Rev. (Dr.) Felix Ilaweagbon Omobude is a former National President of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) and the General Superintendent of Gospel Light International Ministries (New Covenant Gospel Church), which he founded in 1988 with an international headquarters in Benin City, Edo State. Omobude spoke with AYOYINKA JEGEDE on sundry national issues, especially the escalation of insecurity resulting in killings in many parts of the country and preparations for the 2027 general election.

 What’s your view on the recent killings in Jos and other parts of the country?
Well, every right-thinking Nigerian, and every right-thinking human being must be concerned.  Life is a gift that God gives and anybody who goes to kill another person certainly is not doing God an honour. He is a criminal. Anybody who goes to kill another person, takes innocent lives unlawfully is a criminal.

Generally, I believe that the state of insecurity in the country is worrisome and the Jos, Plateau State, killings and killings in other parts of the country predate this present government; it has been systemic.

The killings have always been well-planned and executed by the killers and our worry is why the government has not been able to stop or at least reduce it.  It is worrisome.

Generally, insecurity is heightened in Nigeria; there is hardly any part of the country that is spared.  Some people say the rate of poverty, to some extent, has aggravated it.

But government has a primary role to secure the lives and properties of people.

Some people are of the opinion that government is playing deaf ears to the killings. Do you subscribe to that?

Any responsible government should be concerned and I think the fact that this government has acknowledged the problem and exhibited the courage to invite some external support is commendable. Apparently, the government knows that this thing is beyond us. But also, I think the plan to set up a state policing system is part of the government’s response to this. However, I believe the government can do more.

No government can sleep, fold its hands and go on with political campaigns when citizens are massacred every day and nobody is brought to justice. These killers are human beings; they are not spirits. It is just baffling that they seem to be invincible to law.

You are over 80 years old. To you, what is the lasting solution to incessant killings in the country?
The solution is that policing should be decentralised.

And the locals should be encouraged to get many more arms to protect themselves. The influx of foreign fighters who were brought in by political actors at some point should be checked. Many foreigners have flooded this country and something must be done about that.

I believe that the military and police should be very well-equipped and motivated, as well as have a very strong intelligence gathering. With the cooperation of the locals we will overcome it.

You’ve been a strong advocate of state policing. Will it really come to reality in this country?
Yes! At least the Federal Government, from what I read, has come to realise that it is necessary. You can’t bring a man from Kano to oversee policing in Edo. He doesn’t know the culture; he doesn’t know the terrain; he can only try. But if you have people who are indigenes, who know the various routes and know what to do, it will help, to a large extent, to identify when strangers and foreigners come into a community. And as it is today, although the governors are the chief security officers of their states, the Commissioners of Police are not truly loyal to them. They are loyal to Abuja.

So, if each state has a police force that they can rely on and which can target troubled areas, it will reduce insecurity to a larger extent.

When I was growing up, there were local government police. They had their roles, and they didn’t clash with federal police. In other nations of the world, there are city police, some county police. It helps policing; it makes it more relevant.

Politicians are always thinking of the next election once they get into power. Ahead of the 2027 general election, how can Nigeria get it right?
If they kill all of us, kill all Nigerians waiting for 2027, they will have nobody to rule in 2027. If they allow hunger to kill a majority of the people because they are saving for 2027 elections, they might have no people to govern. I believe that those that are in charge of government have not much realised that they were voted in for a certain term.

And as long as that term has not been exhausted, they should serve the people and serve creditably.

When you serve well, asking the people to vote for you again will not be a difficult thing. But Nigerians, of course, have come to terms with the fact that elections have not been free. There’s room for manipulations, vote buying, and so on and so forth.

So, I believe that before 2027 comes, those that have been elected, who are in government, should please care for the people that put them in there and wait till 2027 before we determine who comes next.

What type of leaders should the electorate vote for in 2027 to enthrone peace in the country?
Nigerians need selfless leaders. We need leaders that will formulate policies that will benefit both the rich and the poor; leaders that will ensure peace and safety such that wherever you live in this country, you feel safe. Nigerians need leaders who are passionate about the country, not about themselves. There are some leaders we must check their antecedents. If they were, maybe, local government chairmen or so and they stole money, and now want to go for Presidency, we must know that the leopard cannot change its skin. That is the way it is.

So, the time has come that we must check the antecedents of those who aspire to lead us.

What have they done? What contribution have they made? How did they make the wealth they are flaunting? Do they actually care for the poor? How have they exhibited it? These are questions that we want to ask.

And I will also plead with you journalists to help us to be analytical, because many of us don’t remember; maybe the level of education, ignorance, and poverty has blindfolded many.

If you give them N10,000, they forget the reality.

So, journalists must ask the necessary questions. If a man, when he was coming in, says I will give you water, I will give you electricity, and four years passed and there is no water and no electricity, he should be called to account. Journalists should remind him, ‘this is what you said when you were campaigning; why have you not delivered?’ These are things we expect.

What is your view on the level of hunger, poverty and unemployment in the country?
There is no doubt that there is hunger in the land. Now, this government came in and removed the fuel subsidy. The after effect is biting hard to the point that the ordinary person is almost eating from the refuse bin. And nobody seems to understand that boarding public transport is now a problem. There is no electricity. If you have a generator, to power it is a problem.

I think the government of the day must try as much as possible to solve these problems.

Nigerians would be happy to support any government that will ensure that when you turn on your switch, there is electricity 24 hours or at least for the most part of the day.

