Ovation Magazine chief, Dele Momodu, on Saturday sent out a warning to the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), saying it might face moral crisis if it supports Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo and the Presidential ambition which he’s allegedly nursing.
Africa Today News, New York had earlier reported that the RCCG which is presently headed by Pastor Enoch Adeboye, had created the Office of Directorate of Politics and Governance to engage members willing to be involved in politics and ‘mobilise support for them when required’.
This Thursday’s announcement led to speculations that the Church is gearing to mobilise support for the alleged Presidential ambition of Osinbajo who is one of its pastors.
Reacting, RCCG Head of Media and Public Relations, Pastor Olaitan Olubiyi, who spoke to Saturday PUNCH, said the newly created Office has nothing to do with the Vice-President or any person who may have political ambition in 2023.
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He pointed out that the Office was to sensitise members towards active politics as Christians cannot continue to stay off politics.
However, Dele Momodu, in a post, titled, ‘My Kobo Advice To The Redeemed Christian Church Of God(RCCG),’ warned leaders of the Church, saying the easiest way to create trouble in Nigeria today is to attempt to mix religion with politics.
He said, ‘Naturally, I feel that I owe it a duty to tell our Church leaders, and our Church in general, the Gospel truth and nothing but the absolute truth. In the light of my relationship with the RCCG, this duty is even more imperative and compelling. I believe the leaders of the RCCG have laboured so hard to build one of the most formidable churches in the world. Nothing must be done to inadvertently cause a cataclysmic storm in the House of God. And the easiest way to create trouble in Nigeria today is any attempt to mix religion with politics. It goes beyond lighting the blue touch paper. It is like combining some highly combustible ingredients together in a chemical laboratory. It is not just that the effect may not be too pleasant, it is that the result and consequences will be catastrophic. God forbid.
‘As soon as I read the memo establishing a political arm of our Church, I realised this was nothing but an invitation to Armageddon, if true. For that reason, at first, I assumed the memo was a joke, a fake document that was merely meant to stir the hornets’ nest, so I did not pay too much attention to it. However, when it started flying in from every direction to my phones, I knew someone had touched the tiger by the tail. I started working the phones to speak to a few contacts who should know about it and be able to confirm the veracity or otherwise of the document. The outcome was a resounding yes, the document had emanated from the Church and was acquiesced to by the upper echelons.
‘I asked for what the motive(s) could have been, and the general conspiracy theory was that our church was setting up an extensive network for the obvious Presidential ambition of the current Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, although couched in terms which ostensibly suggested that the Church wished to support all of its congregation who wished to contest the next general elections and made their aspirations known to the newly formed Church department. Personally, that theory didn’t jell with me. To the best of my knowledge, Professor Osinbajo is not the only member of the church contesting the Presidential election. And it was not the church that nominated him as running mate to President Muhammadu Buhari. He got the job primarily because of his closeness to his former Principal, then Governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and also because of his admirable credentials, ability and capacity. His religion was necessarily a factor because a Northern Moslem must perforce pick a Southern Christian as his running mate in the current Nigerian clime. That was the only reason religion came into it, I believe. It had nothing to do with the fact that he is a senior pastor of the RCCG.
‘Even if the Vice President has now decided to bear his own father’s name by dropping that of his avuncular godfather, the church will still face a moral crisis if it wishes to jump on the bandwagon by drumming up support for Professor Osinbajo on religious grounds alone for many reasons, some of which I will now highlight.’
Dele Momodu also went ahead to remind the RCCG that Osinbajo is not the only member of the Church who might have an ambition for the Presidency. According to him, he’s also a member of the RCCG with his ambition for the 2023 Presidency already public.
AFRICA TODAY NEWS, NEW YORK