From Aidoghie Paulinus, Abuja
The Archbishop of the African Church, Abuja, Peter Ogunmuyiwa, has said that he is not against a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket, as far as the 2023 general election is concerned.
Ogunmuyiwa, while speaking on the state of the nation in this interview with Sunday Sun in Abuja, insisted that what Nigerians should be looking at is a candidate that has the capacity and the integrity to govern the country.
Ogunmuyiwa, among other issues, explained why peace is eluding the country and the necessary steps the nation should take in addressing the situation.
We have been having reports whereby Christians alleged that they were victimised as a result of their faith and the United States had consistently issued reports on this. So, how do you see the state of Christianity in Nigeria?
I think the Church, for some time now, has been on the receiving end. And the Church, I will say, has done a lot to be accommodating, to be friendly, to be tolerant in terms of the insecurity we have found ourselves unfortunately in the country, especially in the core North where Christians are being persecuted. And when you look at kidnapping and so on, I think the Church is at the receiving end. More Christians are affected by the insurgency, by kidnapping. Churches are more affected and when you look at the issue of Boko Haram, apart from the bandits, I think Boko Haram has soft target on the Church, especially in the North. Many Christians have gone and we have statistics of Christians that have been affected.
Are they more than the Muslims?
Definitely! More than the Muslims! Of course, there are pockets of places whereby the Muslims are equally affected, but the Church is more affected. There is no gainsaying about that.
Regarding the state of the nation, what role should religious leaders play as we move towards the 2023 general elections?
The religious leaders, especially the Church, right from inception, have been partners in progress in nation-building. So, I believe we have not reneged on that our role and responsibility of keeping peace and ensuring that there is harmonious living among the other religious adherents. We believe that the Church is expected to continue to foster unity and among Nigerians because it is not by accident that God created us and then, in our diversities. And if it is not by accident that Nigeria itself came to exist – some people said that Nigeria is a mere geopolitical expression, I don’t see it that way. I believe the 1914 incidence, the amalgamation, is a divine union. If we want to look at it critically, our areas of benefits as a nation are more than the disadvantages. So, when you weigh the two, you will see that God did not make mistake by bringing us together. The role of the Church, in essence, is to ensure that we continue to preach peace and help our members to live amicably with other religious people. And I think that is what we have been doing and again, to pray for the leadership of the Church. Our weapon as a Church is prayer and when you pray, things that look ugly will become beautiful. The situation that we have found ourselves in the country today, I think prayer needs to play a great role and after prayer, then live in love with your neighbours. Jesus came and lived with others that were not part of His tribe and that were not practising the same religion with Him. When Jesus came, He came and preached peace and lived peace. The Samaritan woman’s experience is another case where Jesus Christ made sure that He dialogued with that woman until the whole city of Samaria became converted to Christianity. Another parable Jesus gave was the parable of the Good Samaritan. So, it means that you don’t need to be a Christian before you extend hands of fellowship to a fellow Nigerian. As long as you are a Nigerian, make sure you dwell with him or her in love.
How can we keep peace in Nigeria between Christians, Muslims and other faith-based people or organisations?
How we can keep peace is to first understand and respect ourselves. Respect the religion that others practise. Most often, the religion we practise is not by our making. It is by accident of birth. I am an archbishop, for instance, supposed I was born into a Muslim family, maybe today I would have been a Sheikh or Imam. It is just natural. So, for you to understand and live with your fellow Nigerians, you must understand that the religion or the ethnicity that he carries is not by his making, it is accidental and it is the making of God. You have to live with your Muslim brothers and even with the atheists who don’t even believe in God. You need to live with them and see them first as human beings. Once you treat them as human beings, and like the Bible says, love your neighbour as yourself. If you know that whatever you will do will hurt your neighbour, irrespective of his religion or tribe, don’t do it because you also will not want to be hurt for any reason.
Why is peace eluding us as a nation despite efforts by well-meaning Nigerians like you and Cardinal Onaiyekan?
Peace is eluding us because we are not sincere in pursuing peace. The Bible says pursue peace and live in peace with all men. But in Nigeria, we are not sincere, including our political office holders. They are not sincere. Everyone seems to be biased against one another; everyone seems to promote his own identity, his religion and tribe above others and that is why the peace we are preaching is not coming in. But the moment we are sincere to really preach peace – the definition of peace is peace. Peace is to live well and to respect others, respect them for who they are and then, you will be at peace. But Nigerian leaders, they corner the resources of this country to themselves alone. For instance, if the resources of this country are well administered and distributed, no area will feel cheated and then, there will be peace. The peace that we don’t have in this country also is as a result of corruption. The government is corrupt, the Church is corrupt, the Mosque is corrupt; everyone is corrupt. And because of corruption, there is poverty in the land and poverty makes people to go into criminality and all sorts of vices. So, we cannot enjoy peace where there is no justice, where there is no fairness and where there is no true love that we need to exhibit amongst ourselves.
