Rev. Felix Omobude, General Superintendent of New Covenant Gospel Church and President of Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), talks to Special Correspondent, TITUS OISE, on the security challenges affecting Nigeria and efforts of the church in promoting harmony in the country.
Insurgency and Christians’ reaction
The insurgency that has come up in Nigeria is a challenge for every Nigerian. It is true that they had targeted churches at the onset, but it has gone beyond that. They even kill their own people; I mean those who share their faith. I believe that the problem is for all of us to grab hold of. The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) has continued to pray and will continue to pray. We encourage all our people to live right and cooperate with government. We cannot take arms against them and ourselves. So it is just prayers, and we ask our people to be vigilant. That is the best we can do for now.
Government doing enough to curtail insurgency in the country
‘Doing enough’, to me, is relative. Within the limits of what is available, the way things are, I think they are doing well. But I still believe they can do more. You probably must know that a lot of security personnel have paid the supreme price in trying to defend us. Insurgency or extremism all around the world is not an easy war to fight. Nations stronger than Nigeria have spent a lot in terms of human and material resources trying to defend themselves, and they are still doing so. I will add that Nigerians should be patient. It’s not an easy war. It’s not like the regular war.
Most challenging task as PFN president
I believe that any leader who leads at such a time as this will consider insurgency as a tasking assignment. I believe that if you are a leader at a time like this when over 200 young girls are snatched from their school, and you feel unconcerned, there is something wrong with you. I believe that the task of building the church, the task of uniting the church, the task of redirecting our people, is a big challenge.
Views on national conference
Anything that makes people talk, air their views, try to find solution to a cooperate problem, I think, is worthwhile. Some of the views raised are very pivotal to our national interest, and I believe that Mr. President will look into it and do the right thing. He is not obliged to take everything. I believe in him; he will do what is right and show understanding to the North and South, Muslims and Christians.
Advice to politicians ahead 2015
The truth is that Nigeria is bigger than the ambition of anybody. Politicians or individuals, who with their mouths or disposition set Nigeria on fire today, will not have Nigeria to rule tomorrow. It is only fit that our leaders, despite their personal drive and ambition, should respect our corporate entity. I believe that the beauty of democracy is that it gives room for everybody to aspire, if you want to.
Gale of impeachments in the country
Honestly, I think every right-thinking Nigerian should be worried at the swerving left and right of our politicians. Today they tell you that the umbrella is the best and preferable, and tomorrow they are with the broom or whatever. They move here and there. The reason is that when their ways are closed and they know that they cannot further their ambition in one party, they move to another. I think it is causing a lot of confusion. It is this movement from one party to another that, in my opinion, is responsible for the gale of impeachments.
Role of Christians in politics
We are educating our people that the days that we said “we are not of this world”, so we let politicians handle it, are past. I urge Christians, no matter their denomination, if they are interested in politics, to go in and make the difference. If you say darkness is not good, then you must bring in the light. We are involved, though, at my level, we are non-partisan. But we cannot close our eyes to the politics of our nation. So, we encourage our people to play clean politics.
Crisis in Edo Assembly and advice to warring parties
The problem that has been in Edo State House of Assembly is very sad. The state has been moving from party to party. Probably, the law allowed it; but I am worried about it. Secondly, what happened in Edo, that some lawmakers defected, had also happened at the national level, and I think the leadership at the national level handled it with maturity. I wish our leaders in Edo would borrow a leaf. But as it is now, I am still expecting the leaders of the two main political parties to consider the interest of Edo people more than their political interest and bring this crisis to a halt.
Issue of corruption in Nigeria
Corruption is a hydra-headed monster that has been killing this nation gradually. If you take a very close look at it, it permeates almost every sector of the country. You pass through airports, people offer services they are paid to offer and they ask you if there is anything for them. It’s a shame; an embarrassment. We must all resolve to hate this thing called corruption. Some people will fight it, some people will pay for it, but it is something that we must all fight. Corruption, even in the church, can be very saddening.
Agitation for payment of taxes by the church
I have heard that people are agitating that the church should be paying taxes. Then they have to change most of the rules. Now, the church is registered as a non-profit organisation. I will tell you, like our own here – New Covenant Gospel Church – members of our Board of Trustees (BoT) don’t earn anything. The church pays for services rendered to her. They don’t have an annual declared dividend. I believe that credible ministries are involved in changing lives, touching people, and that is the way it should be. Humanitarian services are still being offered by the church.
Those who clamour for the church to pay tax are only looking at one or two pastors. Probably, they feel they have money, and have not cared to see the millions of others who are doing the will of God, serving people, giving hope in a very desperate world. There are many pastors that are not sure of what to eat. So don’t just look at a few and say that is the way it should be. The code of the PFN is that the church is a non-profit organisation. But if the church does business, of course, it should pay for it.