This article was posted on the Facebook wall of Femi Fani Kayode but written by Pastor Bayo Oladeji who works with Leadership Newspapers.
At the formation stage of the APC, a respected Christian leader from the North, who is a political disciple of General Muhammadu Buhari and a few others asked the chieftains of the new party to let the party pick some Christians as members of the then Interim National Excecutive Committee which was later chairman by Chief Bisi Akande. But they ignored him. They merely made him an ex-officio.
Again when the convention was approaching, he ran to these people again to let the party has some of its key officers be Christians from the North, they ignored him. “I told them having many Christians from the North would be a proof that our party is not pro-Boko Haram. But they would not listen to me”.
The man told me. He wanted to go for the National Secretary, the office was zoned away from his state and when he wanted to contest for another office, they collected his money, screened him but removed his name from the ballot papers!
The man roared like a lion and dared the leaders not to allow him contest and see the consequence. They asked General Buhari to stop his boy but the man said, he was asking for his right.
One thing led to another, they allowed him to contest and he defeated the so-called consensus candidate that was endorsed.
Hear him again, “Do you know what they did again, they positioned themselves by each of the ballot box telling delegates, ‘don’t vote for…’ he is a pastor’ But God proved them wrong, I won.”
That is not the end of the story, last week, there was a need for the National Chairman of APC, John Odigie -Oyegun to pay a courtesy call on Cardinal John Onaiyekan in Abuja and they were now asking this party officer to follow them being the only Christian officer of the party from the North.
According to an eye witness, the man said, “I would not follow you. When I was asking you to let us have more Christians from the North in the National Working Committee (NWC) you people refused and you almost stopped me too. I am not going” The man did not.
I am telling you this to let you know the war genuine Christians in politics are facing. If you are not called to go there by God, steer clear of politics otherwise, they mess you up!
Those who are here for other reasons are also free. But they should stop condemn those who are saying what they dare not say. And whether I added you or you added me, you know the way out and if I see you as an obstacle, I would throw you out through the window.
(THIS CONTRIBUTION WAS WRITTEN BY BAYO OLADEJI WHO IS A PASTOR AND A WELL-RESPECTED SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT WITH ”THE LEADERSHIP NEWSPAPER” IN NIGERIA. HIS WRITE-UP WAS CULLED FROM HIS FACEBOOK PAGE ON 30th JULY 2014)
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