What Exactly Did We Expect Osinbajo to Give the Church? -By Oluwafemi Popoola

I have listened to Pastor Femi Emmanuel for years. Like many Nigerians, I grew up listening to his sermons, his words of wisdom, his practical teachings and his balanced approach to issues affecting society. That was why I made a deliberate effort to listen to his recent comments on Christians and politics instead of relying on the short clips making the rounds on social media. I wanted to hear him in full context before arriving at any conclusion. To be honest, I found myself agreeing with a considerable part of what he said. He was absolutely right when he argued that Christians cannot afford to remain spectators in politics while expecting credible Christian leaders to suddenly emerge during elections. Politics is not a movie that begins on election day. It starts at the grassroots, with party registration, ward meetings, delegate elections, policy conversations and the difficult work of building structures. If Christians continue to avoid those spaces, then our complaints after elections become little more than shouting from outside the fence. On that point, Pastor Femi Emmanuel deserves commendation.

But then came the statement that made me pause the video. “The Church gained nothing from having Osinbajo as Vice President.” I honestly thought I had misheard him. I replayed the video. Perhaps someone had quoted him out of context, I thought. Maybe social media had done what it often does. Unfortunately, after watching it again, I realized those were indeed his words. I became genuinely confused. This was Pastor Femi Emmanuel, a man many of us have admired for decades because of his thoughtful teachings and balanced reasoning. Hearing him arrive at such a sweeping conclusion was disappointing. I can only continue to respect him because remaining in ministry for decades without becoming synonymous with scandal is no small achievement. In an era where scandals often travel faster than sermons, that consistency deserves acknowledgment. Yet, listening to that statement, I could not help but wonder whether age is beginning to tell. Perhaps that thought is unfair, but it crossed my mind because the conclusion simply did not sound like the careful reasoning I have always associated with him. Respect, however, should never prevent honest disagreement.

Perhaps before asking what Professor Yemi Osinbajo gave Christians, we should first ask what some Christians expected him to give. Government appointments? Political patronage? Preferential treatment? A Christian version of “our turn has come?” Sometimes I genuinely wonder what success in government looks like to some believers. If a Christian occupies public office and refuses to favour Christians, he is accused of abandoning the faith. If he favours Christians, the same people will accuse him of religious bias and abusing public office. It is almost like asking a football referee to support your club while insisting he remains impartial. Which exactly do we want?

During Professor Yemi Osinbajo’s eight years as Vice President, millions of Nigerians benefited from government programmes that never paused to ask whether beneficiaries attended church or mosque. TraderMoni did not request your denomination. MarketMoni never asked whether your pastor was Pentecostal or Anglican. FarmerMoni did not ask whether you prayed facing Jerusalem or Mecca. Under Osinbajo’s supervision, the National Social Investment Programme was launched in June 2016 as the largest social investment programme on the African continent. Through N-Power alone, over 500,000 young Nigerians were engaged to tackle unemployment while improving social development. The Home-Grown School Feeding Programme reached millions of pupils. Conditional Cash Transfers supported vulnerable households. Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programmes empowered market women and small business owners. These interventions reached people because they were Nigerians, not because they belonged to one religion. No one was asked to produce a baptismal certificate before receiving assistance. Nobody was denied because his name was Mohammed instead of Matthew. Isn’t that exactly how government is supposed to work?

That, to me, is perhaps Professor Yemi Osinbajo’s greatest offering, not merely to Christians but to the Church itself. Not a Christian government, but the public example of a Christian in government. There is a profound difference between those two ideas. The Gospel never instructed believers to establish governments that favour Christians over everyone else. It instructed believers to become salt and light. Salt does not preserve only Christian food. Light does not illuminate only Christian homes. Their influence extends to everyone within reach. Osinbajo rose to one of Africa’s highest political offices without allowing power to become a scandal to his faith. He spent eight years in the Presidency without becoming the face of monumental corruption. He left office without dragging the name of Christ through endless courtroom drama or international embarrassment. In today’s political climate, that should never be dismissed casually.

The most persuasive sermon has never been delivered from a pulpit. It has been lived. History repeatedly reminds us of this truth. Angela Merkel never governed Germany as the “Christian Chancellor.” She governed Germans while allowing her Christian convictions to shape her integrity, humility and sense of responsibility. Jimmy Carter is remembered across the world not because America became a Christian state during his presidency, but because his life reflected honesty, compassion and humility both in and out of office. Scripture offers even older examples. Joseph administered Egypt under Pharaoh. Daniel served Babylon. Esther influenced Persia. None governed exclusively for God’s people. Yet their faith became visible because they served everyone with excellence. That became their witness. That became their ministry. That became their sermon.

Ironically, had Professor Osinbajo openly diverted public resources toward Christians or reserved opportunities exclusively for believers, many of the same voices insisting today that the Church gained nothing would probably have been the first to accuse him of promoting religious favouritism. So what exactly was he expected to do? Govern Nigeria as Vice President of Christians or serve Nigeria faithfully as a Christian Vice President? There is an important difference, and I believe Osinbajo understood it.

That is why I respectfully disagree with Pastor Femi Emmanuel. The Church gained something far more valuable than political appointments or preferential treatment. It gained credibility. It gained an example. It gained proof that a Christian can occupy one of the highest offices on the continent without allowing power to destroy character or compromise conviction. Sometimes the Church does not gain because Christians receive favours. Sometimes the Church gains because one believer reminds the world that integrity is still possible in public office. Sometimes the loudest sermon is not preached with a microphone but with a life. Long after campaign posters have faded and political offices have changed hands, people may forget speeches and manifestoes, but they rarely forget character. And perhaps that is the greatest testimony Professor Yemi Osinbajo left behind. After all, the most convincing sermon has never been the one preached on Sunday morning. It has always been the one lived from Monday to Saturday.

Oluwafemi Popoola is a Nigerian journalist, media strategist, and columnist. He can be reached via bromeo2013@gmail.com