“Nigerians used to be the most educated people in the world until the likes of Abacha and the Murtala Muhammed came and scattered our educational system to slow down the South so that the North can catch up, instead of speeding up the North. We are sick and tired of politicians whose only objective is to fleece our public wealth. We h, ave selfish people, selfish parents and selfish leaders who do everything for themselves and nothing for their children and successors. But, success is not success unless there is a successor. May God deliver Nigeria from ‘eldership’ and from a leadership that is overweight, undiscerning and blind. Do you know why Nigeria’s vast resources have not yet been discovered? It is because if they are discovered now, these useless people in power will squander them. But God is waiting for David to deliver us.” - Senior Pastor of House On The Rock, PAUL ADEFARASIN, said two days ago as he called on Christians in the country to be involved in politics, especially the Presidency.

Word!
@poster, I love your siggy.

^^^ Thanks Odunnu, am hapi u luv something abt me

**Jumping**

O c'mon,i'm not a difficult person. I have a large heart and I lov selflessly.

let me post the rejoinder to this demagogue, and an omitted part of his speech

Do not vote for a Muslim President, there are about 100million Christians in Nigeria who must determine who becomes the President of their country, Muslims have ruled the country for long, Nigerians used to be the most educated people in the world until the likes of Abacha and Murtala Muhammed scattered our educational system to slow down the South so that the North can catch up, instead of speeding up the North.”

the rejoinder by chxta

http://chxta..com/2010/11/letter-to-paul-adefarasin.html

The above statement was credited to the senior pastor of the House on the Rock church, Paul Adefarasin. It is said that he made that statement last Sunday, 14 November. I have my doubts about the veracity of that statement, but if true, Mr. Adefarasin has unleashed a very dangerous demon into the Nigerian political space.


The truth though is that religion has always been used by the Nigerian elite, especially those in the northern part of the country as a means of achieving their ends, and not bettering the lives of their people. But in a situation were this country is trying very hard to turn round the corner, listening to a respected pastor such as Adefarasin who has a large following utter such rubbish is not only alarming, it is deeply disappointing.


Let's look at what he has said point by point.


1 – Do not vote for a Muslim President.

I wonder where the religion of a man ever determined his ability to govern. One of the most progressive leaders in the entire twentieth century was a fellow called Mustafa Kemal, the founder of modern day Turkey. He was a Muslim, but early on he recognised the need for the separation of religion and state. Conversely, some of the most repressive rulers to straddle the same century, and in my mind I have a certain Stalin, actually had religious training in a Christian seminary!


2 – 100million Christians

Where did we get 100million Christians from? If memory serves me correct, Nigeria has about 150 million people, almost evenly split between Christians and Muslims in the vast majority, then a small percentage who practice traditional religions. If one wants to be pedantic, then the census figures actually indicate that our Muslim population is closer to 50% while the Christian population is closer to 40% of the total. That would mean that we have more like 60million Christians in the country. Where did Mr. Adefarasin get the remaining 40millions from?


3 – Muslims have ruled the country for long

I can't argue with that one, it is true.


4 – Nigerians used to be the most educated people in the world

Err, rain check here sir. Nigerians have NEVER been the most educated people in the world, and the way things are going now, will never be. The statistics are there for the entire planet to see. At the time the colonial rulers left us in 1960, Nigeria had a single digit literacy rate. Today it is at the 68% mark. How in the name of all that is good and holy did we then become the most educated people in the world? That is ignorance speaking, and the most dangerous kind of ignorance, the kind that people listen to, and act on. For the sake of clarity, Nigeria's educational growth actually began to get retarded under the leadership of Yakubu Gowon, a Christian. Afterall, it was his regime that in 1974 authorised the take over of all missionary schools by the government, and that was when standards began to plummet.


You see dear Pastor Paul, a man in your position should not be misleading the gullible and dimwitted with statements that distort historical facts. A man in your position should tell people the right thing to do. The right thing to do in Nigeria's special case is for all of us to take a critical look at the people who have offered themselves up for election, decide which one of them is the least bad one (yes, they are almost all bad), vote for that least bad person, then make sure that our votes count. The mantra dear Paul should be Register-Select-Vote-Protect, not Muslim-No-Christian-Yes. What I am saying to you in a nutshell, dear Paul is very simple. It doesn't matter what version of God a man worships and what he chooses to call the Most High, be it Allah, Bog or Chukwu. What matters is the man himself, and what he is capable of achieving.


The honest truth is this, given the antecedents of Christians such as Orji Uzor Kalu, Gbenga Daniel, Lucky Igbinedion and Peter Odili, I would rather vote for Diokpa Kene Chukwurah in my village who up until this day worships Amadioha as our forefathers did. At least I know for a fact that he is an honest man.

one wonders what would have happened if the successive muslim governors of lagos state were cut in the cloth of this anointed bigot

this was my response on that thread

no surprise there - the good pastor is cut from the same mental  cloth as several 'enlightened' short sighted Christians on nairaland who love to blame the north in general and Islam in particular for all of  nigeria's woes.

the other day  it was some trash talk about how Muslims were the ones holding yorubas back

considering the fact that several of these sheperds are in cahoots with the ibrus of nigeria

i wonder what would happen if the dangotes and tinubus and adeolas of this world took a page from this demagogue's book

it would be nice if the good pastor could go and lecture the likes of alao akala and gbenga daniel of the christian way of governing 

Odunnu:

O c'mon,i'm not a difficult person. I have a large heart and I lov selflessly.

Good to know that, those are some of the qualities that not only make you a nice woman but keep you healthy

oyb:

let me post the rejoinder to this demagogue, and an omitted part of his speech

the rejoinder by chxta

http://chxta..com/2010/11/letter-to-paul-adefarasin.html

one wonders what would have happened if the successive muslim governors of lagos state were cut in the cloth of this anointed bigot

this was my response on that thread

it would be nice if the good pastor could go and lecture the likes of alao akala and gbenga daniel of the christian way of governing

I am not a party to Religion bigotry, Nigeria's problem is not North vs South nor Christian vs Muslim, rather its the Elites Vs Common man. A common man in the North is complaining about the samething as the one in the South which ranges from no food, no education, water, good road, electricity et al. So what am saying in a nutshell, is that the Elites do not care about the common man in the street be him a muslim or a Christian. Until we have a change of mentality and have people that truly love Nigeria the trend must persist.

Knowing Pst Paul the way I do,I wont credit your rejoinder to him.

^^^ My happines is dat this Religious leaders are getting involved in naija politics these days. They should urge their members to go get registered for voting