The National Vice-President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), who is also the President of the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA), Reverend Dr. Stephen Baba Panya, speaks in this interview with ISAAC SHOBAYO on the forthcoming general election, expectations of Nigerians, insecurity, and other issues.
By February 25th of this year, Nigerians will go to the polls to elect their president and members of the National Assembly. What are your expectations?
No one can predict with certainty who the winner of the presidency of this country will be; it is going to be a close contest. But there are two determinant factors and we believe that the will of God will prevail at the end of the day. God has given the responsibility and authority to the children of God to pray for His will to be done here on earth as it is written in heaven. This is what we commonly refer to in our Lord’s Prayer: “Let your will be done as it is in heaven.” When we pray concerning our nation’s destiny, He will hear us. Secondly, we need to take our civic responsibility very seriously; we must involve ourselves in politics at all levels. Also, believers in Christ should stand for election at various levels to contest for office. They should do it with the sole aim of making a difference in terms of the transformation and improvement of the standard of living.
What are the main factors that Nigerians should consider most fundamental when electing the next president of the country?
I don’t have to reinvent the wheel, because I am the vice-president of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) as well as president of the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA), but we thank God that the research arm of CAN has brought out the major qualities that Christians and indeed all voters in Nigeria should look for in these presidential candidates. These qualities are clearly stated in our handbills and also on social media. Some of the qualities include: the fear of God, honesty and fairness, respect for the rule of law, justice and fairness for all, respect for religion and ethnic diversity, and a clean and credible lifestyle. They should be able to give a competent and credible performance and this should be based on their antecedents in the previous positions they might have held. We are looking for people, who will support the state police, restructuring and many other qualities.
Do you see any of these qualities in some of the front-runners campaigning to be president, governor, and other positions in this country?
They keep saying they will do all things; the question is, who can we trust, because we have been taken for too many rides? That is why this time around, we have to pray hard that as much as we assess these candidates and go for those we think will do all these things, ultimately it is God who knows people’s hearts and we have to depend on God to lead us right as far as this election is concerned, so that we can support the right candidate. Honestly as human beings, we are very limited in our abilities to discern whether we will keep our promises or not. In the past, people came with sweet promises, but because their hearts were unchanged, they came into the office and did the opposite.
Sir, the concern of most Nigerians currently is that the campaigns so far are not issue-based; they have not come to tell Nigerians how they intend to tackle critical issues confronting the country for now. What are your thoughts on this?
The problem is not with the issues; the problem is with the implementation of their promises. The problem has always been the implementation of policies based on their promises. In the past, when attempts were made to have candidates go on television to debate, they often came up with bogus manifestos and presentations. When you go through them, you will think that when they come into power, Nigeria will be transformed. But the very moment they step into the office, they do the opposite. They just turned out to be selfish and greedy like their predecessors, but we pray that God will help us choose the people who will make a difference this time round.
How can Nigerians make their elected representatives accountable and responsive?
It is one thing to point out the promises they have made, but it is another thing for them to respond to your complaint. For example, this present government came into power with a lot of promises. Some of the promises are that petroleum will be cheaper; there will be more jobs, and all kinds of promises. They promised to tackle insecurity within three months, but none of these has happened; instead things have continued to deteriorate at an abysmal level. At one point in time, there was a need for the service chiefs to be changed. The National Assembly itself passed many resolutions in this regard, but nothing was done by the Executive. Reconstruction of the security architecture was not done despite the cries by Nigerians from various quarters; the government just didn’t do anything. This present administration refused to listen to the pleas and yearnings of Nigerians, but only to effect the change at a belated time. Even up till now, in terms of a general overhaul of the security architecture, nothing is being done. The composition is still lopsided, and factors such as religion, ethnicity, and others are not taken into consideration. As the saying goes, you can only take a horse to the river; you can’t force it to drink. We can’t force the government to do what it should. That is why this election is very important, and we pray that Nigerians will vote for credible people who will have compassion for the citizens and arrest the deteriorating situation, so that it doesn’t reach a situation where the country will disintegrate.
Do you think the next members of the National Assembly will be able to perform their constitutional responsibilities, without being an appendage of the executive arms?
We are expecting the National Assembly members to be above board, function as contained in the constitution, and perform their check and balance role effectively. So far, the outgoing ones have not been effective. The problem we have in Nigeria is that the National Assembly or its leadership has always seen itself as the appendage of the Executive arms for reasons best known to them. So, they have not served as a check on the Executive.
Some people are beginning to fear that the forthcoming election might be postponed on account of insecurity in some parts of the country. What do you think can be done to allay the fear of Nigerians?
Any attempt to postpone the election will be disastrous, and we have to pray against this. To me, it will be a recipe for chaos, because people are already fed up. What is keeping the tension down is the fact that this administration will soon go, and there is an inner hope that the next government will be able to tackle and address the deteriorated situation.
According to the figure released by the Debt Management Office (DMO), Nigeria’s debt profile might hit N77 trillion by May this year; don’t you see this as a landmine for the next government?
Certainly, but I still believe in one thing: if we have credible people in government by May 29th of this year, the present level of corruption can still be tackled and I also strongly believe that the debt and other problems of Nigeria are surmountable. The problem is that if we have a government that will continue this way, things will get worse. Don’t let anyone fool you, we are at the precipice in this country; our nation needs prompt intervention, and that is why people are yearning for a change. People are sick and tired of what is happening as far as this country is concerned. But if we have credible people who will check corruption and who will be firm to tackle the insecurity and revive the economy, things will begin to fall into proper place.
Did CAN still maintain its stance against the Muslim-Muslim ticket?
Let me just say unequivocally that we are still standing firm and opposing the Muslim-Muslim ticket. We are opposed to it, because of its implications for the polity and governance of this country. However, CAN has to be open and listen to all and sundry, which is why CAN still gives people opportunities to come and speak to it, so that it can hear and pray about the situation that we are in. We have not changed our position at all; we are still firmly against the Muslim/Muslim presidential ticket and also against the same faith ticket because of the potential danger it poses to the unity and continued existence of this country. We are against the same faith ticket, be it Muslim/Muslim or Christian/Christian. We believe people should begin to run an inclusive government with people from all walks of life, balancing equity, fairness, and justice in the positions of government and operations.
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