From Noah Ebije, Kaduna
Founder of Kaduna Centre for the Study of Christian-Muslim Relations, Bishop Josiah Idowu-Fearon, has criticised the 2023 Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket, describing it as a deceptive strategy employed by politicians, religious leaders, and traditional rulers.
Speaking from the UK via Zoom, he said that Nigerians should vote based on candidates’ faith in God rather than religious affiliation, noting that most corrupt leaders belong to the country’s two major religions. Regarding Nigeria’s persistent security challenges, he said there is a lack of national consensus on the root causes and government clarity about whether the country faces terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, or jihad, and that without understanding the nature of the threats, Nigerians cannot unite effectively to combat insecurity.
Excerpts:
How worried are you about security challenges?
One of our major problems with the state of insecurity is that there is no national understanding of what the root cause is and what the actors want. Some Nigerians are of the opinion that it is religious and that Muslims want to impose Islamic law on the entire country. Some are of the opinion that the Fulani in West Africa desire to settle in the North Central zone of the country, while others believe that our rich mineral resources are the cause of terrorism and that there are some powerful politicians and military generals behind this. Unfortunately, the government has not come out to tell the citizens how it understands what is going on in Nigeria. This failure is a major reason for the dissonance among Nigerians and why there is no concerted effort to end the ugly situation. Are we fighting terrorists, bandits, kidnappers, or jihadists? Let the government tell Nigerians how it understands our problem. We will then study and jointly fight as Nigerians. Currently, Nigerians are not united in fighting this crisis as a nation. That means it cannot end.
Are you worried about the spate of killings in Nigeria?
The rate and ease with which we kill human beings in Nigeria seem to be the highest in the world. The sad part of this is that we claim to be very religious people with three religions. Hardly does one meet a Nigerian who would bluntly tell you he/she does not belong to one of these three religions. None of these religions encourages or permits the killing of another human being the way we are experiencing in Nigeria today. We have killings in Niger and Zamfara states, killings in Plateau, Benue, Taraba, and Kaduna states; the third section is Katsina state and occasionally in Nasarawa state. In the Northeast, the killings are by the Boko Haram group, and all Nigerians understand the stand of the government there. What is puzzling to Nigerians is that there has been no official reason given by the federal government for these other killings mentioned above. Is Nigeria fighting terrorism, banditry, human trafficking, or religious jihad? As I said earlier, the lack of clarity by the government on what exactly the country is experiencing has made it difficult for us to work together in fighting this problem that is making governance impossible. The end result is that today Nigerians feel unprotected and unsafe in their only country.
What is your advice to the federal government to end insecurity?
Cooperation between the various security agencies, a good working relationship between the various communities and security agencies—give helpful information to security agents, stop informing the bandits and kidnappers about troop movements, and stop supplying essential needs to these agents of destruction.
Christian priests have been at the receiving end of insecurity, with many of them kidnapped while some died in the process. Do you see this trend as a conspiracy against the church?
I see it as a challenge to the government on one hand and a call on both the Muslim and Christian leaders to jointly make it clear to the terrorists who kill for monetary/religious reasons that what affects one community member affects all. If Christian and Muslim leaders hold the government at all levels accountable and hold the politicians responsible for the state of insecurity in the country, it is my belief that this situation will be addressed. I am not comfortable with the idea that there is a conspiracy against Christians. Every life is sacred, and no one has the right to kill any human being. Please, provide us with verifiable statistical data from the various parts of the country where these terrorists have been operating that will justify whatever conspiracy theory we propound.
Some Nigerians are urging President Tinubu to pick a Christian Vice President instead of running a Muslim-Muslim ticket again. What is your advice to the President on this?
As a country, we have been deceived and are being deceived by both the political and religious leaders. Our traditional rulers are also part of this cabal. No one is saved by his or her religion. It is faith in God that saves anyone who has it. These two religions are different. Nigerians must stop this deception of voting for politicians based on their religion and decide on anyone who has faith in God. Most of our corrupt leaders who have been found to have misappropriated allocations for the people who voted them into their positions belong to one of our two religions. Let us vote for people who have faith and, therefore, the fear of God, love for humanity, and know that they will give an account to God. If we find people of faith in either religion, let us give them the opportunity to serve our nation with the fear of God.
Some northerners are not comfortable with some of President Bola Tinubu’s policies and reforms, especially tax reform. What is your take?
I am yet to study the tax reform policies; when I have done that, I will respond. However, our general attitude toward paying taxes in the North is not in accordance with our two religions. We pay Zakah/tithe but refuse to pay tax to the government. Until we see the payment of tax as a wajib, our rate of development will not improve. Most people don’t pay their taxes, yet they want everything to be provided for their comfort.
How can the Church hold political leaders accountable for their actions and ensure they prioritize the welfare of their followers?
In order for church leaders to hold political leaders accountable, they must become apolitical and condemn the politicization of religion. Church leaders have no mandate to tell Nigerians which political party to vote for. The job of a religious leader is to encourage Nigerians to vote as they choose but to be ready to face the consequences of their choices. Church leaders must avoid the temptation to support political leaders for the financial reward they will receive from the candidate they support. Money politicians give to churches must be paid to the church’s bank account; this is the first corrupt step church leaders are involved in. Cash donations are rarely accounted for in full; leaders dole it out to their favorite colleagues, thereby promoting false loyalty and blind support.
Given the current economic challenges facing Nigeria, what policy changes would you advocate for as a spiritual leader to stimulate growth and reduce poverty?
Church leaders have an opportunity to live by example now in our country. Leaders must make sacrifices in order to assist their members in living simply and well. Do our church leaders provide basic needs for their members who can hardly have a meal a day? How much support do we give to poor children from poor homes in our secondary and tertiary institutions? How many churches are involved in visiting and supporting internally displaced persons?
When leadership in the church is exemplary, politicians can then be challenged to: reduce the size of governance, reduce vehicles in use while on duty, improve our healthcare system, utilities, and power supply at an affordable rate, and give every Nigerian a sense of security. Until the church recovers her prophetic role in our country, no political leader will listen to and take her seriously.
Nigerians must learn to live simply and within their incomes. We are a wasteful nation: we waste our resources by living like affluent people. We acquire gadgets we do not need and spend money acquiring vehicles we do not even drive because we have drivers. Similarly, our leaders are also wasteful: they spend government funds on personal and family needs; they are too loud while on official duties, with too many vehicles accompanying them, too many security staff, and overblown budgets. Meanwhile, wages are not paid, public facilities are not functional, and the ordinary voter is left uncared for. There is an urgent need for a change of attitude by our leaders as well as those being led.
Defection from one political party to another has become the order of the day. What does this say about the attitude of our politicians?
As long as manifestos do not count, the ethical standard of the politician does not matter. We have political parties without any ideologies; therefore, moving from one party to another does not make any difference. No politician wants to be in opposition because it is seen as the party of losers. This is why defection has become our currency. This will lead to a one-party government, another word for dictatorship.
What are your thoughts on the conflict between Governor Uba Sani and his predecessor, Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State?
This situation is not a healthy development at all. Our not helping to resolve it when it started is a reflection of elders in the state not playing their roles effectively enough. Both the religious and traditional elders have failed, and my suspicion is that we failed because we took sides. Still, hope is not lost; with prayers and perseverance, God will show us the way out of this unfortunate situation which has polarized the political elite in Kaduna.