By Francis Sadhere
The Bishop of Flock of Christ Mission, Bishop Simeon Okah Saturday said the Presidential candidate for the All Progressives Congress (APC), General Mohammadu Buhari (Rtd) will never smell Asia Rock, warning that Buhari can never intimidate Nigerians to vote for him.
Bishop Okah who is also the Vice President of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), South South, said it was on record that General Buhari vowed to make the country ungovernable if he fails the 2011election, adding that true to his word the North East had not known peace since then.
Bishop Okah revealed this wile briefing newsmen at Flock of Christ Mission Church, Enerhen Warri, Delta State as part of events to mark his 62nd birthday.
The Bishop said he usually does not brief news men during his birthday but stressed that he could not help but call a press conference because of the important message he has for Nigeria and because of the love he has he has for Nigeria.
He said: “Buhari will never smell Aso Rock. He taught this country has forgotten so quickly. But some of us have not forgotten. If you the press has forgotten, some of us have not. Has he forgotten when he said he will make the country ungovernable if he loses the 2011 election? Now can he walk freely in the North East? That place is ungovernable and it is on record. Let him take me to court if he denies it. It did not end there. Buhari and his APC members said if they lose the 2015 election there shall be blood. Which person’s blood is he talking about? Maybe it is the blood and himself and his family that he is talking about. Why will he said there will be bloodshed. This only means that he is intimidating Nigerians to vote for him, saying that if they do not vote for him there will be trouble.”
He warned that Nigeria was too big for one man to intimidate and that Buhari was too small to intimidate the country because the country is bigger than him.
Bishop Okah also warned Nigerian politicians to be careful of their utterances, emphasizing that the electorate were no longer ignorant of what they are doing to the country.
He stressed that 95% of Nigerian politicians were only interested in what they were going to take from the country. He said it was only 5% of Nigerian politicians that are real politicians.
While lamenting that the press had been lying to country about the real situation of the country for sometimes now, Bishop Okah advised Nigerians that it was high time they took their destinies into their hands and vote out all fake politicians who have kept them in perpetual slavery.
He noted that the year 2015 will be a year of revelation where a lot of bad leaders will be disgraced out of office while some will naturally.
He said God had revealed to him that the only way Nigeria would become better was for retired military men to stay away from politics and act as statesmen and advise the politicians on how to move the country forward.
The PFN South/South Vice President lauded the advice given by the former President of Nigeria, General Yakubu Gowon who said that all military men both retired and serving should stay away from politics.
He said: “I believe that if the advice given by General Gowon to President Jonathan is adhered to this country will be saved. The military men that have retired and those still serving should stay away from politics because they are the ones that caused the whole problem we are facing today. The reason why some of you press men have lost your voice is because of the military. Even some of our leaders are still acting like the military. The psyche of this country is messed up. Some of our politicians do not act like politicians.
“Let all the generals during General Gowon’s time come together and help this twenty first century generals who have not gone to the war front. General Gowon also suggested to President Jonathan that in his time when he was fighting to keep Nigeria one and there was no money, he had to meet with some individuals to help him finance the war. I did not know that. I used to respect him but now I even respect him more. He is the real statesman I know in this country.”
He called on all the statesmen in the country to come out and act like real fathers by given good advice to the younger generation instead of involving themselves in politics.
Speaking on the security situation in the country, Bishop Okah stressed that security problem in the country did not start with President Jonathan. He said that the boko haram insurgency was there long before Jonathan came to power.
He added that that whether Nigerians like to hear it or not the dreaded boko haram insurgents was an Islamic sect and that all over the world the insurgents have their root in Islam.
He therefore charged northern leaders in the country to come out as one and address the issue of boko haram once and for all just like the south/South leaders did during the militancy era.
He however regretted the way some people were comparing the activities of boko haram with that of the former militants, saying that unlike boko haram, the Niger Delta militants were fighting a legitimate cause.
On the economy of the country, Bishop Okah said he was proud of the country’s status as one of the strongest economy in Africa, stressing that despite the many criticisms about President Jonathan’s administration he has been able to bring the country’s inflation rate from 13% to 7.9%, a feat he said was not easy to achieve.
He added that the cashless policy of President Jonathan has reduced the rate of armed robbery cases in the country to its barest minimum. He noted that despite the fall in oil prices he was confident that the economy will still remain strong.
On agriculture, Bishop Okah lamented the way Nigerian leaders have blinded their eyes to the huge opportunities in agricultural sector because of oil, stressing that the country has a lot of untapped natural minerals left wasting on the ground.
He said agriculture has the potential to cater for the needs of the country if only government and private individuals could explore it’s great potentials.
While lauding the Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan’s Delta State Beyond Oil policy, he faulted the implementation of the policy saying that it was only theoretical in nature. He urged the next governor that will take over from Uduaghan to tour implement the policy.
He urged the youths in the country to stop looking for government and white collar jobs and concentrate on agriculture and be self reliance.
According to Bishop Okah, one of the high points of celebrating his 62nd birthday was the free medical services his NGO, Flock Care Organization, has been offering the general public for the past two weeks now.
He said the idea was to touch the lives of the poor people in the state who do not have enough money to pay for medical services, revealing that since the free medical service took off two weeks ago, it has treated over 500 patients.
