By Pascal Oparada
The road to 2019 election may have started to look bumpy for President Muhammadu Buhari going by the daily criticisms trailing his actions and inaction by the popular Nigerian clerics.
The Christian clerics, some of whom were sympathetic to his presidential ambition in 2015, have come out heavily against the President over his handling of security issues in the country, especially the murderous Fulani herdsmen’s attack on villages across the country.
In different fora, the clerics came out to lampoon the president for what most of them see as his inability to quell the ongoing tension in the country.
Senior Pastor of Latter Rain Assembly, Pastor Tunde Bakare, had in his State of the Nation address told his congregation that the All Progressives Comgress-led (APC) government has failed Nigerians both in its anti-corruption fight and security issues.
Bakare said: “What Nigeria needs now is not an election but a return to the drawing board. I call for restructuring and not for elections.”
Later Rain Assembly has not less than 5,000 worshipers every Sunday at its Lagos church.
Reverend Father Ejike Mbaka, who was a staunch supporter of Buhari in the run up to the 2015 elections, has some unsavory words for the President.
Mbaka told the President that unless he changes his ways he would be voted out in 2019.
The cleric said that the hardship experienced by Nigerians in 2017 was man-made and not act of God, saying, President Buhari should change or he would be changed.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, said that there was a statement credited to the cleric about two weeks ago which Mbaka later disclaimed.
He told Vanguard that unless he sees the text he was not going to respond because, according to Shehu, Mbaka has disclaimed the statement.
Mbaka said: “The Lord wants Nigerians to be speedily rescued. Things are difficult and tough. The hardship is not from God, they are man-made. The cabals and satanic agents in this country have kidnapped the goodwill and good intentions of Mr. President. He must wake up and sit up. Heaven demands Buhari to change those who are holding and caging him in captivity. If he will not change them, he will be changed. Mr. President should wake up”.
David Oyedepo, the Bishop of Living Faith Church also known as Winners Chapel, while addressing his congregation, said that it was time to rise up and cry to God to save the country from the choke hold of Fulani herdsmen.
His words: “Insurgency is spreading across the nation under the guise of Fulani herdsmen. Danger is looming. For example, how many of these Fulani herdsmen have been brought to book since their campaign of carnage, death and destruction began?
“Every community may soon set up its own security system for defence against the insurgency of the Fulani herdsmen. Can the citizens still trust security agencies of this nation?”
The Ota-based bishop said that where the citizens could no longer trust the security agencies to protect them, a state of anarchy is in the offing.
He said: “Insurrection may as well be on the way”, while questioning the contribution of cattle to growth of GDP in the country.
Paul Enenche, the Founder of Dunamis International Gospel Centre, in a viral video, called for Nigerians to stand up for their lives following the onslaught of the Fulani herdsmen.
He said that it was time Nigerians took their destiny into their hands.
Enenche commands huge crowds, with his church members numbering over 12,000 in a single service.
Perhaps the most virulent of attack came from a wildly circulated video by Isa El Buba, head of the Evangelical Bible Outreach Ministry International, who urged his members to refuse to vote President Buhari for second term.
He said: “The killings going on in the country shows the irresponsibility of the President called Buhari. Buhari, returning back to that seat (in Aso Rock), we will fight it to a standstill”.
Operatives of the Department of State Security Services (DSS) made moves to arrest El Buba on Tuesday, January 16 but were resisted by his members. DSS, however, left an invitation for El Buba to come to their office for questioning.
Top christian clerics in Nigeria condemned the attempted arrest of El Buba. Among those condemning his arrest is Enoch Adeboye’s son, Pastor Leke Adeboye.
Leke, while reacting on his Facebook page, wondered why no Fulani herdsman has been arrested since the incessant killing of innocent Nigerians in Benue, Taraba and other parts of the country began.
Leke wrote, “I just woke up, upset this morning. I don’t know why. Wait I actually do. Maybe it’s because DSS is trying to arrest Prophet El Buba in Jos. Why? For his strong videos,
“Please, how many herdsmen have you arrested lately? What are we doing here? We will be watching and waiting.”
Buhari rode on the goodwill of the Christian community in Nigeria, mostly from the Southern part of Nigeria to clinch the presidency in 2015, after three unsuccessful attempts. The ace in his campaign was Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, a pastor with the Redeemed Christian Church of God, which boasts of more than 10 million worshipers across the country.
