be partisan. However, we have maintained that for very long and it seems to be harming us. Martin Luther King Jr. came out openly to talk. Because if we hide under the partisan nature of what is demanding of clergymen, the evil men will take everything.
“Presently, people talk of candidates, who to vote for or whom not to vote for, but if we may be very candid, we simply see a man who is talking about the welfare of this country with a sincere heart.
“I don’t want to do what we have been doing before of not naming names. I would say that Obi is doing well. He knows where we are going, he is the kind of man if he appears in UN meeting, I’ll be willing to say this is my president. He speaks with a wealth of knowledge, not only that he knows the statistics of Nigeria’s economy he can tell you that of other countries of the world.
On why Nigerians were supportive of Obi’s candidature he said, “Why are Nigerians acting this way regarding Peter Obi? We have suffered, we want somebody to liberate us. We are looking for a liberator and we are praying that Obi should be that liberator.
“I will want every Christian not to just go about to say I am not partisan, good, don’t be partisan, we have all spoken extensively about truth, so be truthful. You don’t trivialize relevance, you go to the man who will deliver, it is his skill that has made him relevant is not the place he comes from.
“I want to say that somebody like Peter Obi is achieving that relevance, not because he is from Igbo land or from anywhere, I learnt that people across the zones of Nigeria are catching the truth because people have suffered, people are hungry and they want someone who will make food available on their table.”