| 12 Oct. 2018 | Emma Unah
Bishop Isong is the President of Christian Central Chapel, with headquartres in Calabar and also the National Publicity Secretary of Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria. In this interview with Emmanuel Unah in Calabar, he spoke on many political issues in the country and the way forward, Bishop Isong did not minced words when he spoke on the relevance of Osinbanjo to the Body of Christ as a vice President who is not a Muslim but a Christian.
Happy reading.
Emma: In your over opinion Bishop, what would you say to Nigerians now that candidates of the different political parties have emerged for the 2019 elections.
Bishop: As you know my character, I do not speak for any political party; I only speak for the people when God directs me to speak. I come from the village and if I do have an opportunity to speak for the poor, eternity would not forgive me if I take sides with the rich and nobody is rich enough to make mespeak for him. Moreso, now that I am the national publicity of PFN I have a national platform to speak for the people all over the country.
For the past sixteen years, almost ninety percent of everything I prophesy always come to pass. If I lie or tell the truth, you are my witnesses. Those of 2018 I gave to you and if you have seen them you can goggle and see what I prophesied and most of them are coming to pas but my shock is that it my prophesies are not a big thing in the media. Is it because of where I come from or where I live? If somebody in Lagos or Abuja coughs the whole country catches cold, yet most of those prophesies fail. Somebody prophesied that Nigeria was going win the world cup but we never won. So there are a lot of those things coming in 2018 and I say to the media I will tell you that we will get the result that will shock Nigerians in the 2019 election. This is an election that will count. People may say they have already written the results, but I say no, go and get registered to vote and use your pvc. Forget about Osun and Ekiti States election and what took place there. Those things are in court but in 2019 people should get their pvcs because many people will use their pvc to show their anger. PVC will become AK 47. Very soon the elections will come and we will have the shocker of our lives.
Emma: What is PFN which you are national publicity secretary doing at the national level for the coming elections.
Bishop: What the PFN is saying is very clear. People should get their pvcs and get ready to vote in or vote out the government they like or don't like . Christians should not be docile and should pray that God would raise a President who will stop the wanton killings of Christians. We want the killings to stop. Also, the manipulation of our faith should stop.
Emma:The parties have concluded their primaries and most were characterised by crisis what is your opinion on what took place.
Bishop: All the political parties in Nigeria lack internal democracy be it the PDP or APC, to the extent that the wife of the President has raised her voice over the lack of internal democracy in the parties. For example, I lodged in a hotel in Uyo and as I went out to return to Calabar within the vicinity of the hotel there were so many people with red eyes that I have never seen in my life . There were gun shots everywhere and the place was barricaded and I rushed back inside and when I asked what was going on I was told that those shooting are thugs that just came from the venue of a primary election and that somebody who had defected from one party to the other was in one of the hotel rooms writing names of candidates and that was on the 5th of October. He was writing names of people he wanted to be candidates to contest election with him and those he defected to join were resisting him saying before he came they were there so they must stop him. In my opinion, INEC should take over the nomination of candidates from level of party. The INEC observers only go to nominations venues to collect envelopes and bottle of coke and drink and go back. Imagine in Lagos, we were told there was no primary and suddenly Clement Ebri who said there was no primary, the next day, my very respectable Clement Ebri one of the most honourable persons from Cross River came out to recant want he said that there was a primary and a winner had emerged and I wept for this country. if Ebri the man of integrity can wake up and say the next that there was primary, my country, my children and children's children are in trouble because there is no future in a country like this . If the foundation be destroyed how will the building stand. We have already got it wrong at the party level.
The people that you and I will go to vote are the people the party throws up and already the PDP and the worst of them APC have got it wrong. Imagine where in over twenty states, the APC has two or more candidates for governorship and in other positions prompting the wife of the President to cry out and say 'Oshiomole, you have been a labour leader, human rights activist why is this happening under your watch?' I am telling you I saw people in a hotel room writing results of an election that did not take place. Somebody should rebuke me now, my name is Bishop Emma Isong if I am not saying the truth.
Emma: Osinbanjo the Vice President. Are you satisfied with his performance?.
Bishop: Before he became the Vice President, I watched him on television when he had a programme in Owerri and I marveled at his level of intelligence and I felt his University should be proud of him and his mother should be proud he has such a son. I was one of the most excited persons when he was announced the VP but since he assumed office, somebody should tell me one thing that Professor Osinbajo has done for the body of Christ that we should be proud of him. To me I had hoped and thought Christianly had provided the best for this country in the person of Osinbanjo but I am sorry to say that his continuous sidon look , his humility and submission to a cabal and government that is insensitive to the killing of Christians, destruction of churches and operation say nothing so that he would not be accused of being a fanatic I am not excited at all. He will wake up one morning and tell pastors they are corrupt, they should go and change their preaching. It is unbelievable what I am hearing from the man we had so much hope.
Emma: What do you say about the attitude of the political class to the people they represent.
Bishop: Nigerian political class has continued to wreak havoc , rape and dupe the electorate. The government we have is an insensitive and non perfuming one. Have you been to the Calabar – Itu road of recent. Please anybody who wants to rule this country should travel through the Calabar Itu Road and see the death trap first hand and thereafter tell us whether we should still vote for him - how do explain the state of the road. Jonathan as a Niger Delta President could not even work on the roads in the region including the East – West road. The problem with Nigeria is that the political class is that after the election, they have no game plan to better the lives of the people and the people are taken for a ride and impoverished the more. That is why in political campaigns the people you see there are thugs and rented crowd. Check beginning from Godswill Akpabio to Udom even Emmanuel's declaration including Ayade you see the same faces. Interview ten people in such gathering and you see that all those people are paid just 2000 some 500.00 to be in the place. They hire students from campuses, villages, communities and organisations to attend their rallies. I wish your camera can pick some faces and you see in one event also in the opposite party and show the world what is going on-no real crowd.. Let the electorate know that they are selling their birthrights. They should know their vote is the future of their families. Let them know that selling their freedom is injurious to their rights and privileges nobody can get better with the money he gets from such action.
Emma: What should be done to make the difference
Bishop: All the politicians living in Abuja have all come back with the same stories. Is it juju that they put in their mouths? The solution to the situation is for the people to ornagise themselves as pressure groups, NUJ, NLC, student unions , community associations should come together and write a resolution and say anyone who wants to rule should come and sign the resolution because we would not vote party but the person .and if the persons comes and signs we tell him if he breaches the agreement we will fire him. Such a person would sit up and others following will learn a lesson.
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