From Victor Seyi, Ilorin
National President, Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), Dr.
Felix Obude, has enjoined Nigerians to see the Boko Haram insurgency as a common enemy.
Speaking with reporters in Ilorin, Kwara State during a visit to leaders and members of the PFN in the state on Tuesday, the PFN national president said the fight against insurgency cannot only be fought by government alone.
Obude said: “Nigerians must recognise now that Boko Haram is our common enemy and
we must not just point at government. We have an enemy in the house. I agree that Nigerians have the right to be anxious. I do not think anywhere in the world that curing insurgency has any quick solution. So, I don’t know anywhere in the world where there’s a shortcut to solving insurgency. I will appeal that Nigerians should give our government some time. I believe no responsible leader can go to sleep and forget that there’s burning problem in the house. They are working. So, I think we should give them some time and then cooperate with our security forces, so we can defeat our common enemy.”
Dr. Obude, who said he was in the state to strengthen the church, added that the growth of Pentecostal movement in the country was alongside some challenges.
He said: “My visit is with the aim of putting our home in order, strengthening our values, projecting into our future. I am here to perpetuate the gospel that we inherited. I am here also to let our people know that peace is very relevant and very much needed if we’ll have an atmosphere to worship God. I believe that God knew that we can live together and did not compel anybody to believe the same way we do. So, as a leader of Pentecostal, I am appealing to all our people asking them to live peacefully. We can change this nation but we must have the right attitude to life. That’s why I am here.”
The PFN national president described the call as “unfortunate” calls for churches in the country to pay taxes.
His words: “It’s unfortunate that we can reason that way. People have not thought
that when these government people are happy, they need a pastor to pray for them. When they are sad and they lose loved ones, they need a pastor to bury them. Now, they have forgotten the many humanitarian endeavours that the church is involved in. I believe, on the stand of PFN that if a church is doing business, of course, it should pay tax on the business they are getting money from. If it’s a church that’s registered as a non-profit organisation, I think that kind of call to me is unrealistic and is not right.”
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