Bishop Justus Mogekwu, the Anglican Bishop of Asaba Diocese, has cautioned Nigerian clergymen over utterances capable of destroying the nation’s unity. Punch Metro reports.
The Bishop, who stated this on Sunday at the Cathedral in Asaba, said pastors and church leaders who begin to say “this person will win, this person will lose” have gone beyond their boundary.
He said, “You can see that a lot of them are doing it for personal aggrandizement.
“They need money, they want money. They want to be in the good books of those to be in power.
“And this is where I have a grouse with church leaders who tell you this man is going to win or that man is going to lose.
“Sometimes, they prophesy that a certain person or politician will die. It is very ungodly.
“You have no right. Even if you know somebody will die, what does it amount to you proclaiming it? Does that stop the death from coming?
“If God has revealed to you that so so person will die unless he changes his status, that is a different matter.
“In that case, you go and meet the person and tell him/her, ‘This is what God has said about you, but if you change, God will forgive you.’
“You don’t go public to draw credit to yourself. That is what a lot of them are doing.”
Bishop Mogekwu argued that it was out of place for a minister of to God to speak on issues that are capable of destroying the unity of country, noting that though ministers of God could be involved in politics, they should not join a political party or arrogate to themselves the right to decide which party will win or which party will lose.