Get your PVCs, Join Politics, Get Ready to Vote in 2019, among other such calls, have dominated Christian conversations in recent times, with the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), among other stakeholders in the Nigerian Christian community, being at the forefront of such charges. However, what exactly is the biblical position on Christians taking active interest in politics? SAM NWAOKO, ISAAC SHOBAYO and RITA OKONOBOH present the views of clerics and political stakeholders on this question and more, in this report.
WHY are they carrying big papers in church,” a three-year-old asked her brother, as he led her away from the crowd at the Oritamefa Baptist Church, Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, as Christians gathered with placards last Sunday, April 29, 2018, to protest the spate of killings across the country.
“It’s because of the way they’re killing people in Nigeria and church people are not happy,” her older brother responded.
The protest was the first of its kind by the umbrella body of Christians in Nigeria, in the 19-year democratic rule of the country.
At the same event, President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Reverend Dr Samson Ayokunle, restated the need for Christians to be ready to participate actively in the forthcoming elections, calling specifically for Christians to “stand ready to vote.”
Speaking on insecurity, he said: “If bloodshed continues, this administration should forget about 2019. We cannot continue like this. Enough is enough. It is time to use our votes to say ‘No’ to a government that cannot protect the citizens. I’ll advise the citizens to be up and doing, circumspect and get their PVCs and be ready to vote out a government that cannot protect them.
“My message to Christians, at this time, is that they should stand firm and not be afraid. They should not be cowed, but speak the truth to the powers that be because we all own Nigeria. Christians are not second-class citizens in this country. We have no country of our own and we are stakeholders, just as those in government and we are telling them we didn’t vote them into power to kill all of us.”
Pastor of Oritamefa Baptist Church, Reverend Dr Remi Awopegba, had, earlier in his sermon, also restated the need for more Christians to embrace politics, just as he urged Christians in governance to act in line with the faith. He assured those willing to contest for political positions of the church’s support, but told them to ensure they were divinely guided in their decisions to become candidates.
“Politicians and diapers should be changed frequently and all for the same reason,” is a statement by Portuguese writer, José Maria de Eça de Queiroz. To make a seeming interpretation, one can conclude that it is an allusion to the common saying in many Nigerian political quarters that “politics is a dirty game.”
It is on the preceding note that, unlike what seemed like the status quo in the years past, when embracing politics was more or less a ‘taboo’ for Christians, more of the Christian faithful have been urged to embrace active politics. A major pointer is the presence of a pastor of the redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Professor Yemi Osinbajo, who currently holds the second most important political position in Nigeria – vice-president.
Just within the past few months, seminars, workshops, sermons, rallies, among other such activities have centred on the calls for Christians to become active politicians, whether through voting or presenting themselves as candidates to be voted for.
In September 2017, the Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Women Affairs, Senator Binta Masi, at the National Conscience Conference organised by the Buildman Foundation of the Summit Bible Church in Abuja, according to a media report said: “In spite of the challenges encountered in politics, Christians should not be discouraged. Once you have God by your side, everything will pave way.”
In biblical times, God was the chief politician —Bishop Asaju
Speaking with TribuneChurch on what the role of Christians in politics should be, Professor of Theology, Vice Chancellor of Ajayi Crowther University and author of the article entitled: Religion as a Political Motivator: Christian Influence on Obafemi Awolowo (1909-1987), Right Reverend Dapo Asaju, of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), said: “Politics is governing the affairs of human society; a society created by God. So, politics is the business of the Christian. The tendency for good people not to be involved in politics is the greatest disservice to humanity. What you call darkness is nothing but the absence of the light. When good people abstain from politics, bad people will rule. In Nigeria today, 98 per cent of people ruling over us are bad people because good people think that politics is evil. In the Bible times, God was the chief politician. He appointed and removed kings. King Nebuchadnezzar once said, ‘Now I know that the Most High God reigneth in the affairs of men.’
“Democracy is the government of the people, for the people and by the people. God is not in that equation at all. It is a rebellion against God. In those days, God ruled through kings and prophets. We lost that. Therefore, we should understand that if the church gave birth to civilisation and the system we use to rule, then the church has a say. The system of democracy used in America and England is based on the Bible. According to the book of Jeremiah, “The Lord Your God is your king – that’s the executive; “The Lord is your Law Giver – that’s the legislative; The Lord is your righteous judge – that’s judiciary. So, the system of governance is taken from God. Those who have brought changes to society are people of the church. When we were fighting for independence for African societies, the church was at the forefront. When there was slavery, it was William Wilberforce, a layman of the church, who pushed for its abolition. When the killing of twins was trending, it was Mary Slessor, who advocated for its end. Mission schools are also responsible for education of many. The church is described by Jesus Christ as the light of the world and the salt of the earth. Christians must not be in hiding. They must go out and sacrifice.
“As a personal philosophy, I was the chairman of the academic union of Lagos State University. During the struggle, involving Professor Attahiru Jega, I was the main arrowhead of the struggle, leading the battle against Abacha and Babangida. I believe that when you are a Christian, you don’t say things are bad when you’re not ready to join the struggle to make things better. Christians should be involved. The article was written around the time Awolowo died and I must tell you that there has been no leader after Awolowo.
