Posted by From Agaju Madugba in Kaduna on
North-west zone of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) yesterday asked Christians in the area to offer special prayers for President Olusegun Obasanjo, saying the President has 'a serious spiritual problem."
North-west zone of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) yesterday asked Christians in the area to offer special prayers for President Olusegun Obasanjo, saying the President has 'a serious spiritual problem."
According to CAN, Obasanjo should, as a matter of urgency, offer himself for spiritual deliverance failing which a calamity may befall the nation.
Reacting to the latest hike in prices of petroleum products, CAN secretary in the zone, Rev. Joseph Hayab, told newsmen in Kaduna that the President's action was an indication that he is not sensitive to the plight of Nigerians who elected him into office.
According to him, 'Christians should wake up and pray for Mr. President because he is being tormented by a spirit that makes him not to listen to people because no one stops a man who is being tormented by an evil spirit."
'We (Christians) supported him to win the election but today he no longer cares for the people.
'He is like the Biblical king who comes out of prison to rule and his people still suffer. Mr. President has a serious spiritual problem and needs deliverance. The church does not seem to be doing enough, but we will continue to pray. If he is not ready to go for deliverance, God will deliver Nigeria, God will not allow the entire Nigeria to perish because of one person.
"Mr. President should admit that he is possessed by a wrong spirit that troubles him and makes this country suffer and that he needs deliverance so that Nigerians will be free.
'It is sad that in this period of hardship, Mr. President wants to justify the increase in prices of petroleum products. Since he came to power, Nigeria has suffered fuel price hike more than six times and after the increaments we don't see what he does with the money.
'There has not been any increase in the salary of civil servants. A level one civil servant in Kaduna State, for example, still receives N5,600. A bag of rice of rice is more than N6,000. Today, you cannot even buy maize which sells for as much as N10,000 in some places," he said.
'He gathers people around him who sing his praises. If you saw the so-called interactive session he held in Kaduna during his visit, it was one of the unfortunate things I have ever seen. The people he selected to ask questions did not say anything about the pains the people are undergoing in this country," he said.
'We must let Mr. President know that the level of suffering is very high and that is why armed robbery is on the increase. The police cannot do anything because when people are hungry, they must do something to survive.
'There is no justification for the increase. He wakes up in ht morning and hikes prices of petroleum products and believes that nobody can stop him.
'We are calling for special prayers for Mr. President because he has been possessed by that same spirit that troubled Saul (in the Bible) and made things difficult for Israel. The church of God in Nigeria is called to prayers.
'Christian leaders should stop their sycophancy and they should stop propagating falsehood. They should stop telling people that they are blessed when in truth they are suffering and in serious poverty. Mr. President is capitalizing on this false faith, giving the people a picture that is not real.
'The President does anything he likes and gets away with it. Prisoners in Nigeria are even better than those walking the streets because prisoners have some level of feeding but people who are not in prison can no longer afford to feed, they cannot pay for their transport. The man (President) is busy channeling our money in vendatta projects.
'The ordinary man can only understand debt relief if he has food on his table. We should not jubilate over what we have not seen. What sense does it make to have debt relief and go hungry.
'Any programme that is anti-human is not for human beings. Whatever the President wants to do, he has to consider the effect on the people. The President has derailed because he refused to listen to advice. We want a president who has a human face and who loves the people".
Hayab equally accused Obasanjo of complicity in the myriad of problems plaguing the People's Democratic Party (PD).
They change leadership everyday. That goes to show that a wrong spirit has taken possession of the President, like King Saul
'When the wrong spirit took possession of King Saul, every other person became his enemy. Even David who saved him (Saul) from Goliath, became his enemy.
'That is exactly what has become of our President. And, that is why he is wasting the nation's resources, pursuing an issue in Plateau state that he will not win.
'Mr. President should stop listening to sychophants who tell him that all is well. Governance is about providing people with what they need and providing the needed security.
'I don't think it is true that the President wants to go for a third term. People say anything can happened in Nigeria but the issue of third term is something that will not happen.
'Nigeria is not made for Obasanjo alone. It is not only Obasanjo that God can use to make Nigeria what it should be. People are already tired and you are talking about a third term. That means the man will just dig a grave and put all of us inside.