By Bunmi Awoyemi, Ph.D

Dissecting Bishop Oyedepo's support for GEJ and Sambo's anti-christ outburst against churches and Pastor(Prof.) Osinbajo at the Jigawa State PDP Presidential rally.

I was shocked when a man of God, Bishop David Oyedepo who I respect so much said in his church some days ago that his members should slaughter any one that looks like a terrorist. The key word there is "anyone that looks like." While I am 100% in support of self defense, I abhor tribal profiling and targeting. When this happens, innocent lives are bound to be lost. Then in the 3rd service of his Church on Sunday, January 25, 2015, attended by President Jonathan, my dear Bishop Oyedepo said in a comment directed at President Jonathan “We will open the gates of hell on those who oppose you.When God enthrones you no one can dethrone you”

My Bishop's support of Jonathan is anchored on the false premise that Buhari is planning to Islamize Nigeria. Nothing could be further from the truth. IBB not Buhari registered Nigeria as a member of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC). IBB, Abacha and Abdusalami Abubakar attended OIC meetings. No President of Nigeria has attended OIC meetings in the last 15 years until President Jonathan attended an OIC meeting in late 2014. Buhari never attended any OIC meeting and refused to join the OIC even though he was a military Head of State possessing immense powers. How can the same Buhari now Islamize Nigeria in a democratic setting which has the checks and balances of the National Assembly and the Judiciary?

Is my Bishop aware of what happened a few days ago? At the Presidential campaign rally of GEJ/Sambo in Jigawa state on January 21st, 2015, in the presence of President Jonathan, Vice President Namadi Sambo stated in Hausa : "Buhari ya dauko pastor a matsayin mataimakinsa kunsan coci nawa yake dashi? Yanada coci 5000, don haka karku zabesu. The translation is - "Buhari has selected a pastor as his running mate, do you know how many churches he has? He has 5000 churches, so based on that, don't vote for them".

My Bishop, Sambo used religious sentiments in his attempt to divide the country and incite Muslims against Christians. Sambo also said at the rally that the PDP is the most Islamic Party in Nigeria because nobody can be more Muslim than him. He said that his name is Namadi which is a derivative of Namadina, meaning someone from the Medina in Saudi Arabia. At the Rally in Jigawa State Sambo also stated that he goes for the Hajj every year.

My dear Bishop, in Sambo's determination to whip up religious sentiments and divisions, he stated at the Jigawa state rally that all the security chiefs in the Jonathan administration are Muslims and based on that, those alleging that Jonathan is supportive of Boko Haram are not being fair. He mentioned the names of some key ministers in the Jonathan administration including Defence Minister, Aliyu Gusau, NSA, Sambo Dasuki, Inspector General of Police, Abba whom he emphasized are all Muslims. He also mentioned all the Muslim ministers from Kano, including Aminu Wali, Foreign Affairs Minister and Shekarau, Minister of Education.

Bishop, Sambo then asked if anyone could claim to be more Muslim than him Namadi Sambo. Then he shouted Allahu Akbar (Allah is great several times). To close his speech he recited the AlFatiha, (The Opening, the first seven verses of the Holy Quran, which for Muslims is the Mother of the Book, highly revered by all).

My dear Bishop, Sambo's outburst against Christians and Pastor Osinbajo would not surprise close watchers of political events in Nigeria but it does reconfirm the outcome of late General Azazi thorough and extensive investigation of Boko Haram and in which he concluded that the PDP founded Boko Haram and finances its terrorist activities.

MY ADVISE TO CHRISTIANS WHO RESPECT BISHOP OYEDEPO
To Christians like me who hold Bishop Oyedepo in great esteem this is my advise to you;

Don't let any pastor tell you who to vote for. Does Bishop Oyedepo experience the effects of misgovernance? Bishop is on 24-hr power generators and he does not even know when there is power outage. You bear the brunt of misgovernance daily and you should know that voting GEJ is a guarantee of another 4 years of no electricity, corruption galore and insurgency that will claim more lives and disintegrate Nigeria. Vote based on what you know not on religious or tribal sentiments!

Currently, 70% of the territory of states like Borno, Yobe and Adamawa are under the firm control of Boko Haram. This is the first time this is happening in Nigeria. Boko Haram bombing and genocide has targeted both Christians and Muslims, churches, mosques and schools attended by both Christians and Muslims. Because of Boko Haram's control of about 5% of Nigeria's territory, Nigeria's map has been redrawn.

When a bomb goes off in a market place it does not discriminate between Muslims and Christians. When the village of the Chief of Defense staff close to Mubi was attacked he did not rescue his fellow christian villagers but he airlifted his relatives out of danger and leaving his fellow Christians to be slaughtered by Boko Haram. The "polithievians," "executhieves," "legislooters" and "judishare" officers of Nigeria have only one religion that unites them and that religion is stealing and looting with impunity.

