A former National President, Youth Wing of the Christian Association of Nigeria, (YOWICAN) and Co-Chairman of the Interfaith Coalition Conference, Daniel Kadzai, has slammed religious leaders, especially those on the Christian side, for turning their pulpits into campaign podiums ahead of the 2023 general elections.
He warned that it was very wrong for the leaders to publicly declare their support for a candidate, insisting that these antics may backfire on the Christians if the candidate they are projecting fails.
Kadzai, who spoke to DAILY POST on New Year’s Eve, also used the opportunity to hit out at the President Muhammadu Buhari administration, saying that despite the high price of rice and other food items, Nigerians were still able to celebrate their festive season.
According to him, Nigerians should be hopeful that 2023 will bring them the best in terms of good leadership. He insists that there have been bad leaders on both the Christian and Muslim sides, telling church leaders to slow down in pushing a candidate.
“These religious leaders, especially the church, must stop deceiving their members. If what they’re proposing fails, it will backfire on their members. So it is better they just stay neutral, especially since the pulpit should be used for the purpose of salvation where they preach love, peace and unity. It should not be a jamboree of politics or political gathering,” he said.
“Despite the challenges facing this country, God has been faithful and Everybody celebrated Christmas and New Year in peace. God put these wicked rulers in shame and even though the price of rice is almost N50,000 now Nigerians were able to buy it. No one said they did not have something to eat.
“The religious sentiment being played among us with some churches publicly declaring for one candidate. For instance, bringing Peter Obi to church and all that, what if he fails? What if he loses the election? Some come up with Tinubu, saying he is Muslim Muslim ticket but the same people kicking against Muslim Muslim ticket are still holding meetings with Tinubu at CAN’s headquarters.”
He noted that some of those who criticise Bola Tinubu for his choice of Muslim-Muslim ticket are the same people holding meetings with the All Progressives Congress, APC’s candidate at the national Secretariat of the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN.
“The same people condemning him are at the same time holding meetings with him at the CAN Secretariat. What kind of integrity are we talking about?
“Let’s forget the religious sentiment and go for a candidate that will savage the situation of this country and deliver good governance to our people. Someone who can unite this country
“When you talk of bad leadership, we have bad leadership among Christians and Muslims. We have Christians who were bad leaders in the country and we also have them among the Muslims.
“So when you are accusing someone just know that something happened earlier. If Christian vote alone could bring a President into power Jonathan wouldn’t have lost the 2015 election because all that was needed to win the election was provided to them but we lost out,” he said
