Nigeria is getting worse by the day under Buhari’s watch – PFN

Felix Omobude is the National President of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), and general superintendent of Gospel Light International Ministry– New Covenant Gospel Church. Omobude, in this interview with journalists, x-rays the Muhammadu Buhari-led administration, growing security threat and slump in Nigeria’s economic activity, among other issues. CHURCHILL OKORO brings the excerpts:

President Muhammadu Buhari has been at the helm of Africa’s largest economy for more than five years; how would you rate his administration?

It’s easy for Nigerians to assess whether the government performed creditably or not. When this government came into power, the naira was about N180 to a $1. It is now almost N500 to a $1. Before the administration came into power, Nigerians bought a litre of petrol at about N87 but at the moment, it is over N160.

Is Nigeria more secured today than it was when this government came in? In my mind, Nigeria is more unsecured than it was. Our people can no longer go to the farm, you can’t make journey without fear of being attacked, people no longer sleep with their two eyes closed. I will commend the efforts of our security forces fighting Boko Haram.

One of the campaign promises of this government was to provide adequate security. I leave all my readers, all Nigerians to assess. Nigerians know that they are unsecured today. Whether in the north or in the south, east or the west, the fear of insecurity is there and it happens every day.

Can we say today that there is constant power supply than it was in 2015? The answer is no. Do people have access to clean and safe drinking water now than it was in 2015? The answer is no. So, rating the government is very easy.

In what ways do you think the security of the country can be improved?

Over time, PFN advocated decentralisation, restructuring of the nation’s security architecture, especially the Nigeria Police Force. Today, if you go to a nation like the United States, there is the federal police, the FBI, then each state has their police departments, same as each city. That makes policing the country very less cumbersome.

So, this one that everything has to come from Abuja, is not helping us. Why post someone from Sokoto to be Commissioner of Police in Edo State when he doesn’t know the terrain, know the people, know their culture? In this kind of situation, what do you want such officer to do? So, we advocate that each state should have a state police. The Federal Government is denying it but the people are clamouring for it.

States in South West have started their own security outfit called Operation Amotekun, which is right. Each state should have something. In Kano and other northern States, they have their own local security outfits. I think the right thing to do is for the government to provide adequate security for the people or allow the people to arm themselves. Why should some people go and stay in our forests and come out to harass us because we are defenceless? The guns are in the hands of criminals, and at the moment the police are overstretched. They are not well paid, well funded, they lack equipment of modern day policing and so, what do you expect?

Anyway, we must continue to partner with the government when they take positive steps. The church becomes the hope of the people that they can easily reach. The church provides within her resources succour to those that are very much down the ladder. The church encourages people to live right. We have had people who have turned from cultism, we have had people who have turned from various heinous crimes and surrender due to the preaching and advocacy of the church. The church is still reaching out in partnership with the government, getting our people engaged meaningfully to find their daily bread.

So, apart from prayers, we are not going to take up arms against authorities of the government but the church will continue to socially engage and spiritually uphold the country.

What do you think about the recent call for a change of service chiefs?

Well, changing the country’s service chiefs is the exclusive decision of the president, and those who called for their change have looked at it and said, it is like they have run out of ideas and this is their position. If you are doing something and the result you expect is not coming, you use wisdom to look at it. This promise was made in 2015 and in 2019, and it is getting worse by the day.

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The Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence, Muhammad Abubakar cried out recently that the insecurity in the northern part of the country is unbearable and that is the truth.

Recently, the state chairman of PFN in Kaduna State was abducted from his own residence. So, we need to find out where are we going? How can a government sleep with all these happenings and the people have to tell you to change your security chiefs before you change any of them? It’s unimaginable.

What is your assessment of the nation’s economy?

The economy has had a hit terribly, especially with the advent of the COVID-19 and the #EndSARS protest, and so, things are very hard. An average Nigerian is going through a very difficult moment, even economy of some countries that are well-to-do is also shaking. Recently, I heard the American government is approving two thousand dollars per a person as palliatives. I am looking forward to the day when Nigerians will get N20,000 from the Federal Government. When that happens, Nigerians will celebrate.

We have a crisis in hand and I appreciate the genuine efforts of the government to solve it but the truth is that, critical situation demands very critical solution and we are not seeing that.

A bag of rice, which is a common food especially at this time is inaccessible because of high cost. The president closed the borders to stop importation, and encourage our people to grow rice which is laudable. But if you don’t have, you don’t have, we should not starve. You told Nigerians to tighten their belt and the belt is almost cutting our stomachs into two. I think that government should rethink its decision.

What is your submission on the rising rate of religious intolerance among Nigerians, and how can it be reduced?

The American government rated Nigeria as an intolerance nation recently and it was in the media and the minister of information tried to deny it. There is no religious tolerance in the country. I wish the minister was honest enough and owned up to some basic facts. Presently, down here in the south, people can put their mats in front of the church and pray; we don’t fight them. Can you do that in some of the states in the country? Some of our people have been killed. A lady was killed just for going out for evangelism early in the morning. She was hacked to death and up till today, to my record, those who killed her have not been brought to book. Recently, in Kano State, shops and bottles of beer were destroyed. The government wasted all their investments.

As the president of the Pentecostal churches in Nigeria, we don’t encourage our people to drink alcohol, we don’t drink but, intolerance made them to move from shop to shop, and destroyed them. Lai Mohammed should be able to look at some of these things and say what is real. What has been done to Leah Sharibu? Others were released because they accepted the Islamic faith whereas Leah Sharibu is still in captivity because she held on to her faith. Government has always made promises upon promises and nothing has come out of it. The poor girl, if she is still alive, is held against her will.

