The Oscar Romero lessons for Nigeria

President Muhammadu Buhari last week rebuked religious leaders for in his words, poking their noses into political matters. 

He (Buhari) was certainly not abreast with the pride of place that a certain celebrated theologian Archbishop Oscar Romero has occupied in the pantheon of global history due to his profound deployment of the powers of personal examples and his consistent dispositions for speaking truth to power from his pulpits in El Salvador. 

If Muhammadu Buhari had had time to read broadly and followed the intellectual trajectories set by this reputable liberation theologian who held much of Latin America spellbound with his oratorical powers and his leadership candour in speaking for the voiceless, then certainly Buhari would have exercised some levels of restraints and wisdom and would have desisted from pouring undeserved invectives on some religious leaders who were seen attending to a reconciliation meeting organised at the home of the former military and civilian leader of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo who left the Army in late 1970’s as a full-fledged General. 

However, apparently due to lack of proper intellectual consultations and guidance, Buhari embarked on a misplaced tirades when he went on to assert that religious leaders who become entangled in politics loses respect amongst Nigerians.

These weighty statements immediately sparked off a wild wind of controversies.

Not necessarily because he made the comments to coincide with the top level successful fence mending mission in the home of Obasanjo who recently openly rejected Buhari’s second term bid but for a variety of factors. 

For some who took Buhari’s words with a pinch of salt, his comments lacked empirical support and foundation and is actually hypocritical going by his association for a long time with religious leaders of diverse affiliations. 

Even as I write, his deputy Professor Yemi Osinbajo is a big time pastor in one of Nigeria’s most flambouyant Christian denominations- Redeemed Christian Church.

He was the second in command in the church’s hierarchy before Buhari chose him as his running mate in the Presidential poll of 2015.  

From the benefit of hindsight too, the current president is known to have received high profile visitors from the two Nigeria’s dominant religious faith groups of Christianity and Islam.

Frequently featured on pages of newspapers and televisions mingling with top notch religious leaders, president Buhari it would be recalled is known to always consult top Islamic preachers from time to time.

His selective appointments of only Moslems into top flight national security offices is blamed on the pedestrian influences of those Islamic preachers that frequently thronged the Presidential mansion known as Aso Rock Presidential Villa in Abuja, Nigeria’s political capital. 

His repudiation of the religious leaders and his call on them to distance themselves from politics does not hold water.

Buhari is known to have made those scathing remarks against religious leaders against the backdrops of the media stories that trended in which two most respected religious leaders of both the Christian and Islamic faiths were seen negotiating truce between Obasanjo and his then erstwhile vice President Alhaji Abubakar Atiku.

Atiku and Obasanjo have had running political bottles since the days of their presidency during which time the then president almost dethroned his vice but for his resilience and his determined deployment of good team of lawyers who successfully secured a Supreme Court’s reprieve stopping his then estranged boss from sacking him from office when the then vice president defected to another party.

But as run up to the 2019 presidential poll hots up, the former Vice President who just picked up the presidential flag of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) scored a significant milestone when his former boss who had parted ways with him was talked into reconciling with him (Atiku).

This feat was occasioned by the interventions of Bishop Mathew Hassan Kukah and Sheikh Abubakar Gumi.

Lest I forget, Nigeria’s most powerful and influential Pentecostal clergy, Bishop David Oyedipo of the Living Faith Church was indeed the third of the high powered religious celebrities that negotiated a successful truce between the two big political masquerades – Chief Obasanjo and Alhaji Atiku.

Bishop Oyedepo is ranked by Forbes as one of the very few billionaire religious entrepreneurs in the world. He is extensively respected by millions of people all over the world. 

The deal ended up with a public endorsement of Atiku by Obasanjo even as the religious leaders smiled in approval.

This move understandably caused tremendous political earthquake in the corridors of power whereby the current holder of the office of President Muhammadu Buhari, a retired military Major General a little lower in rank to Obasanjo desperately battles to retain his seat for a second and final tenure from 2019.  

The media desk of President Buhari went haywire by carpeting all the important personalities that were seen at the venue of the historic political reconciliation which took place in the retirement mansion of the former president in Ota, Abeokuta, Ogun State.

Not satisfied with the tirades released by his media boys, President Buhari went full throttle by criticizing religious leaders for mixing up politics and religion. 

But only two days before this incident played out, president Buhari received in audience the head of the Deeper Life Bible Church Pastor Kumuyi even as his media team feasted on the photographs by circulating it in such a fashion as to create reactions from Christians who felt disappointed that one of the key Christian leaders visited Buhari and could not raise the issue of killing of Christians in North Central but was seen smiling from ear to ear.

Many Catholic Priests have been killed by armed Fulani herdsmen in Benue state.

Two female Christian preachers were openly hacked to death by Islamists in Abuja and Kano and for three years not one killer is behind bars but these religious leaders trooping into the Presidential villa in Abuja are not pursuing justice for the victims who we were unjustly deprived of their precious lives. 

In what appears like a classic case of momentary loss of memory or even deliberate forgetfulness, Buhari fired his missile at religious leaders who get involved in politics but in a collective amnesia, his supporters forgot that he had only just received the pastor and other high profile Islamic preachers who had gone to the Villa with the Kano State Governor Alhaji Abdullahi Ganduje on a goodwill visit.

Buhari stated thus: “Having recognized the role our religious leaders have been playing so far, I appeal to them to eschew partisan politics and appeal to their respective members to read the manifestos of each political party, discuss and pray for God’s guidance before casting their votes.”

He continued his tirades, “Religious leaders should not be seen to involve themselves in partisan politics or political controversies, otherwise they risk losing their status and public respect.”

However, in the year 2015, just before the election, a popular catholic priest in Enugu Reverend Father Ejike Mbaka had praised Buhari and urged Nigerians to vote for him.

The then opposition candidate and current president expressed excitement at this endorsement.

Mbaka was amongst the first sets of supporters that he hosted in the Presidential mansion in Abuja upon assumption of office. 

To be continued tomorrow.

Onwubiko is head, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURWA).