READ WHAT GOD HAS TO SAY ABOUT THE UPCOMING ELECTION (MUST READ)

Several religious leaders have continued to express fear of violence in the 2015 elections but for Archbishop Isaac Idahosa of the Illumination Assembly, the elections would make or mar the unity of Nigeria.

In this interview, the Archbishop of the Illumination Assembly, also known as God First Ministry, in Lekki, Lagos, says the February 14 presidential election would not only make or mar the unity of Nigeria, but would witness God’s full intervention.

What is God saying concerning the forthcoming elections?

God’s best will would be given to Nigeria. Nigeria is not going to disintegrate, that is sure, but then you must not push it. There are nations with lesser issues than us today that have become war torn. So, nobody should threaten the other, we must allow God to take charge and the candidates should follow up with the peace accord that was signed. If you appended your signature to a particular paper and you do the opposite, what kind of leadership are you going to offer? Leadership must be by example.

I said it on 29 December, 2014 that with all that has happened in the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan, we still have about six things we could still point at as his achievements. Distractions and insecurity and challenges we have are worldwide; it is not peculiar to us in Nigeria. Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown. I want to say that he has been there for about six years now; change is therefore necessary. Why do we need change? We need change to improve. Even if you follow the transformation agenda, he said that he vowed to do more. This means he vowed to improve and you cannot improve without change, so everybody is yearning for change, but how do you want to effect the change?

You have been quoted as saying only God can stop Muhammadu Buhari from winning the presidential election of February, 2015. Why?

A lot of people have asked me to clarify that comment, and I have been saying that both President Goodluck Jonathan and Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd.) are in the race with the intent of winning and only God can stop them. So, it is not just Buhari; whoever is contesting has winning as his/her target for contesting.

The structure of Muhammadu Buhari is strong, he has followership and there is no stopping him but God, but the same applies to President Jonathan. I have said it before, but it is only that it has come to the limelight now that Buhari is running to win, human factor can only be a force to reckon with if God is not in the picture so also is President Jonathan. It takes only God to put one on the throne; nobody can be President outside the backings of God. God owns the throne and He giveth it to whosoever he wills.

President Jonathan is an agent of transformation and Buhari is an agent of change, if you put the two on the table, then the people would make their choice armed with their Permanent Voters Cards (PVC). It is for people to dig a well, it is for divinity to cause the well to bring forth water, the horse is prepared against the day of battle, but safety is of God.

We are about to experience God’s divine intervention in Nigeria like never before. I said that only God can stop Buhari on 14thFebruary. It is God that puts one up and down, you will get it clear very soon.

Where is religion when talking about political offices?

We have not yet reached a stage where we will base our politics on credibility, character and ethnicity. We’ve not got to that point as religion and politics are largely interwoven, you can’t divorce one from another. But you must look at antecedents, you must look at what one has been able to do in the past and how he wants to improve on all that he has done before. Religion plays a vital role in our politics because Nigerians are God-fearing people. Be you Muslim, Christian or whatever, you must have something you believe in. I remember the June 12, 1993 presidential election that featured Alhaji Baba Gana Kingibe and the late Chief MKO Abiola. It was Muslim-Muslim ticket, but you see things have changed, the fastest way to lose election in Nigeria now is to present presidential candidate and vice-presidential candidate from the same religion. That would make such person a loser. Now the All Progressives Congress (APC) was wise in balancing the equation with a Christian; of course, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) also has Christian, Muslim candidates.

But the issue now is that, when Muhammadu Buhari was there as military Head of State, what were the things traceable to him as achievements? What did he do that warranted everyone to point at him as an agent of change? This is a school of thought. Also what did President Jonathan do to warrant us to say that he would be an agent of transformation? This is another school of thought.

But I put the whole thing on a scale and consider both Buhari and Jonathan. I emphasize again, only God can stop Buhari on February, 14 2015. Why? God remains the deciding factor to put on the throne or dethrone someone.

Jonathan may have the power of incumbency, but let’s sit down and think, for the past six years, how has he been able to transform the nation? That is why I want them to go on a debate, talk about issues, and say: ‘this is what I have been able to do and this is how I want to continue.’ People will listen to him than saying: ‘this one is black and this one is white.’

Actually, this is a general thing; even in the United States of America, President Barack Obama was smeared by his counterpart that he was from Kenya and what have you. Anyway, our politics is evolving, people are getting more aware with more enlightenment than what it used to be, there is an awakening.

How would you describe these doomsday prophecies concerning the presidential elections?