So, there is no way we can progress without showing understanding and tolerance. I know churches, especially some in the northern states, that have been there for years, and the government will not give them certificate of occupancy because they are churches but, here in the south, we give our farms to all Nigerians irrespective of where they come from, we give our everything, we don’t care. So, the Federal Government under President Muhammadu Buhari should accept the fact that these issues are there and he should deal with them.

What do you think about the recent statement made by the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Kukah?

Well, I appreciate Bishop Kukah. I don’t think we have interacted one-on-one but if you follow him, you will know that he is down to earth when it has to do with telling the truth.

Bishop Kukah is an advocate of democracy; so he could not have been calling for a military overthrow of the government. The issues that he raised are very glaring.

It is only in this country that you can’t talk against government and go free. What is the dust for? I know that the minister of information is paid for his job but he should be honest enough to face certain truth. People call Donald Trump all sorts of names and never has anybody been sued for insulting him but people have been sued in Nigeria for saying some things that the president or his aides do not want to hear, which are truth, anyway.

So, Bishop Kukah spoke the mind of genuine Nigerians. And any attempt by anybody to impose a section of the nation upon the other, is bound to cause chaos.

Bishop Kukah should be seen as a patriot and not a sacrificial lamb. He is not a hater of government but he is a lover of truth. I stand wholeheartedly with him on his views.

Today, many persons doubt the existence of COVID-19, and we have recorded a spike in number of cases. What is your advice to Nigerians?

First and foremost, Nigerians should be grateful to God because he has compassion on us. What the world expected when the Coronavirus broke out did not happen. Nigeria is a faith community, whether Christian faith, Islamic faith or traditional faith worshippers. Nigerians believe in God and somehow, God has shown mercy on us. The second wave is on, and PFN enjoins all its members and Nigerians to take responsibility for their safety.

There are things, protocols, non-pharmaceutical protocols that government has put in place, it doesn’t reduce our holiness to follow those protocols, wash your hands, always sanitise your hands when necessary, and wear your facemask even in church. You come to church and you don’t wear your facemask, you can’t enter this church or any of our branches without washing your hands, temperature test, and the chairs have been spaced in compliance with government’s rules. That is what we stand for.

Generally, Nigerians should act responsibly. Those rules should be obeyed; Nigerians should know that COVID-19 is real and that it is not a government disease. So, they should take responsibility to protect themselves.

Do you agree with the view that if nothing is done at this stage to salvage the country, it may become a failed state?

Well, there are indices that showed that the state has failed. But that apart, we should not with our own mouths, proclaim what is wrong. I mean Nigeria is still far from being a failed state. The government has failed in several areas but there are still some laws and orders in this country. Nigeria is not the worst country to live in. I have travelled quite a bit and I can tell you that there are some things we can celebrate as a nation. We are not where we ought to be but I don’t think that all hope is lost.

We must decide to do what is right. We must decide to put our faith in God to work that people will see. We have prayed and we are praying, that the situation where we can no longer shake hands, where we can’t fellowship, a situation of fear of death and panic; we are praying that it will not be so in this new year but Nigerians should roll their sleeves.

There are so many resources that God has blessed us with in this country that we can harness and change the narrative.

We can’t blame the government for everything. There are those things that we must do and I call on Nigerians to lift their heads high. Nigerians are very resilient, Nigerians survived even where others failed. So, it’s my prayer that 2021 will be a peaceful and prosperous one. But our government should wake up and take their responsibilities seriously.

Countdown to election year 2023 has begun, and there’s debate on which zone the next president will emerge from. As a neutral and non partisan Nigerian, what do you have to say about this?

As we draw closer to 2023, the political temperature will rise undoubtedly. PFN is not particularly about where the next president comes from. PFN is particularly about equity. PFN is particularly about a candidate that is resourceful, a candidate that can bring development and the desired change to Nigerians. PFN will not stop politicians from doing their politics; PFN advocates that politics should be played in a decent and civilised manner. The politics of thuggery, the politics of sending assassins against your perceived opponents should be a thing of the past.

So, we are looking at the politics of issues that are well defined. The way we are as PFN, we believe that the greatest benefit that the Buhari administration should bequeath to Nigerians is a free, fair and acceptable election system where everybody will be free to participate and where election will count without vote-buying and injustice.

What are your achievements as the PFN national president?

I can’t thank God enough for the opportunity and I also want to thank the Pentecostal leaders in this country. Many of them have greater followership more than me; some are bishops, archbishops but they all have had respect for me, they cooperated and worked with us.

I think if there is anything, I will leave the PFN community to judge but we have enjoyed relative stability but by February 2021, a new leadership will emerge.

Presently, PFN has more respectability among the comity of churches; PFN has spread all over this country and there is hardly any community in this country that you can’t find the Pentecostal, probably only in the Sambisa forest. We are all over the place. By the grace of God, the PFN is a group with a lot of diversities but we have been able to harmonise our positions and several issues.

I want to be remembered as a leader who served the body of Christ to the best of his ability. Nobody, politicians, governors, can come out to say I bargained. PFN stood on a credible pathway. I just give God the glory for that. There are many other achievements that we can talk about; we amended our constitution in my time. The structure of PFN is all over; up to the ward level, across the country. These are just little of it but God has helped us.