"Yes, there should be a Christian platform, that is, a set of issues upon which the Christian voter must take a stand and from that stand, vote for or against a candidate or candidates or political party or parties. But, no, that platform do not necessarily carry with the anti-other faith baggage. If it does, it is only incidental. Also, a Christian platform does not preclude voting for a non-Christian. It simply means voting for someone who, irrespective of his faith, will carry out policies that are, to use a common parlance, Christian-friendly...In other words, for the avoidance of any doubt, the faith of a leader, while it would have helped tremendously, does not rank among the things that should matter to kingdom persons as we vote in these elections."
When I wrote the piece headlined, “Dear Lord, Whom Should I Vote For?” a number of people have asked me, “what if I am not spiritual enough to hear from God.” Should I abstain? Aren’t you over-spiritualising a purely secular matter?
It is this perspective that I wish to address in this piece. But before, I do that, let me state clearly that if you are a Christian; if you genuinely seek the face of God on any issue, He will speak and you will hear Him. Of a truth, if you’ll just reflect a little upon your life, you will discover that you have heard Him speak on very many occasions and you have responded either in obedience or in rebellion, with appropriate consequences.
As for over-spiritualising a secular matter, readers of this column, I am sure are aware, that its very essence is that there is a kingdom, a God perspective to every issue, and that is what we try to propagate, within the limits of our revelation. But these are however matters for another day.
Now to the issue of what should matter to the Christian as we go to the polls. In other words, should there be a Christian platform? In attempting to answer, let me state two principles up-front. Yes, there should be a Christian platform, that is, a set of issues upon which the Christian voter must take a stand and from that stand, vote for or against a candidate or candidates or political party or parties. But, no, that platform do not necessarily carry with the anti-other faith baggage. If it does, it is only incidental.
Also, a Christian platform does not preclude voting for a non-Christian. It simply means voting for someone who, irrespective of his faith, will carry out policies that are, to use a common parlance, Christian-friendly. The Bible records the exploits of a number of pagan kings that God used for his own purposes. In other words, for the avoidance of any doubt, the faith of a leader, while it would have helped tremendously, does not rank among the things that should matter to kingdom persons as we vote in these elections.
Having said all of that, I shall proceed to suggest a few issues about which, the Nigerian Christians should not compromise. The first is education. My people, says the Bible, perish for lack of knowledge (see Hosea 4:6). A Christian-friendly candidate would be one who has a clear, comprehensive, feasible and viable policy in education. Free education is good and should be encouraged, but the candidates/parties push it must give a clear blueprint about how it would be achieved. Also, there must be a commitment to the three worldview and character-moulding subjects, Christian Religious Knowledge, Moral Instructions and Civics. These will address the yearning gap in the growth of our children who even when they are taught well at home find themselves contending with different values out “in the real world.”
Next is the structure of our federation. This is important, because as currently structured, there is so much injustice, inequity and therefore, ungodliness in the way Nigeria is run. Whether we wish to acknowledge it honestly or not, God cannot be happy with a situation where the way resources native to any part of the country are controlled and managed from a so-called centre. The continued attempt at tinkering with this issue will get us nowhere. What we need in Nigeria is a true federation; one in which no section is treated as, or even remotely allowed to feel like, second-class citizens. Justice is the only enduring antidote to violence. What are the candidates/parties saying about this?
The Bible says we are one body in Christ (Romans 12:5). It says that when one part hurts the whole body hurts. Yet, for years, Christians in certain parts of Northern Nigeria have been hurting for ages and the rest of us do little or nothing about it. Many have died; many have lost loved ones; many have been maimed; very many are living in mortal fear of their neighbours. In some parts, churches cannot own property, including places of worship. The persecution and marginalization has gone on for too long while our governments and intellectuals are busy debating whether the problem is religious or ethnic or both. Yet the bottom line is that the Christian has become an endangered species in many parts of Northern Nigeria. The Christian-friendly candidate, particularly Presidential and governorship candidate has to be the one who has a clear programme, with timelines for solving this problems. Timelines are particularly important here because life is involved.
Everybody agrees that corruption is the deadliest single cancer that’s eaten up our innards as a nation. Everybody agrees that institutions have to be established and strengthened to fight it. But as we have seen, institutions need good people to nurture them to growth. Besides, we need to understand that corruption is sometimes system-induced. For instance, big governments tend to lead to corruption. Which candidate or party has a clear idea of how to deal with the fundamentals, as distinct from simply tinkering with what’s on ground?
Of great importance is the issue of integrity. This is as distinct from the problem of corruption. Integrity is the scarcest commodity in Nigeria. That is because, no matter how brilliant the policies; no matter how convincing a candidate sounds, no matter how seemingly well-thought out the programmes look; if the integrity quotient of the implementers is low, it would be more of the same. While it is true that people change, we have little else to judge people by than their track record, whether in public service or in the private sector. But, while we are at it, we should watch out also for the little signs; what the Bible describes as “the little foxes” or the “yeast of the Pharisees.”
In closing, dear reader, it is my opinion that God is willing to lead us the candidates of his choice, as we vote, but should you think you might not hear Him, this checklist should help. Long live Nigeria
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