***Should not allow politicians manipulate them
The Christian community in Nigeria should shun any action that will give the impression that the 2023 general election is a tug of war between them and anybody, the presidential candidate of Social Democratic Party (SDP), Prince Adewole Adebayo has advised.
Adebayo spoke against the backdrop that some leaders of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) have become too involved in the controversies surrounding the nomination of candidates and their running mates in a partizan manner which has been sending the wrong signals.
He gave the admonition on Thursday during the 2022 Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), General Assembly and Valedictory Service for its outgoing President Rev, Dr. Samson Ayokunle.
At the event the immediate past President, Reverend Samson Ayokunle, handed over to his successor, Most Reverend Daniel Okoh in Abuja.
The SDP candidate also cautioned the Church leaders against being used by politicians.
Instead of predicting who becomes the next President of Nigeria, Adebayo charged Nigerians, especially the clerics, to pray for peaceful polls.
According to him, “The first role the church should play is not to create a situation that seem to pitch the Christians against anybody but to unite the country and to give a message that is ecumenical, not only among the Christians but among all the communities in Nigeria.
“And I reminded CAN that the Priests, the Bishops, the Primate and their eminences are people who are called as instrument of God. This is the moment where politicians use anybody.
“They should not be used by anybody, except by the spirit of God. And that in this politics, they should not become instrument of men, they should remain instrument of God. And nobody will use them for politics.
“And that they should pray for the country and get us together. If the church is united in righteousness, and it is not against anybody and it is searching for God’s answer, for God’s guidance, to ensure the moment of rescue has come for this country, God should give us the righteous one to lead this country, the church would have played a major role in bringing the country together.”
Explaining his position further, Prince Adebayo said, “What I mean is that, first, it is good that the Christian community did their transition successful without rancours, without problem. And it has become an example of what Nigeria can be.
“There are five blocs in CAN, but if you come today, you see all of them are happy together. And you also see that almost the smallest of them all, the youngest of them all is now the leader of CAN.
“And it is a biblical thing that when God does his things, it is not about noise, it is not about who is making the most noise. Everything about God is ordained.
“And I was reminding the Christian community that in this time of tribulation, one, we should not lose hope. We should know that it is a test of faith. And all the troubles that the Christian church and rest of Nigerians are going through are meant to test our faith and to answer with prayers.
“Secondly, that a Christian church is not only for Christians, and the unity of body of Christ is not to create a Christian community versus the rest of Nigeria but to create a unity for the country.
“And that the church is an inspiration for the whole of Nigeria. And that the mercy of God upon Nigeria include the presence of Christians in Nigeria.
“And that as we are looking for leadership, to rescue this country, and to being righteous, we should remember what happened when the children of Israel, the army of Israel were facing Goliath in philistines. It was not the big generals, it was not the mighty ones that God used to rescue them.
“It was a lowly David who they never knew until that day. So, they should pray and they should not follow prediction, they should allow the Lord minister to them so that within, the humble one may arise and bring righteous to the country. That is my message to the church.”
According to Adebayo, the nation must be united first before the unity of the church can be achieved.
Speaking at the event, Archbishop Daniel Okoh, the new president of CAN, urged Nigerians and Christians to provide resources to aid in nation-building and pledged that the association will preserve its dignity despite issues the nation faces.
Okoh urged Nigerians to participate in electing the right leaders by obtaining a Permanent Voters Card (PVC), stating that individuals without this essential document can not participate fully.
According to him: “The era of saying that politics is a dirty game was over because we have to get involved in what concerns us. We are doing that through the structures we have in CAN.
As for 2023, we are preparing ahead, we have a monitoring team that has monitored elections in the past two years and we are going to carry out voter education and we have continued to tell our members to get their PVC.”
Also the outgoing President Rev Dr Samson Ayokunle urged the Federal Government to restructure the security architecture of the country to ensure safety of its citizen and development of the nation.
He advised that leadership should be inclusive saying “let’s give everybody a sense of belonging.”
He added that becoming a leader entails courage, determination and a desire to ensure quality livelihood of the citizens in the country.