Kashamu, Musa, Okorie clash over priest’s sermon

More reactions still trail the criti­cal observations of the popular Enugu Catholic priest, Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka who, at Adoration Ground, Emene, Enugu, alleged that Presi­dent Goodluck Jonathan surrounded him­self with very corrupt officials and, therefore, asked him to step aside.

The Chairman, Organisation and Mobilisa­tion of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Buruji Kashamu, faulted the priest’s call on President Goodluck Jonathan to abandon his re-election bid for the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Bu­hari (rtd.) to emerge the winner of the presiden­tial election next month.


Kashamu, in a statement yesterday, wondered why the cleric would abhor a healthy contest for such an escape route, stressing that, “it is unthinkable that a supposed man of God would advise a democratically elected president to abandon his constitutionally guaranteed right for a former dictator to assume the nation’s lead­ership through the back door!”
While regretting that a cleric could descend into the political arena to make such sweeping statements, Kashamu added that, it was not good that at a time when all well-meaning Nigerians and friends of Nigeria should rally round the president to defeat terrorism, a cleric could be talking as if he is a politician.“Thankfully, the best that Rev. Mbaka could be said to be is a man of God, and not God Him­self. He (Rev. Mbaka) has said his own but God has the final say. All well-meaning Nigerians know that the spate of insecurity was orchestrat­ed by those who believe that the nation’s leader­ship is their birthright. Once they could not get it, they must bring down the whole house.
“From recent revelations, it is clear that some Northern elements are deliberately recruiting their wards into the Boko Haram sect for some pecuniary gains. We, Nigerians, are not fools. The sympathisers and masterminds of Boko Haram would not be allowed to benefit from the problems they created in the first instance,” the party chieftain submitted. Kashamu said while the Federal Government intensified efforts in the rescue of the Chibok girls, Nigerians should not lose sight of the fact that the girls were abducted because of the ir­responsibility of the Borno State Government. “It is sickening now that everyone is blam­ing the Federal Government, as if there are no various levels of government and interventions. The Jonathan Administration has taken the lead in the fight against insurgency and the efforts to rescue the abducted girls. It should be supported and encouraged, not vilified“More importantly, the upcoming general elections should not be made to look like a refer­endum on the efforts of the Jonathan Adminis­tration to combat insurgency. It is much more than that, as shown in its respect for the Rule of Law, free speech, agricultural transformation, revamping of rail transportation, rebasing our economy and the steady growth of our Gross Domestic Product (GDP), among others,” Kashamu added
Echoing Kashamu’s line of thought was the spokesman of the Lagos chapter of the party, Taofik Gani, who described Fr. Ejike’s sermon, as “not divine prophecy or prophetic revelation but personal opinion of the cleric.”
According to him, the priest spoke as human and politician rather than as a man of God just as he advised supposed men of God to advise the public through prophetic revelation, which is their calling.
But former governor of the old Kaduna State, Alhaji Balarabe Musa, backed Rev. Fr. Mbaka, saying his call on the president to step aside was justified. According to him, it was the same president that admitted that, “there is no part of the country that is safe,” wondering why Jona­than should remain in office for a minute longer when he knows the problem has overwhelmed him.
Speaking in the same vein, the National Chairman of the United Progressive Party (UPP), Chief Chekwas Okorie, said Rev. Father Ejike was correct in his sumbmission. His words: “There is nothing that is false in what Rev. Ejike Mbaka had said. He has made his observations and all the points he noted in his homily are valid. His observations cannot be faulted. He said under President Jonathan, there is widespread corruption, power has not im­proved, the country has been plunged into more debts and the Igbo have been worse off.”
“I took time to read his homily and he did not say anyone should vote for Gen. Muhammdu Buhari, neither did he call for votes for him. Mbaka said he had not met Buhari, so this is not a case of campaigning for anybody. He said he was even reluctant to reveal everything that God showed him. As a cleric, he has the right to speak the truth just like the prophet did in the Bible. You should know that he is a straightfor­ward person and is not afraid to always speak truth but everything he noted about the president is a fact.”