“Nigeria is a leaderless country. Mention one Nigerian leader you respect and you will see that there is none. We used to have three – Nnamdi Azikiwe, for the Igbos; Ahmadu Bello, for the Hausas and Obafemi Awolowo, for the Yorubas. Above them, Obafemi Awolowo was the towering figure. My point in that article was to portray that Christian values was what made Awolowo excel. He was the greatest philosopher among them and was ahead of his generation. He was a faithful church man and an Anglican and even participated with people of other denominations. The church used to be very involved in leadership but we have lost it because most Christian leaders are joining the society to steal and exploit people. The business of the Christian in politics is to save souls and transform society.”
The presence of Christians in politics will instill sanity —Bishop Igenoza
Right Reverend Andrew Olu Igenoza from Akoko-Edo in Edo State is a professor of Religious Studies, and Rector of Crowther Graduate Theological Seminary, Abeokuta, Ogun State. Speaking with TribuneChurch on if Christians should take active part in politics, he stated that “I believe so. Everyone has his/her calling. We have examples of good Christians in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC), and other political parties. The presence of Christians in parties will instill sanity in those political parties. Christians will ensure discipline and integrity.
“However, whoever chooses to join politics actively must seek God’s approval. Although I’m not a card-carrying member of any political party, I am politically-informed and know who to vote for and who not to vote for. I voted during the 2011 and 2015 elections. Those who want to be card-carrying members can go ahead to do so.”
Christians pay high cost for voting apathy —Myers
Author, professor and conference speaker, Dr Jeff Myers, in an article, entitled: Politics: Should Christians Get Involved? published on www.crosswalk.com, speaks on what he describes as the high cost of the indifference of Christians in politics.
Narrating the story of a typical situation of Christian voters’ apathy, he stated: “I once heard of a church where members thought it was against God’s will to vote. Concerned that a corrupt politician would win a local election, church members gathered for an all-night prayer vigil. In the morning, however, they refused to vote and the good candidate lost – by fewer than the number of votes represented by those at the prayer meeting.
“It seems tragic, but maybe those church members did the right thing. After all, isn’t politics a dirty business? Christians are citizens of heaven, not of earth … right? Those questions are vitally important and every Christian in every generation must grapple with them and come up with defensible answers. Sadly, many people are too apathetic to even ask the right questions.
“Maybe, you don’t trust the government. Maybe, you just aren’t interested in civic concerns. But beware! Your lack of interest could lead to a vicious cycle: If you aren’t interested, you won’t get involved – If you don’t get involved, your interests are not represented – Because you are not represented, you have no voice – Because you have no voice, you lose interest and trust even more. And on and on it goes, until many adults consider young people to be politically irrelevant.
“It’s not just a failure to vote that is the problem. When was the last time you picked up a newspaper to study a political issue? Or write a letter to an elected official or to the newspaper editor? As Christians, we must constantly ask ourselves, ‘Are we doing everything we can to exercise our rights and privileges as citizens?’”
He went on to list five reasons Christians should seek to be good citizens as: “’God has granted us authority;’ ‘Christians are needed to stand against evil;’ ‘Christian values contribute positively to society;’ Obedience to authority demands good citizenship, and ‘good citizenship sets an example for generations to come.’”
Pastors as politicians is complementary —Reverend Afe
Senior Pastor of House of Faith Christian Centre in Ado-Ekiti, Reverend Tunde Afe, who recently expressed his intention to contest in the July 14 governorship election in Ekiti State on the platform of the Abundant Nigeria Renewal Party (ANRP), clarifies why his political intention won’t clash with his ministerial interests thus: “We have other pastors that we have trained and raised over time. We have a very effective structure in place. For example, I’ve not been around for some time but the church has not closed down. That’s because of the structures that we have put in place. Take for instance, the vice-president of Nigeria, who is also a pastor. And he continues to pastor the branch of the church that he was pastoring, before he became the vice-president. So, one can always work things out. I don’t really see how one will affect the other. As a matter of fact, the two assignments will complement each other.
“A lot of people have said that prayer is the master key. But prayer is not the master key. Prayer is one of the master keys. Prayer alone does not get things done with God; that’s the truth. One thing I’ve seen with believers in this country is that a lot of us are afraid of stepping into politics. They think that politics is bad. But, politics is not bad. It is those who play politics that determine the kind of character that politics takes upon itself. If politics is played by good people, then politics is good. If politics is played by crooks, then it’s going to be bad. I believe that we have prayed and fasted enough. We will continue to do that. But prayer and fasting is just a part of the process; we will not neglect the other part that will deliver the result. That is why I believe that we have prayed, we have fasted, it is now time for us to begin to step out and cause the change that we desire.”
You can’t separate religion from politics —Prophet El-Buba
General Overseer, Evangelical Bible Outreach Ministry International (EBOMI) based in Jos, Plateau State, Prophet Isa El-Buba, who also shared his thoughts on the role of Christians in politics, noted that there are countries where faith is at the centre of their governance.
“The word politics means a display of power and power can be displayed either negatively or positively. Religion is supposed to build the people to fear God and raise the people that would build the nation; the people that would establish justice in the nature of God. America was built by religious people; they established America based on the scripture. So, religion cannot be separated from politics. If you look at India, China and other such countries, you will discover that their faith is at the centre of governance.
“We are people that believe in the existence of God; the only thing is that there is a pervasion of tenets of our religion. People do things that are contrary to what the scripture says. God is the God of truth, so why should I do things contrary to the will of God. As a nation, we need truthful people to get into politics.”