Former President Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, speaking on Saturday, expressed his dissatisfaction with the tainted base of Nigeria’s election system. He pleaded with Christians to engage in politics and work towards its cleansing.
While speaking at the 57th annual convention and 67th anniversary of The Gospel Faith Mission International (GOFAMINT) hosted at Gospel City, Ogunmakin, Ogun State, Obasanjo made a point that politics, under normal circumstances, should not be tainted, and it is the active participants who contribute in soiling its originality.
Speaking on the theme: ‘The Roles of the Church in Nation building at a Time Like This,’ the former president, who saluted the church on the successful conduction of the convention, urged Christians to be different among the corruptive tendencies and influences of the world, especially in politics.
He told the congregation that as believers, they must hold onto the values of Christ and ask themselves all the time, ‘What will Christ do if He finds himself in the circumstances that I find myself?’
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Given the current state of the country with issues such as insecurity, hopelessness, poverty, and depression, the former president highlighted the significance of the church acting as the world’s salt, particularly during these unfavourable circumstances.
‘We are in the world, yet we are not of the world. The influence of corrupting corruption is enormous. We are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. We are to be like Jesus who, when He was in the world, did not belong to the world,’ Pa Obasanjo said to the audience.
He called on the church to advocate for justice, fairness, and equity across all aspects of the country’s social, political, and economic facets.
He added that: ‘Food without salt is stale. The church is meant to flavour it’s environment. A church that cannot play its role has lost its saltiness. Christ has chosen us to bring forth fruits and that our fruits should abide.’
He framed the mission of nation-building as an unending journey, emphasising that it lacks a definitive conclusion, and he urged believers to be outstanding and set a positive example in any setting they inhabit.
Most importantly, Obasanjo stressed the vital role of Christians, urging them to embody the fruits of the Spirit, including love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
‘Living in the world is not a bed of roses. Christ had told us there will be tribulations and hardships so that we can prepare ahead and just as he came out as a conqueror, we also will come out as conquerors, the church must distinct and distinguish itself from the world palance,’ he concluded.