Christians should wake up, produce who the public will vote for -Stakeholders
By Ifeoma Ikem
Leading ministers of God and stakeholders in the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria have called on christian bodies to wake up to ensure they all participate fully in the up coming 2023 general election in Nigeria and beyond.
This recommendation was made at the Political Stakeholders Conference and Inauguration of Directorate of Politics and Governance,(DPG) organised by the Lagos branch of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) at Pistis Hub, Elevation Church Maryland, Lagos.
The theme of the event was, ‘The Political Realignment, Relevance And Authority of The Church- Now and Beyond
The Directorate of Politics and Governance, National Chairman, Rev Femi Emmanuel, said that until the Christian bodies become the body that produce who the public will vote for they have not started.
Emmanuel urged Christians to take up their voters card and see which one of these candidate represent the Bible character.
“It’s a necessity for everyone to go and get their voters card so we live by example.
“Both the Methodist, Anglicans and every one that governs the church,we are all one and together.
“We should strive with the same passion and zeal in asking people to register with political parties because the real power lies at the grassroot, the real power to determine those who will lead us”.
According to him, the ward level is one of the products of the grassroot politics and they should open their eyes to see that where the power lies is to choose worthy leader starting from the ward level.
“Church should not wait for voter’s card and election day but church should be the body that heads it, that is when Nigeria can have direction because as it is now Nigerian electorate have no choice, the choice has been made for them by the political Godfathers.
“Democracy in Nigeria is only on papers, it’s supposed to be a government by the people and for the people. In Nigeria parties are owned, certain people own political parties, you can’t become anything except you are one of them.
Emmanuel pointed out that in Nigeria, voters are treated like disposables, ‘when you finish using tissue papers you throw it at the trash bin, in other climes voters are the Kings but not here.
“In 2023 it will be collaboration by his grace in 2027 it will be ownership, we the church will own it”.
One of the speakers, Pastor George Babafemi noted that the church have fasted but politics is a marathon and we must be ready to stay there until it changes and it’s not going to happen overnight.
“I started my journey from the grassroots, I was surprised to see a man who was a counselor who could not even speak correct English so also the national chairman had the opportunity to speak only to find out that he was a semi illiterate.
“Politics has no limitations, you have to start from the grassroots because I became popular during the ward Congress for the things that I had been doing ,the elders had to buy form on my behalf.
“The future is ahead of us and God has given us a platform and structure. It’s a marathon and it’s going to require not just spiritual resources but financial resources as well, politics is expensive so let’s not pretend that speaking in tongues alone is going to shift things for us, it will not.
” It requires us putting our money and savings, I believe strongly in my heart that there is a new Nigeria in the horizon.
”I say it whenever I hear of bloodshed and all other vices that when the Messiah was born the enemy killed children In the horizon, when moses was born pharaoh also killed people so there’s killing means salvation is approaching.
“So I know for sure that this is a new beginning of a new Nigeria.
People are counting on us and we are to put ourselves into action”, he said.
Another Apostle Dr, Bolaji Akinyemi, said that people should note the fact that the Lord is a God of knowledge and by him actions are weighed.
He asked that if actions are placed in the balance against the knowledge we have, would there be a balance?
“I want you to understand that we are dealing with a God who understands the measure of knowledge an individual carries per time.
According to him, they are men who don’t know all the things that we know as the church who are ahead of us basically because of the actions that they are putting into what they believe in.
“This also came from a woman who understood what number is. Hannah was with her husband with no issue before God visited her, she had Samuel and after Samuel seven sons, it wasn’t like that at the beginning but God turned it around,there was an action that necessitated God’s intervention on behalf of Hannah.
“She decided to separate herself that she’s not going to be a part of it until God settled her and she was now after divine visitation sang a song of Thanksgiving and appreciation to God and I believe that if you put action to everything that we have said, if we allow that knowledge to determine our action and with God on our side, victory is sure.
“This is not the time for prayers, God has answered our prayers, one of the answers that God has given to our prayers is DPG: divine plan of God. God has given us a divine plan it is now left for us to put action to it and see what is left.
“God will judge our actions to determine what will be the action of 2023”, he added.
Pastor Ituah Ighodalo said Nigeria was designed to fail, but it won’t fail for too long, too many of us have been in ignorance, darkness, lack of understanding, backwardness, fear, anxiety amongst others.
“The greatest level of our ignorance is our environment, society, politics and governance of the church.
” Is it only by praying, fasting, and receiving prophecies that thing will work out, it can never happen that way, God is always looking for men who will hear, obey him and do what needs to be done.
“It is only in Nigeria that you plant yam and another will harvest and import them and you will still order for the same thing you produced to your house to eat.
” We don’t open our eyes and smell the danger’s ahead, enough is enough, the church must rise up and take their place.
“The British had established Nigeria for their own good and benefit ,they designed Nigeria to fail and determined that Nigeria will not survive but God will put them to shame.
“Nigeria is waking up, the church is beginning to rise, they are beginning to understand,compared to what they would have done 60years ago.
The convener ,Bishop Dr Taiwo Ajose ,Lagos state director, Directorate of Politics and Governance, (DPG) said,he wants every church to join this course so that we all can start speaking as one.
Ajose notes that the aims and purpose of the event is to provides platforms for collaboration and cooperation between different actors of politics, Christian faith and voting public.
Also it will improves political awareness of Christians and extension of voting in public by providing up to date and relevant information about governance, citizenship and public policy issues.
” At the center of all this, Christ rules the church, you see, it’s not peripheral to world; the world peripheral to the church. The church is Christ’s body, in which he speaks and acts, by which he fills everything with his presence “. Eph1.22-23,he added.