How many of the Pastors that are telling you to vote for Jonathan have children who are unemployed graduates sitting at home; bear the brunt of insecurity; send their children to public school; patronize government hospitals like you do or understand what the members of their religious organizations go through on a daily basis?

Did Bishop Oyedepo speak out when ASUU and ASUP were on strike twice in 4 years thereby leading to the loss of almost 2 years in the academic calender of Universities and Polytechnics?

Did Bishop Oyedepo speak out to condemn the manner in which the almost 300 Chibok girls were kidnapped? Did he condemn the manner in which the President refused to acknowledge that they were kidnapped? Did Bishop Oyedepo condemn the failure of the President to rescue the Chibok girls 9 months after they were kidnapped by the insurgents?

Did Bishop Oyedepo speak out when medical doctors went on strike twice in 4 years leading to the death of millions of Nigerians.

Has Bishop Oyedepo spoken out against the ongoing strike by health workers and judicial workers in Nigeria?

All these strikes have to do with the inability of President Jonathan and the PDP government to abide by industrial agreements signed after extensive bargaining among stake holders and their insensitivity to the plight of Nigerians.

Did Bishop Oyedepo speak out when 16>19, 5>26 and 7>19 in the Governors Forum election, Rivers state house of Assembly and Ekiti State House of Assembly in clear and reckless violation of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria?

Has Bishop Oyedepo spoken out to condemn the legalized looting of billions of dollars of Nigeria's money taking place under the watch of President Jonathan? Did Bishop Oyedepo speak out to condemn the beating up of a state High Court judge in Ekiti state by the Chief Thug of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose and his gang of thugs?

Did Bishop Oyedepo speak out to condemn the deliberate flouting of court orders by President Jonathan which has become like a recurring decimal in his administration?

Let Pastors like Bishop Oyedepo who don't know what their members are going through or who are unable to feel the pulse of the masses, stick to what they know how to do best which is feeding Chist's sheep as Christ commanded them, but let them stay out of politics. Bishop Oyedepo should not try to influence Christians to vote for a failed President like Jonathan. I urge all Christians to vote their conscience to free themselves from the 16 year bondage of the PDP led administration.

Section 95 (3) of the Electoral Act, states that “places designated for religious worship, police station and public offices shall not be used for political campaigns, rallies and processions or to promote, propagate or attack political parties, candidates, their political ideologies or programmes.”

Let my darling Bishop note that his actions on the pulpit violates this law and as a man of God the scripture expects him to obey the laws of the land. We are to give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's. By Bunmi Awoyemi.

Source: http://www..com/talk/topic,235174.0.html

This is double standard. When Revd Father Mbaka released his all celebrated outburst, most of you celebrated him saying he's a Nigerian afterall but why will you crucify another Nigerian for speaking in favour of the President?

God Bless President Goodluck Jonathan!
God Bless Winners Chapel!!
God Bless Nigeria!!!

Bunmi Awoyemi, Ph.D

So it is cool for a highly respected 'man of God' lyk Oyedepo to compel and even threaten his members to vote GEJ?.... Pastors be finding what to eat... Uhmmn.. Iono when pastor turn Ike Sorounmu of Hell gate

All I see today are young Nigerians arguing without facts, disconnected from the nations history, having NO knowledge of the past, with defeated hope of the future. No ability to construct proper synonyms, but making analysis based on absence of adequate knowledge. The Egyptians knew what they wanted and held the nation to ransom, also in Hong Kong, cos they had adequate information on the issues at hand. But at the moment, we don't have an intelligent society. We don't read yet we proffer solutions. How can you proffer solutions to something you know nothing about. Wake up Nigerians from your slumber.

We only make analysis based on what another says, we lack information, brain power, we posses knowledge gap, yet we make analysis. How sad. Someone who knows nothing about nothing demands change. What is change if I may ask? We really don't have an idea. Change doesn't always mean a positive upward movement, it can also mean a downward trend, backward motion. And before you ask for it, you analyses situations on ground, in the past, with facts and figures and not just sentiments, and then you try to (based on this terms) predict the future. Now if the future shows a decline with the progress from the past and a detach from the present, then you have all full rights to demand change.

But when you have no information about nothing but drawn from social media, TV screens, newspapers ad we keep shouting change, then we might be riding on the winds which is without substance and is therefor a journey to no where. Lots of people who are guilty of cheating in schools want change, people who jump queues want change, people who cannot keep to a route on the road but shunt want change, people who are guilty of forging results want change, people who chat on their girl/boy friends want want change, adulterers want change, people guilty of murders and extortion, corruption and oppression want change and the list goes on. Nobody want to change personally to effect the change but we build hypocritical structures that cannot stand the test of time. Its time Nigerians wake up and put in proper perspective where we need to be.

