The Christian God: Between Nyesom Wike and Pastor Sarah -By Abdulkadir Salaudeen

If there is a minister who needs no introduction in this Ẹmilokan Government, it is Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory [FCT], who is always in the news — embroiled in controversy. I won’t deny that he is hardworking as FCT Minister, but I will say he is unapologetically bold, confrontational, and controversial in discharging his duty.

To Wike, one has to be mad to be FCT Minister. By his own standard, Wike is a madman. And I must confess that I admire him for admitting it publicly. That admission means people in Abuja should be cautious when dealing with him. He is not an ordinary minister you can address anyhow.

He should also not be addressed with excessive politeness. If you must engage Wike, study his mood and choose your approach carefully. No approach works all the time. What succeeds with him today may be wrong tomorrow because he is moody and always charged. This does not mean he “takes something” . The only way to predict Wike is to predict that he is unpredictable.

This is where Pastor Sarah Omaku got it wrong. I learned that she is the Senior Pastor of Family Worship Centre, Abuja. She made an emotional plea to Wike over the planned redevelopment of Jabi Lake. In a viral video, she was seen kneeling and appealing to Wike to let the lake remain the recreational resort it has always been.

I like her strategy — dramatizing her appeal like a caring mother. I suspect she genuinely cares. But she directed her plea to the wrong person. She was too polite for Wike’s style, brashness, and madness.

I suspect Wike, “the man wey no send,” either saw the video or was briefed about it. He was clearly unmoved by the pastor’s emotional appeal and responded publicly.

Reading his response in the papers alone, one might conclude he spoke from a beer parlour. But Wike was apparently not drunk when he replied Pastor Sarah. His remarks came during a media chat aired by NTA. He chose his words deliberately and knew exactly what he was saying.

Yet because of his habitual, official “madness,” Wike came across as uncouth. And in my view, he was not only uncouth to Pastor Sarah, but also to the Christian God. I will explain why.

Wike said: “To the woman who was crying, if she likes, let her call God to come down. What is my business? How does Jabi become hers? Is it an individual or government property? We are trying to make sure investors develop this land for the interest of all of us.”

Wike’s decision on Jabi Lake might be right, and Pastor Sarah might not be wrong either. But the propriety and correctness of Wike’s decision over Jabi Lake are not my concern. My concern is his lack of respect for God.

Wike should know that regardless of whether the land in question—Jabi Lake—is sold or not, God will not come down. God is not idle, and He does not need to descend because of Wike. Even if Wike has disdain for those he was appointed to govern, he should not extend that disdain to their Creator.

He could have rudely disregarded Pastor Sarah’s plea and gone ahead with the Abuja land deal without being disrespectful to God. Instead, he lumped the pastor together with God in his profane remark.

This is the same man who declared Rivers State a Christian state when he was governor, without apology to anyone. It makes me wonder whether Wike is still a Christian who loves God, or just an Abuja errand minister trying to protect his job, even if it means turning his back on God.

A Christian body did not hold back. It replied Wike immediately for his uncouthness. The Northern Christian Association faulted Wike over those offensive remarks that desecrated the Almighty—the Alpha and Omega. The body warned that political authority must never be used to disrespect God or offend public sensibilities.

I salute the Christian body for its timely reaction. But I have two concerns: one with the Christian body and the other with Muslims. But these concerns become non-issues once it is established that God means different entities to us.

Why did the Northern Christian Association react without its southern counterpart? Is the God Wike disrespected different from the One worshipped in the South? I quickly checked where Pastor Sarah came from. I found out she is a native of Kaduna. Could that be why southern Christians’ voices were not heard in condemning Wike’s uncouth utterance since Sarah is from the North?

I understand there has been a recent “go your way, we’ll go our way” split between northern and southern Christians over leadership issues in the Christian Association of Nigeria [CAN], which, to the best of my knowledge, remains unresolved. But has it reached the point of worshipping a different God? I urge CAN to condemn Wike for his utterance.

Now, let me address our Muslim sheikhs, imams, clerics, and organizations. Are we comfortable with Wike’s disrespectful remark about God? The Abuja minister said that if God were to come down, it would be none of his business. I understand that both Pastor Sarah and Wike are Christians. I strongly believe Wike is still a Christian, even though he says he would have no business with God if God were to come down.

Can we, as Muslims, just fold our arms, move on, and say, “After all, it’s Christian versus Christian”? No. It concerns us. Yes, it concerns Muslims. Let’s replace “God” with “Allah” in Wike’s remarks. What would our reaction be?

If Wike had said, “To the woman who was crying, if she likes, let her call Allah to come down. What is my business?”, I believe many of our Muslim clerics would have mounted the pulpit to teach Wike who Allah is. This is an opportunity for all of us to join hands and condemn Wike for his reckless reference to God.

An occasion like this should present us with an opportunity to speak with one voice, irrespective of religion and region. Let’s first ask Wike which God he expects to come down, and whose coming down would be none of his business.

Even the erratic Donald Trump, the U.S. President, understands this basic concept. He knows that God and Allah refer to the same deity in the Abrahamic faiths. In a social media post reported by major global media outlets, Trump ended his threat of “hell on earth” to Iran and declared victory in the ongoing conflict with the words, “Praise be to Allah.”

Or am I missing something? Is there a difference between God and Allah? I reference Trump because I see him as Wike’s American counterpart. If Wike had been Nigerian President, he would most likely be Nigeria’s version of Trump.

While I await those who might wish to educate me on the difference between God and Allah, the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, should be careful and stop ridiculing God.

Dear Nyesom Wike, the self-styled “landlord of Abuja,” God no be your mate!

Abdulkadir Salaudeen

salahuddeenabdulkadir@gmail.com