God Spoke And Third Term Died

 By

Max Gbanite

maxgbanite@yahoo.com

 

Friday, May 26, 2006

 

 

Almighty God, heavenly Father, King of Kings, the Alpha and Omega (Beginning and the End), YOU are the greatest and only true GOD. On behalf of patriotic Nigerians, I thank you with all my heart for speaking through many of us during the climax of this evil called ‘third term/term elongation’ that enveloped our nation. YOU have again shown as YOU have done in the past, that YOU love us so dearly, and that your usage of the British colonialists to amalgamate us as one, irrespective of our multiethnic base, was not a fluke.

 

I am compelled by the Holy Spirit to commend the heroic deeds of broadcast media giant, African Independent Television (AIT), and the print media like: Daily/Weekly Trust, Leadership, New Sentinel, Vanguard, Sun, Guardian, Punch, Champion, Daily Independent, Newsday, Tell, Newswatch, The News, and many others who fought assiduously against the ‘evil-term-elongation’. God used you to speak against evil and, whether you know it or not, you did your job creditably well; thank you.

 

I commend former Heads of State: Gen. Yakubu Gowon, President Shehu Shagari, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, and Gen. Abdulsalam Abubarkar. Though Gen. Sani Abacha is dead, his spirit came alive to fight against what he was denied! My commendation pours on the fearless Gen. T.Y. Danjuma (the man who coined the phrase ‘National Assembly must bury the nonsense’). Sir, they did indeed bury it. Gen. I.B.M. Haruna, and Vice President Atiku Abubarkar, I say thank you. Our patriotic Governors like my good friend Alhaji Attahiru Bafarawa of Sokoto State, Alhaji Kure of Niger State, Alhaji Yerima of Zamfara State, Chief Orji Kalu of Abia State, and Chief George Akume of Benue State; I have shaved my hair in gratitude to your doggedness and unwavering principle in the fight for the people. To the members of Forum 2007 in the National Assembly, led by Senators Uche Chukwumerije, Ben Obi, Yari Gandi, Saidu Dansadau, Udo Udoma, Tokumbo Afiyokumi, and many others worth mentioning, enough cannot be said on how God used people in your respective constituencies and all the earlier mentioned personalities to reach through you in defence of our democracy. And thank you for using my article titled ‘Memo to Members of the National Assembly on Third Term’ as a reference point in your fight. You are indeed saluted.

 

Alhaji Gambo Jimeta, Alhaji M.D. Yusuf, Alhaji Coomassie, all are retired Inspector Generals of Police, Gen. Victor Malu (rtd.), Col. Umar (rtd.), Chief Sunday Awoniyi, all the royal fathers across the country, and members of all the old and newly formed political parties, including true patriotic PDP members: kindly accept the kudos that you well deserve.

 

To all prayerful Nigerians, I thank you for taking the spiritual warfare petition to God against the den of these ‘Animals–called-Men.’ The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and the Islamic Council of Nigeria (ICN) did what they were supposed to do; they made sure the fight was not turned into a religious war between Christians and Muslims because the President is probably a Christian. I underline the word probably because several events credited to this regime/administration of President Obasanjo are, to say the least, very unbecoming of a true Christian.

 

Yes, as a people of God, we are cognizant of the limited powers God conferred upon ‘Mr. Lucifer,’ also known as the ‘Devil’ or ‘Satan,’ and how God allows him to rope innocent bystanders into committing nefarious crimes against mankind and humanity just to test the true faith of person(s).

 

Devil’s work actually started with the shameless, outright banditry and illegal manipulation of the 1999 Constitution in 2002 to alter the local government election program to favor the ruling party PDP against the wishes of the people. When many shouted, they were told that it was imperative that the government transit properly from civilian to civilian without a hitch!

 

Then, during and after the elections of 2003, the hand of Devil was clearly seen all over the place. He used unrepentant Governors, the then Inspector General of Police, Tafa Balogun, the President and his Vice President, including paid thugs and assassins, to rig the elections, prompting international observers and even Nigerians to rename the election ‘the worst rigged election in West African history.’ As a matter of fact, it took almost a whole week to persuade the United States to give its approval; lest the silence may be misinterpreted by the seething military brass as a sign to take over and correct the mistakes.

 

Nigerians were urged by their respective religious leaders and royal fathers to accept the rigging in good faith since the election was regarded as the first successful transition from civilian to civilian rule in the history of the nation!

 

A big lie, of course.

 

Prime Minister Tafawa Balewa succeeded in 1964 elections, but he was murdered by the military before he could continue. President Shehu Shagari also succeeded in 1983, and he took an oath of office to continue with his second term; he too was overthrown by the military. However, the tempers of the electorate in 2003 were milder than that of the earlier voters. The voters did not want the frustration of having to confront another military interregnum; they acquiesced to the evils of Dr. Guobadia-led INEC, and those that aided the rigging in corroboration with the devil.

 

The devil again convinced my late friend Alhaji Waziri Mohammed to convene a meeting at his exclusive high-brow residence in Abuja in 2004. In attendance were the likes of Professor Jerry Gana, Kanu Agabi-SAN, Ambassador Greg Mbadiwe, Senator Florence Ita-Giwa, Ojo Maduekwe, and ‘Dr. Fix-It’ (You all know him by now). At that meeting, the devil spoke to them about his covenant with those occupying the Villa, and the third-term project started thereafter. The project was surreptitiously smuggled into the agenda of National Constitution Reform Conference for consideration, but was rejected in its entirety.

 

Again the devil advised them to use the services of a very weak and highly corrupt senator, a man who was accused of allegedly collecting bribe from ministers before they could be confirmed by the Senate -- although he beat the rap. When asked by fellow senators to swear by the Holy Koran that he was innocent of the allegation, he quickly refused by citing that he has not done his ablution yet! That rightly affirmed his culpability. The rest as they say is history.

 

But Almighty GOD, oh! Almighty GOD, was watching the whole evil plot as the weakened and completely compromised ‘abracadabra senator’ started recruiting his warlords. They collected money from all and every angle. It was even alleged that they went as far as sharing money in an airplane 13,000 feet above the ground, on their way to the city of Port Harcourt, where they used the devil’s ‘voice vote’ to determine the fate of our country. They probably reasoned that EFCC’s arrest and prosecutorial jurisdiction does not cover crimes committed in the air… how creative!

 

The devil even subjected them to tell lies against their respective constituencies, but they forgot that the Almighty God sees all evil and will eventually expose them thoroughly. The angels of God on the other hand had already prepared the Senate for this fight by first dropping a banana peal for Senator Adolphus Wabara, the former Senate President, to slip on and back to the backbench. God who knows everything knew that the old Wabara, before his repentance on May 16th, 2006, was a very tempestuous man that needed to be replaced, so He used the disgraced minister of education, Professor Fabian Osuji, to induce Wabara with only fifty-five million naira.

 

Could you imagine what would have happened had Wabara been there to work with Abracadabra Mantu, with the availability of billions of naira? Senator Wabara would have sold his soul and the mandate of ‘my people’ (his constituency) to get the term elongation to pass… even if it required the Senate meeting by 3a.m. -5a.m. in the morning when most Nigerians are sleeping.

 

God knew all that, and He elevated Distinguished Senator Ken Nnamani. (“Nnamani” could translate to mean “a father that knows the land” – Nna ma ani!) God knows Nigeria very well, so he accomplished this feat by allowing Senator Nnamani’s colleagues the chance to chose him against the usual norm of executive imposition. Senator Nnamani followed the rules. He reinstated the dignity and honor once adorned on his people, Ndiigbo. And he proved to Nigerians at large that there are Igbo men that cannot be bought. God also showed Nigerians that Senator Ken Nnamani is qualified to be the President of Nigeria at the right time.

 

If you attend church in Nigeria, especially the Catholic Church, immediately after receiving the Holy Communion, you will be engaged in a special prayer for Nigeria. This special prayer was introduced since the time of late Gen. Sani Abacha, and the prayer begs God to bring the right leadership and peace to Nigeria, and to remove all obstacles that might impede its unity. Other Christian churches followed the same line of prayers.

 

Oh! God is great. If you attended the Church service or watched on television the October 1st Independence celebration mass at the National Ecumenical Center, Abuja (the Christian national non-denomination Church), you would agree that God is indeed great. On that day, God used the current President of Christian Association of Nigeria, Bishop Akinola, to warn Nigerian leaders to repent of their evil ways or face the wrath of God.

 

On that eventful day, the dignitaries in attendance included President Olusegun Obasanjo, Prof. Jerry Gana, ‘Dr Fix-It,’ and about eight Governors and all the Christian ministers in this regime. The Bishop posed a simple question to them: “Anyone here who hates Jesus should raise their hands up!” There were no positive responses. He asked again: “If you love Jesus, kindly raise your hands up!” Everyone did with ‘Amen’ chorus, notably the President. And the Bishop asked. “Why then do you people kill over political issues: Bola Ige, Harry Marshall, Aminasoari Dikkibo, and many others? Why, why, why?”

