Northern presidency in 2023 is invitation to anarchy —ECWA president, Reverend Panya

The President, Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA), Reverend Stephen Baba Panya, speaks with ISAAC SHOBAYO on the state of the nation, especially the ongoing strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), zoning of the presidency and 2023 elections.

 

The Academic Staff  Union of Universities (ASUU) has rolled over its strike for another three months but religious bodies and traditional rulers do not seem to be weighing in on the situation. What do you make of this?

I am aware that the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), through the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC), has been discussing this. The body is concerned about the need to bring the two warring groups, ASUU and the Federal Government, together. We are all concerned that the face-off is taking its toll on our children. We want the matter resolved once and for all so that our children can continue with their education.

I don’t know how far they have been able to go but I am aware that both CAN and the Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI) are not happy about the crisis between ASUU and the Federal Government. NIREC has been discussing to see how they can intervene and restore understanding and peace so that the crisis would be resolved.

Having said that, I want to say that even without the intervention of the people, one would have expected that in a year like this — preceding an election year — the Federal Government would have be very anxious to resolve such crisis as it portrays a negative image for the government and for any party in power that would want to retain that power. I don’t understand why they are not showing sufficient interest in seeing this crisis resolved.

In a normal country, this ASUU crisis is enough to make the government in power lose an election because education is the bedrock of any nation. But in Nigeria, I think we have reached a point where everything just goes and the government seems to have other means of keeping themselves in power than to provide good governance to the people, which is quite unfortunate. The whole essence of democracy is that when you feel that those in power are not performing well, then they should be voted out so that people who are ready to provide good governance can come in. But it has reached a point where those in power do not care because they believe that they have what it takes to retain power. I can’t imagine that the Federal Government will allow the ASUU strike to linger to this point. We have to fear God because when it reaches a certain stage, God can move in such a way that the populace will stand up for divine intervention and exercise their rights and people who are taking the nation for granted will be shocked by what the populace can do under the right direction.

 

The government recently averted what could have been a shutdown of the aviation sector. Many Nigerians were surprised that the government could rise to the occasion within a short time like that. Why do you think it is difficult for the government to end this impasse with ASUU?

To me, all that has been happening only shows signs of the collapse of everything in this country: the collapse of education, aviation and many other sectors that have already reached a level that they are no longer sustainable. For example, the proposed hike in electricity and telecommunications tariffs is not in the interest of Nigerians.

So, if everything is increasing while salaries and wages remain stagnant, the plight of people will worsen. Many people, because of the worsening economic situation, have lost their jobs with industries collapsing. How then do you expect the populace to cope with the situation. Nigeria has reached a stage where it is becoming unbearable for people to survive. Any government that has driven its people to desperation should not  be thinking of retaining power at all. It should just humbly bow and hand over to people who have better ideas on how to get this country out of the hell that we are in.

 

What qualities should Nigerians look for among those angling to become the next president of the country?

You can have a democrat but if he turns out to be a competent crook, Nigeria will remain in the same situation that we are in. I want to say that the number one quality is fear of God. We need a God-fearing person, not a religious one. There is a big difference between a God-fearing person and a religious one. A God-fearing person will be genuinely concerned about the masses of this country and he will be concerned about God, to whom he has to give account at the end of his life. That is a truly God-fearing person. We need someone who is competent, someone who can manage our diversity very well.

Parts of the greatest problems that have made the situation worse under the present government are terrible nepotism and sectionalism that we have seen in terms of appointments. This is not what Nigeria was known for. Past leaders always tried to balance appointments on tribal and even religious bases so that everybody is carried along. This is the first time that people have openly complained about marginalisation based on ethnic, regional and even religious considerations.

So, we need someone that would be God-fearing enough to say, ‘Hey, look! In this country, we are people from different tribes, ethnic groups, and religions so we need to be fair to everyone’. The next one is competence. The person should be knowledgeable enough, that is, have a broad knowledge of the economy and security. He should be able to give proper direction and supervision of the nation on his watch. He should have a good grasp of the two major issues, economy and security.

