Prophet T.B Joshua, the general overseer of the
Synagogue Church of All Nations has given his
opinion on the 2015 elections saying the exercise
may fail to happen in a few states battling against
the menace of Boko Haram.
Joshua also spoke about the relationship between
the Peoples Democratic Party and the opposition,
All Progressives Congress saying they are similar
in spirit.
Read excerpts from the interview below:
There are so many troubles in Nigeria today,
problems with insecurity, threats to national
unity and political manoeuvres by rival political
parties. What are your comments concerning
these troubled times in the country?
It is a normal thing for a country that has a bright
future, God's promise. A bright future always
attracts persecution, condemnation and enemies
when it's realised that the future is bright; you
will see a lot of pressures and threats. The
country is on the path to greatness; it will
compete with any Western nation in the future
and the Western nations know that Nigeria is
going to be a giant. That is why their support in
these trying times is needed. There is no country
that has not passed through this.
All the countries that have become great today,
they all passed through turbulence that nearly
consumed them. How we manage the situation
matters. If we don't manage it well, we will not
witness the greatness. It is not that the greatness
would not come but it would not be for our
generation. The greatness will still come but for
the coming generation.
>With the turbulence being experienced in some
states of the federation; and the election just
around the corner, how do you think this will play
out?
Elections will not happen in some states because
of the frequent attacks. This could affect between
three to four states. The states would be a no-go
area due to violence and elections would not take
place in those states unless we move closer to
God. We must intensify our prayers. This is what
God has showed me and you can imagine what
would happen if elections don't hold in those
states. It would have great implication for our
democracy.
How should we manage it?
We should not allow the politicians to politicise
all the areas of our lives. For example if you want
to enjoy anything, you have to be part of their
party - to get a job etc. Unless you are part of
their party, you cannot benefit from things that
should be available to you as a citizen. Look at
electricity, health etc. - they have politicised
everything. Even religion has been politicised;
Christianity has been politicised. Politicians go to
church; the pulpit is where they campaign now.
Even they go to churches and mosques to bomb
them. These are people in church who had gone
to pray for themselves. Must everybody become
a politician? How we handle the situation at hand
now matters. If the situation is not well managed,
we will find ourselves postponing the great
Nigeria, meaning we will not witness it but it
would be witnessed by our children.
Don't let us politicise every area of our lives. Let
us carefully play our politics with keen decency
because 2015 matters in the history of Nigeria. It
is either we cross the bridge successfully or it
collapses. A good Nigerian that wants this
greatness should be able to pay whatever proper
price that is needed to be paid to make this
dream of a great Nigeria possible. If your being in
politics will make this greatness come, then join.
From now to 2015 is a very important period in
the history of Nigeria and if we don't manage the
situation well, our democracy would be
rubbished.
>What can you say about APC and PDP?
In body we can call it APC and PDP but in spirit,
they are one and the same thing. I am yet to see
the difference. I am looking forward to seeing the
difference.
>With the situation in the country today and the
agitation on 2015, what advice do you have for
politicians not to create more tension in the
polity and what is the way out?
The advice; many of us need to leave politics
while many others need to join, in order to inject
fresh blood. The people that need to leave politics
are not the common people. This is in order to
avert the disaster that could rubbish our
democracy.
