this guy who compare Jonathan with Jesus Christ. I wondered if he will congratulate buhari this time.
Nigerians have severely criticised the Senior
Special Assistant to the President on Public
Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, for comparing
President Goodluck Jonathan with Jesus
Christ.
Speaking during a live breakfast show on
Channels Television on Monday, the
presidential aide said Jonathan had borne
the nation’s problems and woes on his
shoulders in the same way that Jesus Christ
had always carried the burden of Christians
all over the world.
Gesticulating widely during the programme,
Okupe stated that, with regard to the
Nigerian situation, Jonathan could best be
likened to Jesus Christ.
Noting that Nigerians had failed to
understand the troubles the President had
gone through for the sake of “everybody” in
the country, he said, “There are political
issues. People do not understand the burden
this particular President is bearing. He is like
Jesus Christ. He (Jonathan) is bearing the
burden of everybody.”
In view of Jonathan’s “untold burden” for the
nation, Okupe said it would be impossible for
his principal to lose re-election in 2015.
The presidential aide boasted that though
certain politicians had been allegedly
sabotaging the Federal Government’s
reforms, especially in the power sector,
victory was still certain for his principal.
“Today, the Nigerian Army is in total and
perfect control of the North-East. I can’t see
Jonathan losing this (2015) election. It’s not
possible,” he added.
Reacting to his comments, many Nigerians
lambasted Okupe for comparing Jonathan to
Jesus Christ and asked him to withdraw the
statement.
Online activists who took a swipe at Okupe
urged Jonathan to publicly reject the title of
“Nigeria’s Jesus Christ” which they said
Okupe erroneously bestowed on him.
An angry online activist, Tayo Moore,
accused Okupe of insulting Jesus Christ by
comparing Him with his boss.
Noting that the development was
sacrilegious, Moore advised Okupe not to
hold the belief that he could “insult” Jesus
Christ and go scot free.
“Okupe has just confirmed that he doesn’t
know or have Christ. It is only a matter of
time before he (Okupe) begins to compare
Prophet Mohammed and Jonathan in the
same breath.
“That will be his final undoing. I am
wondering what the Christian Association of
Nigeria has to say on Okupe’s sacrilege, given
its current ‘leadership’ or should I say lack
thereof?” Moore argued via his Twitter
handle.
A Kano-based respondent, Nazir Galadanchi,
cautioned the medical doctor-turned
politician against uttering what he described
as a blasphemous statement.
Galandanchi argued that Okupe’s latest
analogy was not surprising as he had
recently compared his boss with the late anti-
Apartheid leader, Nelson Mandela, with a
view to selling the President’s candidature to
Nigerians.
“That’s blasphemy. Okupe should please seek
for forgiveness,” he added in a message on
Twitter.
Political blogger, Japheth Omojuwa,
described Okupe’s latest comparison as the
height of “desperation” of the Jonathan-led
Presidency.
“Doyin Okupe just called Goodluck Jonathan
Nigeria’s Jesus Christ. We have finally
reached the peak of their desperation. How
can you trust a bad marketer to sell a bad
product? Okupe trying to sell Jonathan is the
journey of a blind man leading another,” he
tweeted.
Social commentator, Temitope Atiba, stated
that it amounted to an oddity for Okupe to
preoccupy himself with drawing semblances
between the President and the central figure
of Christianity.
“You can see the stark irony of life when
Doyin Okupe begins to compare Goodluck
Jonathan to our Lord Jesus Christ. Then
again Goodluck Jonathan and Jesus Christ
have little else in common apart from flesh
and blood,” Atiba argued.
Describing Okupe’s comparison as strange,
another respondent, Aisha Yesufu, said it was
the “height of madness.”
“Is nothing sacred to these people? Is there
nothing that one does not dabble in with
these people? This is the height of madness,”
she added.
She also cautioned Okupe against blaming
Jonathan’s failures on activities of saboteurs,
stating that “excuses are meant for
weaklings.”
“There is not bad weather only bad clothing.
Excuses are for weaklings. A government
easily sabotaged should give way. We are
sick of the excuses. They (excuses) are way
out for weak leaders and sign of incapacity.
“All it (the Presidency) does is to complain.
This government blames all but itself. As
long as this govt blames others the solution
can never be with it but with those it blames.
“Since this government cannot fight all those
sabotaging it, then why is it a government?
Probably, the saboteurs will keep sabotaging
him (Jonathan) and we will keep paying for
it,” she said.
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