Its time for Nigerians to stop looking at TV screens and start using mirrors (TV screens shows others, mirrors show you. Its time for Nigerians to start developing leaders who have a history of making upward strides at the grass roots, touching lives at the base levels. Its time for Nigerians to understand that a downward trend people cannot choose an upward leader, they will choose for themselves a downward trend leaders. Its time for Nigerians to build a lifestyle of integrity. Before you ask for change, change yourself first. Make changes in that little space around you (I mean upward trend changes). We also have to realize that the Presidential seat is not solely responsible for the happenings in the country, that is why he deepens his rule through the governors, Local Government chairmen and Councillors. We also have representatives of the people like the Legislature (in our case the House of Representatives and the Senate).

Its time to get really knowledgeable about these things. There is so much to know. Don't stop at knowing until you are sure you really know. What we need in Nigeria is not a partisan change but a structural change; we need a vision, a dream, a plan, a road map and we drive in the direction of that plan. Its not a war to kill people, but a war to kill our wrong mentalities. We have been slaves to our past and therefore have related with our future with the same mindset.

Its time we begin to think properly and build a Nigeria that will stand the test of time through generations. Our children will not forgive us if we don't succeed in doing this. This is the time for a revolution, but not partisan (because the person who you are supporting in the APC may soon decamp to PDP and vice versa, so what becomes of you?). Please if you believe in this, then pass this around, lets create an awakening, a revolution, not partisan but a dream, instilled in every Nigeria. We have today the American dream, we can have the Nigerian Dream too. We don't have to begin to individually tackle all areas of the Nation like education, agriculture, research, and the likes,no, a Dream can take us there.

A Dream is a holistic picture of the future which once imbibed, direction becomes an easy decision to make. Its not GMB thing or GEJ thing, it is a Nigeria thing, It is called the Nigerian Dream. Politicians only succeed in manipulating you to think like them therefore getting what they have longed for, but we can go beyond them and build a Nigeria that works regardless of what party is in power. I SALUTE THE NIGERIAN NATION, I SALUTE THE NIGERIAN DREAM. PLEASE PASS THIS ON, ITS TIME TO BE PROUD OF OUR COUNTRY NIGERIA.

The Bishop indeed is a lucky man for he won't be faced with the difficulty of where to run to as soon as BUHaRI emerges victorious..

There z no place like home. Hell awaits u, Bishop. just ensure u dnt lost the keys

Well, the bible made it very clear " look unto Jesus, the author and finisher of your faith" I wonder why people make so much noise each time a Pastor is in the news ..I'm not moved by any of these cause a pastor is just like every other human who isn't perfect and can make mistakes. I can only respect them as men of God and not like my semi god to the point of feeling bad anytime something like this happens and thats why people loose their faith in Christianity. Jesus Christ should be your role model when it comes to anything that has to do with the christian faith so that you dont get disappointed. .....I really don't care whatever the Bishop said just wanna use this opportunity to say my mind on peeps dwelling so much on what they do/say! All I care is what they preach on the altar, the word of God and not what they do after giving the sermon. It's very good to know the bible just in case someone tells you otherwise

lll

He that has key to a particular house have access to it.
I thank God that i didn't have key to hell fire and i have never dream of visiting the scene.
Oya omo Alhaji Oyedepo of Omu Aran in Kwara state tell Nigeria how your hell fire look like.
Oni irarun radarada.

This fellow is not worth the paper his Phd is written on. It is either he was awarded honoris casua or that it is Oluwole made like Buhari's statement of result. That said.

Did you watch the original video of the Sunday service?. Where you there at the service or relying on social media accounts. You are such a disappointment to anyone who signed that Phd certificate of yours because a Phd holder should at least have an analytical mind to cross check facts.

The Bishop prayed and I quote that "I declare open the Gates of hell open to anyone disturbing the peace of Nigeria in Jesus name"(paraphrasing).

You are a disgrace to the world of educational pursuits

Long read but you make very valid points. However, I am usually not quick to believe statements attributed to people. Unless I hear a verifiable audio recording or I see a video (like when the Bishop slapped a girl).

So while it's tempting to believe Bishop said the "gates of hell" statement perhaps due to his previous remarks, I would still give him the benefit of doubt (and some people have claimed they were there and he was misquoted)

All in all, I think the media are lagging behind when it comes to proper FACT-CHECKING.

In advanced countries ( we have been advised to stop comparing. . . Lol), these things don't just fly, someone FACT-CHECKS!!!