By Ejikeme Omenazu and Aramide Oikelome, Lagos
Highly cerebral Rev Moses Tunde Elebute is Chairman, Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), Lagos Mainland Province. As a church leader, he believes that the church is part of society and as such must be concerned and be involved in what goes on in the nation. It is therefore not strange that Elebute, General Overseer of International Christian Faith Mission, has a lot to say about the nagging Boko Haram insurgency, especially what government should do about the abducted Chibok girls and the recent threat of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD), among other issues.
According to the banker turned cleric, the scripture actually says that in the last days there will be wars and fears of wars, while people will be killing thinking that they are serving God. He also noted that the Bible predicted that there will be strange diseases. All these he stressed are signs of the End Time. However, Elebute, a renowned teacher on Faith, believes that those who will exercise their faith will be saved.
According to him, “I believe that every Christian should live a holy life so that no matter what is happening, one will not miss heaven. As for Boko Haram, the church triumphs in persecution. Even in the early days, during persecution, the church spread. The church leaders should concentrate their efforts in making disciples instead of making millionaires. If the church leaders do this, preach the word, raise disciples and people who are strong, the church will continue to thrive and many will make heaven.
“Christ said He will build His church and no gate of hell will prevail. Boko Haram will soon come to an end and the church will be stronger and the nation will also be stronger. All the prayers people are praying are not in vain. But God works at His own time. Boko Haram has brought about a lot of widows and orphans. I believe that with the Federal Government raising fund for the area, there will be transformation in the area. God is with us. He answers prayers. Boko Haram will come to pass. There was a Maitasine and other such groups. They ended at a time. So will Boko Haram”.
On the reluctance of the Boko Haram sect to release the abducted Chibok girls, Elebute maintained that government has been reluctant to use military force to free the girls so that they will not be used as human shield. However, he insisted that “instead of folding our hands for Boko Haram to use these girls as suicide bombers and allow them to be indoctrinated against the government and the people of Nigeria, government can use minimum force.
On the recent cash gift to the people of Chibok by Federal Government, the cleric maintained that there is nothing bad in it as the people must have spent money on health, transportation. He also added the girls’ parents might have been spending money to ensure the release of the girls even as the community has been devastated.
He added: “I am happy that government is doing a lot to develop the place now. Even the Danjuma committee is doing a lot to ensure that the Chibok girls are released and the place developed. A lot of money has been raised so far. But, government should increase intelligence gathering and be more proactive to eliminate Boko Haram because if they rebuild the place without destroying Boko Haram, they may come back to destroy the place again. The Press should not be sentimental in their coverage and should celebrate the positive things the military is doing and not only the activities of Boko Haram Government should ensure that their men who die in the process, that their families are well taken care of”.
On the Ebola threat Elebute commended efforts of Lagos State governor, Babatunde Fashola, as well as the steps taken by the Minister of Health, Onyebuchi Chukwu, who he said deserves the position he is occupying. But, he added that government should police the official and unofficial routes and borders to ensure that everyone coming into the country is screened. To him, Ebola a national issue and as such all the state governors should join hands with the Federal Government to check the spread of the disease. He suggests that government should establish special hospitals and centres for Ebola victims and protect the health officers and give them all the necessary facilities they need to check the spread of the disease. He also commended the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) for calling off their strike. “We will be at the top of Ebola. Now the scourge of HIV/AIDS has reduced and it is no longer seen as death sentence”, he stressed.
He however counselled the national committee on Ebola to invest in research that will give Nigeria vaccines to check the virus. He also advised that efforts should not only be concentrated on science.
“They should look at our herbs and the traditional healers. They should call every stakeholder so that all hands must be on the deck to combat the disease. They should continue with the enlightenment efforts and translate them into Nigerian languages so that people will know more about Ebola.
“The Committee should encourage Professor Maurice Iwu and give him enough funds to continue his research on Ebola and the use of Bitter Cola. If a man thinks enough, there is always a solution to every problem. If Nigeria can provide a solution to Ebola; why not? There are some retired Virologists. They should be recalled and more money provided for universities for research. Nigeria should collaborate with our experts in the diaspora for more research on Ebola”.
To the churches, Elebute exhorts them to adopt everything the government is putting in place to check the spread of Ebola. He stressed that medical aspect of healing should be combined with spiritual aspects. He called on Churches to set up healing schools and establish hospitals and screening centres.
“Churches have the responsibility of protecting the people, both the strong and the weak. Those who are healthy should be separated from those who need spiritual attention. We should build the faith of our people so that their bodies can resist germs and viruses. We must teach our people to live by faith. We should bring in experts to churches to teach our members what to do to resist the disease. Education is very important”, he added.
Elebute was happy that Lagos State government recently reduced the tuition fees for the state’s university, LASU, to N25,000 after it was hiked by 300 per cent three years ago.
To him, it was good that the governor finally listened to the voice of reason and retraced his steps. He stressed that a governor should do so when he finds that his policies are not popular and not in the interest of the people.
“Fashola should see how the students jubilated that day the announcement of the reduction was made. the policy was bad. For three years the school was not in peace and many students could not gain admission for three years and students begin to move away from the university. The policy was not in the interest of the school, the students, the parents and the government. That university was never what it used to be in the last three years”, he stated.
On security of churches in the South following series of Boko Haram bombing of worship centres in the North, Elebute disclosed that government and the police have been talking, telling religious leaders what to do. He advised church leaders and workers to be vigilant, get security gadgets to protect the church and the people. He said there should be church vigilantes and security officers.
“The Lagos State chapter of the Pentecostal fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) now has a director of Security. Churches should involve their members who are retired security officers in this regard. Churches should engage security outfits to help protect the churches complexes.
“Also the spiritual aspect is important. Every church branch should have prayer warriors; spiritual and physical watch men, both day and night. Jehoshaphat did it and God sent spiritual ambush.”
Elebute is one of the church leaders advocating for a Christian governor for Lagos come 2015. He stressed that Christians have made their mind known on the need for a Christian governor in Lagos. According to him, both APC and PDP know the stand of the church leaders on this.
According to him, “We are not saying that Muslims are not good leaders. But, they should also realise that we too have good leaders. The parties should give us a Christian who have tract records and who can take the state to the next level. If the two parties or any other party for that matter, select Christian candidates, the Christian leaders will meet at both PFN and CAN levels and take decisions on them.
“We are not just looking for a Christian leader, we are looking for people with pedigree, who can perform, who are tested and have demonstrated capacities for performance in their careers, even the Bible says that we should ordain a novice. Christian leaders will interact with them and advice the Christians communities.
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