How can we nip these issues in the bud?
The way to arrest this situation is to go back to… Number one, we have the constitution guiding us as a nation. We should make sure that the constitution is followed to the letter. There is what we call the quota system; there is fairness in the constitution of Nigeria and when the constitution is implemented to the letter, I think we will achieve reasonable peace. We cannot completely eradicate violence or poverty, but at least, we will live together as a people. At least, we know that we are living as human beings.
Looking at the prevailing atmosphere, are you confident that Nigeria will conduct a free and fair election in 2023?
With the new electoral law that was put in place by this administration, I think they have provided a good environment for a peaceful, fair and credible election. It is now left to the electoral umpire. We want INEC to make sure that they are not biased and they do their work professionally. The security agencies also have a role to play in ensuring that every polling booth and every area of election is properly protected. I believe we can have a successful election especially that the president we have is rotating out. He is not contesting and he has no particular interest. And with that, I am sure he will allow a very enabling environment for free and credible election to take place.
What is your take on the attack on INEC offices across the country?
I think on that, the security outfits in the country need to do more. The problem with us as a nation is that we are not proactive. Our actions are always reactionary. There is what is called intelligence report and all sorts of things. Once they get a clue of what might happen, they should be proactive and make sure that they get there. For instance, all the INEC offices and even the politicians need protection. So many areas need security protection and I think this is what can be done to make sure that we have a very free and fair and crisis-free election.
2023: Will you vote a Muslim-Muslim ticket?
Alright! That is a very good question. You see, as a Church in Nigeria, we have been battling with this issue of Muslim-Muslim ticket. I am one of those who came out early enough to try to douse the tension of Muslim-Muslim ticket issue. Personally, I think what we should be looking at is a candidate that has the capacity and that has the integrity to govern Nigeria. Religion was not an issue until recently. I, for instance, grew up as a Nigerian and not as a Christian. I remember that in my youthful days, we ate what we called ileya in Yoruba parlance, meat with our Muslim brothers. Every one of us, especially in the Southwest, we have Muslims as our family members and we have Christians. Prior to this time, there was no suspicion amongst us, but with the recent development whereby politicians now try to instigate religious crisis, that is what has led to this mutual suspicion and lack of trust amongst Nigerians. So, when you are talking of this Muslim-Muslim ticket, ordinarily, Musim-Muslim ticket would not have been a problem, but considering what we are going through as a nation where appointments are being made, lopsided appointments, if you want to get a job, you need to tell them I am a Muslim or I am a Christian. Some of us have advocated that some of those things should be removed as yardsticks for employment. It doesn’t matter the religion you profess or the ethnic you come from. I think Muslim-Muslim ticket should not be an issue. The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) itself, has come out publicly to say well, we are not endorsing any candidate as CAN and we are also not discriminating any candidate. All CAN is saying is that go out and make your free choice. Of course, when the Muslim-Muslim ticket started, we frowned at it. As CAN, we said no to that choice to Muslim-Muslim ticket. But after the discussion continued, we tried to reassess our stand and we started saying that well, let us allow politicians to do what they are doing and let the Church continue to do what it is known best to do. I think what politicians are doing is simply to win elections. They have their reasons for doing so many things that they are doing. So, if they decide to choose a Muslim as running mate or Christian-Christian ticket or Muslim-Muslim ticket, they have their reasons for doing that. I don’t think we should too much dwell on politicking. We should play our role. If a candidate is chosen and we are not happy with that or we found that candidate not suitable, then we have the choice not to vote for that candidate. Rather than going to Churches and be preaching against a particular candidate, a particular party, I don’t believe in campaigning against any party. I look at the candidates, their pedigree, what they have to offer and based on that, I will vote. I can vote for a Muslim if I find him very fit and I can vote for a Christian if I equally find him very fit. Our experience about the running of Nigeria as a country has shown that it does not matter the religion one professes. We have seen Christians that have done woefully in government and we have seen Muslims that have also done woefully. We have seen Christians that have done very well and Muslims that have done very well. Religion, honestly to me, does not count in politics. What counts is what that man or that woman is capable of delivering; capable of doing to make this country a great nation. So, I am not against Muslim-Muslim ticket, I am not against Christian-Christian, I am for good governance and I am for the wellbeing of Nigerians. So, anyone amongst the candidates that I find that is very okay, that has the manifesto and the programme and his antecedents, if I find him very okay, I go for him or her and that is my position.