 

One of the burning issues in the political circle presently is zoning. Politicians are engrossed with which zone should produce the next president. With your understanding of the situation on the ground, do you think power should shift to the south of the country come 2023?

I unapologetically stand on the side of the people that say power should rotate, that is, go down to the South. Those that are saying otherwise are not sensitive to the reality on the ground in Nigeria today. Even if you are to say we should look for anyone competent, are there no competent people in the South? Let’s be sincere to one another. If we want peace in the nation and we want things to move forward, we just have to be fair and just and allow a situation where some people are not schemed out of power and governance. Therefore, for us to maintain peace and avoid anarchy, we need to put in place a certain control system that will enhance a greater understanding of togetherness for the sake of peace and progress. Justice, equity, and fairness in the system should be the hallmarks of whatever system we are operating, whether at the acting level or when the government has been formed.

At this point, it is only right that power should shift to the South so that our brothers from the South will have a sense of belonging and be treated as people who have equal rights in politics and governance of this nation. If not, there won’t be peace because it is quite unfair.

 

It is like the government has forgotten about the kidnapped passengers of the Abuja-Kaduna train and other innocent Nigerians that are being held captive by terrorists for failing to pay their ransom.

Security is one area that is obvious to everybody that the government of the day  has failed woefully. As regards security, the government is a complete disaster. Now, when you say people should not pay ransom when their loved ones are kidnapped, show them the efforts you have made to rescue the people from these kidnappers and terrorists. If you can prove to people that you are up to the task of rescuing people, then, people would not be in a hurry to pay ransom. But this is a situation where bandits kidnap people and you hardly hear of a single person being rescued. Then how do you expect people not to pay for their loved ones to be released. It is just unfair. It is adding insult to injury for you to fail in your responsibility and try to make it more difficult for the victims. I see it as wickedness.

 

With the prevailing political situation in country, coupled with insecurity, do you think 2023 elections are feasible?

I wish it were possible for them to conduct a free and fair election because to a certain extent, the populace are so beaten that most people are desperate to ensure that the right people are voted in. I have heard people say that they are not going to vote parties any longer but individuals. One thing that the government can do to help the situation is to ensure that free and fair elections are conducted so that the people that the populace adjudge to be truly God-fearing and have their welfare at heart will be voted into the positions. I think when you begin to have such people dominating the government, things will begin to change.

 

What is ECWA’s position on politics?

ECWA’s position is that our members should get involved fully at all levels and stand elections. We are encouraging our members to register and ensure that they vote and follow up as much as possible to ensure that their votes are properly counted and protected. However, for ECWA employees, we have our books and, yes, we are open to anyone that God may call into politics, even if you are an employee of ECWA. But because we want, as a church, to maintain neutrality, our books require that if God calls you into politics when you are a pastor or any other employee of ECWA, you will have to resign and then go into politics fully so that the church would be able to maintain its neutrality and offer spiritual help and support to all its members, irrespective of their parties.

 

Is there any hope of Nigeria getting out of the woods?

As far as human beings go, honestly, I don’t have any hope. But Jeremiah 29:11 says, ‘My plans for you are for good, not for evil, to give you a future and hope’. Our only hope in this country is God. This country is in a state of collapse. We are only sustained by the grace of God. Having said that, God normally intervenes in certain situations. He often raised people and used them to restore hope to nations and accomplish His purpose. I don’t know how God will do it but we are praying that in His way, He will raise people that truly know and fear Him and He will restore hope to our nation and accomplish His purpose for us. But apart from that, with our present structure, parties don’t have the capability of raising people that will turn things around but God has His way of doing things. He says in Isaiah 55, ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth and my thoughts higher than your thoughts’. God has a way of raising people and giving them special grace to deal with a situation in extraordinary ways that people never thought of. This is what we hope for.

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