With Ayobrown Adetunji
Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote; there is no privacy that cannot be penetrated, so also, no secret can be kept forever in this civilised world. My title for this edition would have been ‘Principal Buhari, Vice President Osinbajo and Oshiomhole, the head boy’. But while preparing that, I saw news of the COZA Pastor. OMG! The very first title that flashed through my medulla oblongata was ‘Again another pastor in a mess’, hence this piece. Still trending and if not flooding the social media in millions replies and reactions of course, but many still don’t want to believe that someone like Pastor Fatoyinbo could be linked to such jumble mumble. I was tempted to want to join this category of people however, I did not; don’t blame me I would have done so until I read what Osinbajo said too.
A tweeterโs reaction on ‘Fatoyinbo versus Dakolo rape case’, where he said ‘there is absolutely no need for a protest against Pastor Biodun Fatoyinbo and his COZA church. The protest should rather be against Buhari….’ and another said “in the mouth of 2 or 3 witnesses the truth is established’, quoting Pastor Fatoyinbo himself who gave this message. But why protest against Buhari’s government, Nigerians need not ask, because many innocent citizens are maimed and killed on daily basis but his vice urged the international community not to believe those stories even when armed herdsmen are kidnapping innocent people everyday even in the south-west state of Ogun, where I came from.
As alleged, ‘who raped who’ was the first message that struck me like thunder, on reading the news of a coalition of human rights groups decision to stage a protest to the Commonwealth of Zion Assembly to demand the stepping down of the church’s senior Pastor, in order to allow a probe following a rape allegation against him by Busola, photographer and wife of musician, Timi Dakolo.
VP Osinbajo, in front of the whole world lied. While speaking in New York, he claimed that “as at 2010, Nigeria had about 112.7million people living in extreme poverty. Nothing in place, there was no Social Investment Programme, there was no social security, no way of taking people out of poverty.” But unfortunately for him and according to the United Nations and the World Poverty Clock, Nigeria overtook India as the world headquarters for extreme poverty on Tuesday, June 26, 2018, when her population of extremely poor people increased to an unprecedented 87 million people. Truly and behold, ‘Nigeria is short of men of integrity in positions of power’, a quote credited to the Nigeria Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo. No other organisation or government was able to refute what both the United Nations and the World Poverty Clock posted, claiming that Nigeria’s population of extremely poor people hit an unprecedented number of 87 million people in 2018 under General Buhari, how is it possible that there were 112.7 million people living in extreme poverty in 2010, Nigerians would want better explanation from the VP. Because if that is anything to go by, then Nigeria would have overtaken India as the world headquarters for extreme poverty in 2010, because at that time, India did not have such number of extremely poor people. Although numbers are indeed funny.
“As I repeated many times during the course of the campaign that our country is not short of idea, we are not short of projects; we are not short of money either; what we are short of is integrity in office. Lying is corruption, and like VP said, it’s the major problem that our country has faced and once we are able to deal with it effectively, our country will be the great nation that it ought to be”. The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) should therefore stand-up and act now.
How Osinbajo is helping herdsmen create Fulani Ruga settlements in Nigeria, is another controversial issue generated from this number two citizen’s office. Quoting Miyetti Allah organisation, this was disclosed by the General Secretary of MACBAN, Baba Uthman Ngelzarma, while appearing on a television programme. Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, MACBAN, confirmed this, stating that the office of the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo was helping herdsmen to create the Ruga settlement across the country. Office of the VP may deny this claim but the truth will come out in only a matter of time. What is good is the word extravagant if it can’t be used to describe royalty then it is so with truth if it cannot be used to describe men of God.
Interestingly, the Presidency too wants justice to prevail in Pastor Fatoyinbo versus Dakolo’s matter, but how possible in a place where injustice prevails and it’s celebrated everyday with impunity across the country. The truth is that the period between 2010 and 2015 witnessed the most radical reduction in poverty, ever in Nigerian history, according to international measurement. For instance, according to the annual Global Hunger Index published by the US based International Food Policy Research Institute, whereas hunger increased in other parts of sub-Saharan Africa, for the first time since records were kept, hunger reduced in Nigeria by 20% in 2013 under the Goodluck Jonathan administration. Facts are truly sacred as these information are always available on the internet.
Sometimes severity is the price to pay for greatness and in the heart of everyman lives the truth; loyal service is telling the truth always. Many in recent time now look at pastors, imams and other religious leaders with disdain and hardly believe them or take them for their words, because of their many fallacious assertions. Lying has no other tag but a sin.
Though, there is no proven evidence yet and until he is proven guilty by a competent court of law, the incident could still be considered as not good enough for anyone to jump to a conclusion. But what happens even, if at last Pastor Fatoyinbo is eventually vindicated?. Imperfection is part of human experience you may submit; and then what if he is indeed found guilty? If it is discovered that the story is not true, then, the accuser, Busola should ask Judas how he felt. For the sake of posterity it is better and generally preferable to have others to do the dirty job, especially if it must be done’. It is not about what is possible, but tell the whole world the truth. Kingdom of God will never fall, men may.`
Perception is everything; it is about what you say rather than what you think. The way you walk rather than what you wear, it is about the overall image you project โ the great apes do it with no clothe at all. Never confuse politics with truth, no matter how far and fast falsehood travels, it will always be overtaken by truth, just in a day. And today, Nigeria is faced with the unknown and uncertainty, men of God and their associations should wakeup, especially in the face of similar and persistent allegations and accusations, to prevent such actions and indictments as well as condemn such indecent acts among their members in order to avoid any stain on the name of our creator and body of the church.
I took more than a cursory look at the statement that “In the mouth of two or three witnesses the truth is established” as Pastor Fatoyinbo was quoted to have said. Though, CAN condemned the alleged rape incidence in strong terms, especially because the Christianity religion forbids it; it also doesn’t matter who is involved. It is ungodly, wicked, and condemnable. CAN should do more by calling on Fatoyinbo to submit himself for probes and investigations, so also, attention of the likes of the Vice President should be called to the ripple effect of such statements. Nothing short of the truth should be heard from pastors or other ‘men of God’.
*Ayobrown, Senior System Analyst, National Pilot Newspaper, writes viaย aayobrown@gmail.com
