Don’t muzzle the clergy

And this is why the news report that Pastor Dikwa was being questioned by the Department of state security, DSS, is disturbing. According to DSS spokesperson Marilyn Ogar, the preacher was invited for questioning as part of investigations into the N7 billion naira ‘gift’ that he said was given to the leadership of Christian Association […]

And this is why the news report that Pastor Dikwa was being questioned by the Department of state security, DSS, is disturbing. According to DSS spokesperson Marilyn Ogar, the preacher was invited for questioning as part of investigations into the N7 billion naira ‘gift’ that he said was given to the leadership of Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, by President Jonathan.
Long before Pastor Kallamu Dikwa’s open ‘admission’ that such a thing had indeed taken place, Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State had sounded the alarm that CAN had been given six billion naira to help campaign for the president from the pulpit. An audio recording of a radio interview with an unnamed member of the Christian clergy also went viral on social media, with the man claiming that the money given to them was actually N7 billion and not six as reported by Amaechi.
But he added, for good measure, that what disturbed him was the fact that Muslim clerics had refused to come out and declare their own largesse from the president. This unnamed pastor lamented the fact that harsh criticism had been reserved for Christian clergy alone although their Muslim counterparts had collected even more than them since they were given the sum of N12 billion. He urged both sides to come out and admit their guilt and ask their followers for forgiveness because they had allowed themselves to be used for political purposes.
While some of us were trying to figure out how true this assertion was, Pastor Kallamu came out and addressed a press conference in which he confirmed the N7 billion allegation. In a Daily Trust report of February 25th 2015, Kallamu Dikwa was reported as having stood by his allegation that the money was given to CAN to help them support President Jonathan’s re-election bid; and was meant to be shared to all CAN branches throughout the federation.
In his own words: ‘The national CAN denied knowing me and that was why I came to the press in Kaduna to confirm that what I said was true.
Somebody who saw President Jonathan the day he went to Kwara called to tell me about the money that was given. After that, another person confirmed to me that they had already distributed the money. Somebody in the National CAN confirmed to me that the leadership of the association collected money but he didn’t know the amount given….
Before Governor Amaechi’s reaction to the scandal I sent a text message to the leadership of CAN telling them to repent or I will leak the secret. There was no reply and that was why I decided to open up the secret to the world.’
Though Pastor Dikwa didn’t seem to have any proof of what he alleged apart from verbal testimony, his colleague who spoke on the radio, said there was written evidence of the payment and which party got what.  A few people speaking on behalf of CAN have disputed the claim and asked for hard evidence from Kallamu Dikwa. CAN’s director of National Issues dismissed the matter as a mere allegation, saying ‘In law, they say he who alleges must prove. It is left for those who alleged to prove their allegations and name the pastors that were given the money.’
Reverend Sunday Ibrahim, Kaduna State CAN secretary, while reacting to Pastor Dikwa’s arrest by the DSS had said ‘If the DSS arrested him I think that is in order so that he will be able to substantiate his allegation and mention those he claimed had collected money from President Jonathan. Dikwa cannot just be peddling such rumour, tarnishing the image of people. He has to establish his facts. So, what the DSS has done will help curtail further peddling of rumour by anybody who may want to do a similar thing.’
To say these reactions are disturbing is putting it mildly. One would have expected these people to put in words of encouragement for Pastor Kallamu for trying his best to protect the integrity of the Church.
But what seems obvious is that they just want to have him proved wrong by all means. His only hope remains in getting the unnamed pastor in the audio tape to bring the written evidence of the disbursement he claims to possess. In the process, this same clergyman must also remember to give the list of all the Muslim clerics who benefitted from the N12 Billion they were given by the president.
This bold step is the only means by which it can be ascertained that the presidency did bribe pastors, priests and imams to get them to campaign for Goodluck Jonathan in the forthcoming elections.
If this allegation is proved, then these clergymen must all be named and shamed because as men of God they are expected to stand by the masses and protect their interests, not sell out to politicians by becoming their mouthpieces. INEC on its part must be ready to disqualify the president and bar him from contesting because of his use of unethical means to canvass for votes. Of particular importance is his sinking the whooping sum of 19 billion naira to engage unscrupulous clergy to campaign for him.
Imagine how much good that sum will do if it were shared among all the camps housing internally displaced persons across the country? Most of the camps will close down because the IDPs will be empowered enough to leave them and use what got to obtain fairly suitable accommodation within the society. Try to share the same sum among our dilapidated government-run schools, across the federation, and most of them will become fully renovated and equipped. So why should the same sum be wasted on some corrupt individuals and allow no one will be punished for it?
The task before our police establishment is to do a thorough investigation and find this documented proof that the money was indeed expended for that purpose, then we can start from there. It wouldn’t do for the image of our country to let the DSS harass and muzzle our clergymen into silence, just because we want save the skin of some powerful politicians.