*The noise looks like a smokescreen to create a wedge among what is feared to be an opponent’s bulk vote
You know it is political season when the plan by a church to organize its members for voter education sparks fear from political gladiators. What you may not immediately understand is the desperation of those who want to stop the perceived presidential ambition of the Vice President by causing controversy.
Otherwise how does it make sense that a big church with prominent members from both APC and PDP will be planning to support, corporately one candidate for an office which other church members in the other party will also have interest in.
They have tried to attack his character, they failed. They attempted to spread wicked lies against him, it did not work and now they want to cause confusion and division among Christians in a bid to scatter what they are afraid is one of the VP’s big voting blocks. All these while the man has not even expressed public interest in the office.
Recently, the media space, both public and private, have been inundated with varied reactions to the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) management’s decision to establish a Directorate of Governance and Politics.
It appears now (judging from the actions of worried political gladiators) that the goal is to cause disaffection for a candidate among his general faith community even though the said candidate is yet to declare interest.
First of all, the acrimony and tension generated by the RCCG plan is uncalled for because aside the fact that the size and composition of the Church makes it impossible for it to corporately support one candidate from a particular political party, the Church through a release signed by its Assistant General Overseer on Admin & Personnel, Pastor Johnson Odesola, has explained that “nowhere in the statement is it mentioned nor insinuated that a particular political aspirant is being referred to. As would be expected, the Church has members that belong to several political parties, but would not itself get into partisan issues.”
In fact, the RCCG has in its fold prominent politicians from the major political parties (APC and PDP) and therefore cannot be seen to be creating structures to favour an individual or a political party. This is even as politicians across different parties have attributed successes at elections to the spiritual guidance and prayers of the Church.
For instance, in widely publicized videos, Governors Duoye Diri of Bayelsa (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCftTQb9oKw) and Samuel Ortom of Benue State (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e28OW0bl0PM, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3i3sbT13AWo) (both PDP stalwarts), attributed their political victories to the support of the RCCG. This clearly dismisses the claim by opponents of the development that the plan was for the church to work for a particular APC candidate.
In another instance, on February 6th, 2015, then President Goodluck Jonathan (of the PDP) attended the Holy Ghost Service where he sought prayers for the country (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2y5E9_KvOc). Jonathan’s visit was close to the Presidential elections and yet the Church was not accused of bias. This depicted the Church as home for all. So to those crying wolf, what changed?
It is clear enough that the RCCG, given its size and composition, among other features, can truly not contemplate supporting a particular candidate for any political office. This is besides the fact that the wife of former Lagos State Governor, Sen. Oluremi Tinubu is a prominent member of the RCCG family and already her husband has declared interest. Would the Church sacrifice her just to please another member? Only fools could imagine such from the Church.
But is the RCCG alone in this quest to create political awareness within its fold? Or is the creation of RCCG’s Directorate of Governance and Politics novel in Christianity? The answer is negative as examples abound where other denominations have been involved in the business of politics.
But as the RCCG rightly asserted “this is not doing anything new or different from some other denominations such as the Catholic Church or other religious bodies who bring its members up to date with policies, laws and regulations regarding their polity and its governance.”
For example, the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) in a press statement published on Sunday March 13, 2022, urged its members to replicate the RCCG model by establishing directorates for governance and politics in churches across the country. The statement signed by the Director of PFN’s Directorate of Politics and Governance, Pastor Femi Emmanuel, said “the essence of this directorate is to help coordinate the engagement of our people who are willing to be involved in politics as well as mobilize support for them when required.”
Another classic is the Catholic Church’s Department of Church and Society – an arm of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) which co-ordinates the work of the Catholic Church in Nigeria as it relates to human society in general. Specifically, it promotes social development, human dignity, democracy, justice, equity, reconciliation and peace. Still within the Catholic fold, there exists other structures that clearly support the aspirations of faithful in business, politics and other fields of endeavor.
Only recently, Catholics in politics and business under the auspices of the Annual General Assembly of Catholics in Politics & Catholic Business Leaders, converged on Abuja to devise ways of influencing the course of society for good, and affirming the imperative that the marketplace and the public square have to be seasoned with the salt of divine values.
So those who are raising their voices are those who are afraid of what a bulk vote in favour of their suspected opponent could mean for their lifelong ambitions. As for believers and all people of faith, don’t be fooled.