Also, public water supply, which ought to be for everybody, is not available. Many of our youths have left school and they are not employed. So, it becomes a factory for training criminals because the idle minds, they say, are the devil’s workshop.

I think that the government should think very seriously about assuaging the pains of the common person. Those who benefit from government at those top levels don’t believe that there is hunger in the land. I think that the press should help us to give a true narrative about what is happening.

What is really the role of the church in helping to stem most of the challenges bedeviling the country? Some are of the opinion that some church leaders ride in private jets amid the pressing challenges facing ordinary Nigerians. What’s your view on this?
I will only plead with journalists to be fair in taking a stand. If a few persons have jets among the several billions who are devotedly serving God and serving the people that does not mean that all leaders of the church are living flamboyantly. I can tell you that apart from praying, which is the primary role, we pray for the government.

When the government is doing well, we support them. When they are not doing well, of course, we speak to caution them. We support the vulnerable. As of today, there are so many widows that depend on the church; there are orphans that would not have gone to school that the church is sponsoring. There are those below the poverty line that queue up week after week for support. There are those with serious medical situations that the church cannot turn their face against. We partner with government in education, health care and other things as a part of our social responsibility.

Nobody is setting up a school or health facilities with the aim of making money for his family or whatever. It’s a social responsibility. The church continues to educate the people. We are closer to the people than politicians. Week after week, they come; there are thousands and there are millions from various churches.

They hear the word of God. So many hardened criminals have changed and those who need help, to the best of our ability, we help, hence I don’t think that classifying the church as doing nothing or not doing enough is fair.

So what are we talking about? There are so many pastors whose voices may not come to you that are just labouring passionately because they love God. They are sacrificing for the kingdom. You cannot pay a good pastor enough. Many of them in the villages engage in causes that help humanity. And that’s what Christ has called us to do. We are not going to call for people to raise arms against government. We are not going to lead a kind of revolution against government. We will continue to address issues the way they are. And we will hold the powers that be to account.

How can government address the problem of worsening economic hardship?
Nigerians are not asking for too much. They want to be able to go to their farms and put food on their tables. Nigerians want to access health care that is available with doctors and medications. Nigerians want the children of the poor to go to school and be taught.

These are what we are asking for; it’s the minimum. We are not asking for those skyscrapers in Abuja. Do you realise the danger that the several out-of-school children roaming our streets poses to the future? Do you realise it’s a breeding ground for criminals and for recruitment of these people that are killing?

So government should come up with policies that will touch the life of the common person positively; that will make it compulsory for every parent to send his/her children to school. Education should be free and compulsory, especially at the primary and junior secondary levels. Government should do that and arm the school children on how they can survive.

At 80, you have seen all. To you, what are the things that are impeding the unity of this country? Should the country still be together or disintegrate as some people are clamouring?
I believe that One Nigeria would be better for all of us. But it must be One Nigeria that practices true federalism. It must be One Nigeria that upholds the rule of law. It must be One Nigeria that recognises equity.

When I was growing up, we had strangers. We had Hausa/Fulani people around us. We didn’t discriminate. They spread their mats somewhere close to the house and prayed; we took our Bibles and went to church. We had no issue. Nigerians have not been as divided as we are today.

Nigerians have become suspicious of one another. Government must do everything possible to reunite Nigerians by being just, equitable and fair. Justice to all is equity to all. We must understand that what binds us together is stronger than what unites us.

The politicisation of religion, both the Christian and Islamic religion, has not helped the unity of this country. It has helped in polarising the country. And I think leaders of the two religions must understand when we are being used for personal gains. Any religion that teaches its adherents to go and kill others is not worth practicing. And I believe that we must focus on the core values that we have in this country that made us live together in the past.

What are some of those core values?
The dignity of human life! No religion that is worth its cause should teach adherents to go and kill people. No! There should be the dignity of respect, mutual respect, love and care even for strangers. The dignity of honesty, no matter who is involved. Those are our core values.

I happened to travel to Kano several years ago and I stayed in the house of a Muslim. They knew I was a Christian and they housed me. They did their prayers; they didn’t compel me to join them.  I employed some Muslims as I grew up as some of my personal aides. They worshipped right in front of my house. I didn’t compel them; when they were doing their fasting, I understood. I didn’t compel them. These are values. Religion must not be by force.

What advice do you have for Nigerian leaders and followers as well?
Many of our leaders go to church; many of them go to mosque. What we need is for them to apply what they hear from these places of worship. We need to see it translate to good deeds. When our leaders are sworn into government, they hold the Bible in their hands if they are Christians or the Quran in their hands if they are Muslims to swear. I hope people know the implications of that. They should live up to what their faith teaches.

Christians in government must go there and practice what our Lord Jesus Christ teaches.

Our leaders should emulate Jesus Christ. They should demonstrate utmost love for the masses and be selfless leaders. They must show empathy and sincerity of purpose.

And Nigerians should have hope and faith in the country. Nigerians should rally round our security men, give credible information and assist government in whatever way possible to curb the insecurity in the country. They should also hold government accountable where they fail.

We should live in peace and harmony both with God and men.

We should give peace a chance. No matter how bad things are in Nigeria, there is hope. The God who raised Christ out of the grave will also smile on Nigeria. We should give peace a chance. We should be generous to one another and forgive one another. We should know that no matter how dark a night may be, the day will break. Light will always conquer darkness, no matter the manipulation.

As for the church, I call for unity of the body of Christ in the country. There should be nothing like southern or northern Christians.