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Christian leaders tackle Wike over advice to Churches
 
From: Agency Report
Sun, 23 Apr 2023   ||   Nigeria,
 

Several Christian clerics have re­acted to the recent advice by Gov­ernor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State to the effect that churches should avoid politicians who would use them only for election, maintaining that the church indeed played what should be their roles in the nation during a political period such as the 2023 general elections.

Reacting to Wike’s advice, Rev. Dr. Rexkennedy Saltlove, a cleric cum poetical activist, maintained that the so-called ‘ad­vice’ to the church is subjective.

He said: “This is due to the fact that the ‘Church’ in question here is not just one person and so not subject to easy manipula­tions, seductions or coercion as to imply that it lacks discretion or ability to make informed de­cisions.

“A lot of very fundamental and basic questions will subtly and directly beg for answers and challenges.

“These are the constitu­tional and inalienable human rights of things like freedom of association, freedom of choice and rights to free speech and expressions. The church is the custodian of very strong moral values.

“The umbrella body of churches like the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and it blocks, the Christian Pentecostal Fellowship of Nige­ria/Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (CPFN/PFN), Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (CSN), Christian Council of Nigeria (CCN), Organisations of African Instituted Churches (OAIC), and TEKAN/ECWA Fellowships did not come out outrightly to say ‘This is the person or politician we are supporting, vote for him or her’.

“If some of the leaders, by their body languages, seem tilt­ed in subtly endorsing a candi­date, benchmarking this on the constitutional and inalienable rights, it connotes using a mod­el politician in driving home a message of what character their followers/flock and other citizens should emulate, because politics is transient.

“There are more heavy issues like characters, morals and val­ues that are indispensable for an ideal society to evolve.

“Secondly, there were lots of politicians who are of the Christian and Muslim faiths. But, Wike is focusing on just the Church and Christian pol­iticians. Why should one seem to have pre-eminence over the other?

“People still see politics as a very dirty; game. Where it seems some Christian leaders came out openly to do public endorsement vocally, those who disagreed ex­pressed it without delay.

“Thus citizens, those who are 18 years and above that should exercise their fundamental constitutional rights should be discerning enough to know it is a matter of choice to be made, based on policies being advocat­ed by various candidates that best guarantees their future and better living in the nation and not just sentiments.

“Politics and politicians are transient and the church knows that. As for the issue of being ‘used’, I see the politicians driv­ing the way ethnic factors were strongly pushed in Lagos and made central issues.

“Trying to use ethno-reli­gious factor to divide and drive home their points and exalting it above policy morals and value issues

Dr. Kalu Ofon Emmanuel, a cleric and public affairs analyst, said he admired Wike over his recent advice to churches, which he said was to warn them of be­ing used by politicians for elec­tions and thereafter abandoned them.

He said: “I think his advice would have been significant and more valuable before the elections and not post elections. I hate hypocritical statements because l am not a hypocrite.

“The Church voted as they were led. They voted for peo­ple who they felt would not kill them, mesmerise them, destroy their churches, instead of those who have core leadership quali­ties and abilities

 

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