Christians and ethnic politics

With the Presi­dential election set for March 28th and governorship and National As­sembly elections on April 11 a lot of palpable anxiety is now envelop­ing the country. The closeness of the elections this season has result­ed in various tactics to win votes. One troubling approach is the use of religion and ethnocentrism by various candidates. Most people are not aware that 2010 Electoral Act of the Federal Republic of Nigeria prohibits campaign based on religion or tribe. Specifically, Section 102 states as follows: “Any candidate, person or association who engages in campaigning or broadcasting based on religious, tribal, or sectional reason for the purpose of promoting or opposing a particular political party or the election of a particular candidate, is guilty of an offence under this Act and on conviction shall be liable to a maximum fine of N1, 000,000 or imprisonment for twelve months or to both.”

With that said, can a Christian vote for a Muslim? This point is probably answerable by citing the biblical mandate that a Christian should not be unevenly yoked with unbeliever. Specifically, 2 Corinthians 6:14 states “Do not be unequally yoked together with un­believers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?” However, God has been known to use an evil king or unbeliever to teach believers a les­son and accomplish His will.

In 2012, I wrote a piece titled “Pastors and Politicians.” I put a disclaimer or caveat that “I am a Pastor and also a person very interested in the politics of Delta State and our beloved country Ni­geria. I also encourage Christians to be involved in politics because of my belief in the statement at­tributed to Edmund Burke that “all that is necessary for evil to prosper is for good men to do nothing.”

There have been a lot of con­troversies lately with allegations of “Men of God” (Clergy) suppos­edly receiving bribes to support a particular candidate. The allega­tion, while untrue and laughable, reminded me of the thin line that we must not cross when prosely­tising on the pulpit as opposed to at a political rally. Christians involved in politics must be care­ful. Pastor must be more careful because teachers of the Word of God face harsher judgment than their listeners/students. James the half-brother of Jesus said, “My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment.” (James 3:1).

During the Local Government elections, I received a text from a fellow Pastor that his religious body was endorsing a particular candidate, who coincidentally was a pastor. My reply was that a church or religious organisation should never endorse a political candidate. In fact, a pastor has no business telling his congregation from the pulpit whom to vote for. This does not preclude him from asking his congregation to vote their Christian values. In fact, in civilised climes where there is separation of state and religion, a church that endorses a political candidate will lose its tax exempt status.

Nonetheless, faith-based organ­isation such as Christian Coalition of America, exist to research and provide valuable information to Christians and the general public about electioneering and the values of various candidates. Our problem in Nigeria is that most political parties have no clear-cut ideology or manifesto, making it difficult to pin them down. Which political party is conservative and which one is liberal in Nigeria?

The incumbent President has visited many mega churches to seek for prayers, which is under­standable based on the current challenges facing Nigeria. A Mus­lim can go to the mosque, just like you can visit your native doctor if you so wish. Thank God that Nige­ria allows for freedom of religion. Section 10 of the 1999 Constitution states that “The Government of the Federation or of a State shall not adopt any religion as State Religion. Section 35(1) adds, “Na­tional integration shall be actively encouraged, whilst discrimination on the grounds of place of origin, sex, religion, status, ethnic or lin­guistic association or ties shall be prohibited.” Furthermore, Section 38 (1) states that “ Every person shall be entitled to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, including freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom (ei­ther alone or in community with others, and in public or in private) to manifest and propagate his reli­gion or belief in worship, teaching, practice and observance.”

In the Body of Christ, there is no Yoruba, Hausa, Ibibio, Efik, Bini, Ishan, Fulani, Calabari, Anioma, Ibo, Urhobo, Ijaw, Itsekiri, Isoko or Ukwanni candidate. So, I can emphatically and unequivocally state that a born-again spirit-filled Christian will not vote for a candidate based solely on ethnic reasons.