Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), has warned Nigerian youths to desist from abusing the general overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Enoch Adeboye.
Obi said that the responsibility of Nigerians should not be placed on Adeboye and warned against any attempt to stoke religious divisions.
Obi was reported to have given the warning in a post on his 𝕏 account.
“When they cannot compete on ideas, character, performance and vision, some politicians use such sentiments,” he said.
“Now I see similar things emerging again, sometimes in more subtle and sophisticated ways,” Obi said. Narratives are seeded, magnified and propagated, often by people who sincerely think they are fighting for a good cause, without realising the wider agenda behind such campaigns.”
He said many well-meaning Nigerians unwittingly became part of narratives aimed at creating suspicion and disunity among citizens.
The ex-presidential aspirant said that the inability of politicians to compete on the basis of ideas, performance, character and vision often leads to their resort to exploiting ethnic, religious and identity differences to gain political advantage.
Obi warned that the same tactics are beginning to come back, sometimes in more subtle ways, through narratives meant to divide Nigerians.
He also defended Adeboye, calling the cleric one of Nigeria’s foremost fathers of faith who has preached peace, prayer, love, reconciliation and national unity throughout his ministry.
“Let me state categorically that Pastor Enoch Adeboye is one of our foremost fathers of faith in our country. For decades he has preached the virtues of peace, prayer, love, reconciliation and national unity. Even when provoked, his response has been one of humility, restraint, wisdom and grace.
“At the age of 84, it would not be fair for young and able-bodied Nigerians to transfer to him responsibilities that properly belong to them. Building a better Nigeria is mostly the task of the younger generation. “They have the responsibility to lead the conversations, to champion the reforms and to drive the positive change our nation desperately needs,” said Obi.
He stressed that the responsibility of building a better Nigeria rests largely on the younger generation, urging them to lead conversations on reforms and national development, rather than allow themselves to be used to promote division.
