THE Honourable Minister for Mines and Steel Development, Dr Sampson Uchechukwu Ogah, has revealed that he is a strong believer of God and he believes in the efficacy and the transfornative power of the cross even as a politician,disabusing the minds of people who think Christians should not seek engagement in the political realm because ” politics is a dirty game”.
Presenting his lecture on the “Faithfulness to God in Politics and Nation Building” at the 3rd session of the Ninth Synod of the Anglican Communion, Diocese of Umuahia, held at the St. Andrews Anglican Church, Isiama Afaraukwu, Umuahia, said the topic of whether christians should be involved in politics have continued to be a much-debated subject at the center of Christians discourse, especially among evangelicals in Nigeria.
According to him, some believers entering the political arena have become so politically focused that they have compromised teachings that are fundamental to the Christian faith, others have made the mistake of resting all their hope on politicians and government at the expense of God and the christian faith , stressing that the change we desire can not be realized from any political class except they be the ones that lookup to God like Solomon to govern the people.
Given the indispensable place of politics in the national re engineering enterprise, the Minister stated that it is a mistake for Christians to completely isolate themselves from the realm of politics, adding that when people of God do not take it upon themselves to vote or stand for elective offices, they carelessly leave the fate of future generations in the hands of wicked and immoral politicians who are devious and have no fear of the living God.
Ogah maintained that by abstaining from the public square, Christians are compromising on one of the most fundamental teachings of the christian faith that says we should love our neighbours as ourselves maintaining that politics offers us the best opportunity to make provisions of love to our neighbours.
He restated that Christians are the most ideal people for the role of the care of the poor as the loving of our neighbours cannot be done apart from christian participation in the culture and in the political process.
The Minister further argued that the bible points out that only the righteous can truly understand the rights of the underprivileged and as people who seek the Lord, rely on biblical understandings that transcend their own selfish inclinations and social context, they are the most capable of understanding justice completely as recorded in Proverbs 28:5.
Ogah, however, revealed that God is interested in whoever rules over us, as He desires to have a pattern of righteous leadership that permeates and supersedes every aspect of life including politics, government and nation building.
He added that any Christian in politics just for the purpose of personal aggrandizement, is representing another culture, master and system, saying that christians should enter the social space, recognize the authority of Christ’ s kingdom, as well as bring its ethical standards into the stream of history, thereby allowing Christ’s kingdom to break the vicious and other irreversible cycles of sin, immorality and socia injustice.
” Once God is removed from government, we are left with two principal actors; the individual and the state, maintaining that with God out of the picture, there is no mediating structure to create moral values, therefore christians must enter the civic realm because the church conveys moral values.
Earlier , the Anglican Diocese Of Umuahia, has expressed sadness over current security challenges in Nigeria.
The Diocese made their feelings known through His Lordship, RT. Rev. Geoffrey Ibeabuchi, who was speaking during the Ninth Synod of Umuahia Diocese of (Anglican Communion).
Rev. Ibeabuchi said that in most places, people can no longer sleep with their two eyes closed, noted that communities are stacked with impunity and state governments openly confess of betrayal by bandits which tends to suggest that some State Governors know the bandits terrorizing their states.
He restated that the security challenge in the nation is becoming extremely pronounced by the day as the kidnap and gruesome killing of the CAN Chairman of Adamawa State, Rev. Lawan Indimi by the Jihadists, the kidnap of four Seminarians and the subsequent murder of one of them are recent instances.
According to him, “Early this year, a clergyman in Jalingo Diocese was also kidnapped, the wife of the Bishop of Bari and the Bishops Secretary were also kidnapped. We can go on and on. Leah Sharibu and some of the Chibok girls are still in the custody of the terrorists.
“Most often i ask, are we still the giant of Africa that fought against Apartheid in South Africa, liberation of Liberia, led the ECOMOG on peace and security in other nations?”
He later advised President Buhari to hear the cry of so many Nigerians and act fast.