 

The silence that befell the hall could be felt; even the drop of a pin could be discerned. The guilty started shifting in their seats. Suddenly, palpable sweats broke out on the guilty faces. The truth, as stated by the Bishop, gave me hope that those who use the name of God to lie will eventually be shamed. As far as I was concerned, this was God’s first sign that He will not abandon the prayerful people of Nigeria in their hours of need, come May 16th 2006.

 

My friend Sadique Abubakar is a man with whom I have enjoyed serious arguments; he and I were watching with our mouths wide open in astonishment. We had a blissful day. It was divinely euphoric.

 

President Olusegun Obasanjo must be careful in his dealings with God. His advisers in their attempt to sell the ‘third term,’ or what would have actually been his ‘fourth term’ to the masses, made it appear as if the man is god. Well, the President did not help matters when he kept silent; instead, he postulated that he was waiting for God’s directive. He further claimed that “God does not abandon projects.” That is indeed true, if the project is people-oriented and it is welcomed by the masses, the God-loving patriots of Nigeria. It is also pertinent to understand that God will never share his glory with anyone.

 

God did not allow General Yakubu Gowon, GCFR, to elongate his term, but some of his reforms were adopted. God did not allow Alhaji Shehu Shagari, GCFR, to continue because he wanted the politicians to be people-oriented. God did not allow General Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, to continue, probably because of the harsh prison sentences he (Buhari) handed out to the corrupt civilians as if years were weeks! God did not allow General Ibrahim Babangida, GCFR, to continue, and Babangida saw the sign immediately, asked God to forgive him, and stepped aside; this is why God may anoint him again to be the President. God did not allow General Sani Abacha, GCFR, to continue because the then ‘evil-salesmen’ made Abacha look like a god when they claimed that Abacha was the only Nigerian qualified to lead the country and that the country would disintegrate if he did not continue. God proved otherwise, and Nigeria moved on without Abacha. General Abdulsalam Abubarkar, GCFR, came next; even though many clamored for him to stay longer, he left. And so will President Obasanjo on May 29, 2007.

 

This same ‘evil-salesmen’ tried to say the same things about President Obasanjo that they said about General Abacha, but God in His most merciful and most benevolent ways used the National Assembly to speak -- instead of taking the life of President Obasanjo, as He did with Abacha. Why was God so merciful and benevolent to President Obasanjo? Well, going by President Obasanjo’s life progress in Nigeria, it is not difficult to discern that God must have a special liking for the man. He saved Obsanjo from 1966 Coup organized by his bosom friend, Major C. K. Nzeogwu, and used the late General Hassan Kathsina and Sunday Awoniyi to shield him from physical harm. God saved him during the civil war when he sustained bullet wounds, healed him, and gave him the victory of that war. God saved him from Major B. S. Dimka’s coup that killed his friend General Muritala Muhammed. Thereafter, General Obasanjo became the Head of State. God saved him, but allowed his friend General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua to die during the regime of Abacha. God got him released from prison and blessed him again with the Presidency of our great nation for eight years (8yrs).

 

Sir, God has been more than kind to you!

 

President Obasanjo is correct in his response to the media’s question on ‘third term’ when, as a Christian, he said:

 

 “…Now at the Supreme Court if presiding judge says you have truly stolen something and that you are a thief, you will have no choice than to abide by the judgement of the court because it is the highest court in the country and the best thing is to leave the matter into Gods hand for right judgement.”

(Tribune Newspapers, 5/20/2006)

 

No one has accused the President of stealing anything yet. The people are just waiting for him to leave office in May 2007. However, when his advisers tried to destroy the structures of democracy in his name, he kept silent over the matter. While intimidating opposition groups, the security apparatchik would use say ‘Orders from above,’ instead of ‘Orders from Aso Villa.’ These false comments probably angered God more because He never gave such orders!

 

I agree with President Obasanjo that from now onwards he should start obeying court rulings and orders issued against his regime as an example to Nigerians that no one is above the Constitution. He has challenged us to leave all things in the hands of God; we will because God has spoken through his righteous people and ‘third term/term elongation’ died on May 16th 2006.

 

As Nigerians, we also challenge the President to supervise a credible election in 2007 without imposing a candidate upon us. He should create a level playing field for all and allow Nigerians with the blessing and guidance of God to elect their representatives and leaders. This act will redeem his image again.

 

Oh! What a wonderful God, the Most Merciful and the Most Benevolent! Nigerians remain grateful to You for saving us from the catastrophe that ‘third term/term elongation’ would have brought upon our country; You indeed have spoken, and it died… Amen

 

Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.