It is already heating up the polity. President Goodluck Jonathan went to Sokoto State and as soon as he departed, they took brooms to sweep the place. It doesn’t speak well, he is the President and even aside politics, there must be constitutional respect for the office of the Nigerian President. The future – and I’m saying this as a man of God – is in the hands of God, but you see, if God gives us a bright future, it is not enough, we must stretch our hands to take it. For instance, someone said that if President Jonathan doesn’t win the forthcoming election, pipeline vandalism would continue. Buhari said he was going to stop Boko Haram, he said that he would ensure safety of lives and properties.

I’m saying this emphatically, if we are not careful as a nation and people, the determining factor is just this month. If it becomes what it is with the way we are going now, I just pray against negative prophecies, but we should not ignore them. If we don’t have a change of attitude towards electoral processes, because nobody is willing to fold his hands to see his party being rigged out or experience hijacking of ballot boxes, people are not going to take it lightly.

I overheard Asari Dokubo saying nobody should fight, but if you slap me once, I will slap you twice. Now the truth is this, we are at the verge of sound intelligence as par who leads us. Everybody is clamouring for a better Nigeria, but how are we going about it? What do you have in place to clamour for a better Nigeria? You must not be concerned about now alone, but about posterity. I would be 50 on 8th of February, so I’m not just talking; I can tell a little bit about history and I know history catches on with people. We can make mistake but we don’t have to make the same mistake repeatedly, we don’t have to. Again, I say only God can stop Buhari from becoming our next president. You know why? He is determined despite the health and certificate saga; he is dogged. So only God can stop him. Jonathan is determined, only God can stop him. So that is why we must return to God and say: ‘God, let your will be done, when we take our PVCs and go to vote with our conscience not just by selling our conscience.

How would you advice Nigerians concerning elections?

Let’s have Nigeria at heart. We are here in Nigeria; we are for Nigeria because we are Nigerians. We don’t have any other country to call for help. So we must sheathe our swords and contribute meaningfully towards ensuring a peaceful atmosphere. Let us comply to rules, laws and order.

Avoid provocative words as it were and let’s try to stop those creating menace around us. If we love Nigeria, we will make Nigeria safe, but you see, a whole lot has gone down the drain and people no longer believe in their country. There is no patriotism; people no longer have trust in the system and where there is mistrust, there would be distrust and where there is distrust, there would be distortion, unity will no longer hold, because they will say many things and do very few. If we keep to our words, it is easy to lead Nigerians, we all want to see proofs and evidence. Once there is evidence, then there will be audience. No evidence, no audience.

How about your counsel to INEC and stakeholders in politics generally?

It will catch up with them; it is just like someone throwing a stone into the market, he doesn’t know who it will hit. Maybe it will be your brother, sister or relatives since what goes around comes around. We must not make others scapegoats, while we hide in our palace. Such is not going to be acceptable this time since people are getting more enlightened by the day. That’s why education is very, very important. If you find anybody trying to cause trouble, report such person immediately, be a peace keeper and a law abiding citizen of this country. I’ve stated this before, if we love our country, we will not want any other person to disintegrate it. Maybe there is a riot somewhere and they burn down places, who is losing? It is the common man. If the airport gets burnt down, the tax payers will then be deployed to fix it. Who loses? We must begin to see Nigeria as our own nation and country. We should be able to defend the unity and peace of the country and everyone should become a policeman or woman to debar crime. I know what is wrong and I go against it, I know what is right, I stand by it, you do your best and I do mine. We will become the best.

We will move on with a little here and there, if you keep on being less caring, then distraction will set in. Destiny decays in the hands of an idle man. When you remain dormant and redundant, very soon you will be bothered just as Boko Haram is in the North-east. We must be bothered now; we in the South-west. What affects one should affect all. We must stand in unity to defend the common good of this country.

What should be the role of men of God on the issue of Boko Haram and the kidnap of Chibok Girls?

Prayer, advisory role and we have the structure on ground – the Pentecostal Felloweship of Nigeria (PFN) and the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN). The leadership of CAN are doing what they are doing very well though. It is not unique to Nigeria. It is not a customized thing, but it is a worldwide thing which cuts across. So clerics are praying and giving godly counsel. You are only seeing a few, but the things you are not seeing are more than the ones you see. There are lots of interventions that have taken place which are not openly declared. It is only the ones we see that we know. The military won’t tell you how they go about their things but we can only see the result. So, we pray that our leaders would take to wise and godly counsels. The Bible says in the multiple of counseling, there is safety. So the leadership of CAN, PFN and other Christian bodies have been doing their bits and again, nobody will like to preside over a nation where chaos is the order of the day, I’m not sure anybody wants that.

Meanwhile, as 2015 kicked off, you won’t be wrong to say that the year started with a lot of different prophecies from the respected men of God concerning the 2015 elections and as the clock continues to tick for the big one, many Nigerians are waiting to see if or just how any of this prophecies would come to past.