“Where church is being forced to wed gay couples against biblical rules” - Medo-Uwa

In this interview with ETOP EKANEM Founder/General Overseer of Pentecostal Cannanland Mission, Ajao Estate, Lagos, Pastor Nick Medo-Uwa speaks on the state of the nation, Buhari’s administration, same-sex marriage and other issues

How did you receive the news of the endorsement of same-sex marriage by the American Supreme Court?

It was no surprise to me because America is a country that is being used by God; but the devil also uses the country to advance some of his activities. Any time that the devil wants to do evil, he uses America to do it. America has been used by God to spread the gospel but today, Americans are no longer interested in spreading the word of God, instead Africans have taken over that responsibility of spreading the gospel.

This gay marriage issue has spread to other nations of the world but we still thank God because at the end, he will still do what he wants to do. However, where I am having concern is the situation where the church is being forced to wed gay couples against biblical rules. If their government legalizes same-sex union, it should be in government’s courts and not in the house of God.

They should limit this kind of union to the courts; the church should not be involved. Same sex marriage should not take place in the church to avoid polluting it. I am praying that they should leave the church out of this anomaly. The church should not be compelled to wed gay people because doing that will be against the will of God for his church.

But you don’t envisage such a law coming to Nigeria?

It will be difficult to have such a law in Nigeria because so many things will work against it. Our tradition, culture and religious belief forbid such things. Nigerians believe in prayer, if any leader endorses such practice in Nigeria, the citizens will stone him.

What do you see as the greatest challenge facing Nigeria as a nation?

I think the greatest problem that we have today is how to unit Nigerians. Disunity is eating deep into the fabrics of our nation. For instance, if a Yoruba man is doing something wrong, instead of condemning such an action, his kinsmen will support him, and they may want to defend him. Similarly, if Igbo person commits same offence, his kinsmen will defend him. The same thing is applicable to all the tribes in this country but that should not be the case.

Anyone that commits a crime should be made to face the consequences of his crime without any ethnic sentiment attached.

Division along ethnic lines is a very big problem of this country. And if there is anything that government can do to discourage this division among Nigerians, it will help this country to move forward. The seed of discord that was sown shortly before independence has germinated and grown to what we are seeing today.

The President should lead by example and treat all Nigerians equally. Things must be shared equally and each zone must be given a sense of belonging. If the president lays this foundation and the next president builds on it ethnic dichotomy will fizzle out in Nigeria.

Is it too early to assess President Buhari’s performance in office?

Well, this is one of the issues we had when the late Alhaji Musa Yar ‘Adua came on-board. Some Nigerians were saying that he would do great things but after three years, not much was done. It seems that President Buhari is taking similar steps, he has been in government for more than two months now but we are yet to see anything. Nigerians want to see what his economic agenda is. We want to know where he is going but no one can tell us exactly the direction this government is going.

Everything seems to be standing still. So we want him to bring out his programmes of action because there is no time to waste. There is the need to understand and say that this is the direction that the president is going.

We can fix this country ourselves because we have the resources but what we lack is good management of these resources, if we should manage what God has given to us well, this country will be fine.

Other countries that are doing very well don’t have the money that we have in this country but the problem is the way that this money is being shared and siphoned everyday by a few people, if government can say no to the embezzlement and plug the wastages, this country will be fine.

Our political leaders should cut down their spending habits; some of them waste our resources and keep on doing that till tomorrow. I can’t understand why a governor should have a retinue of entourage, it is all waste of resources which should be cut down. If the economy is dwindling, we expect the leaders to cut cost.

If our leaders should live by example and make the needed sacrifices, everybody will begin to toe the same path because it has started from the top. We are looking for an exemplary leader that can lead us by example and I believe that Buhari has what it takes to initiate that step.

Will you like to set an agenda for Buhari?

Let him focus on the development of agricultural sector, if we have enough food, it will help our economy. A lot of the things that we eat in this country are being imported. So the president should pay more attention to agriculture so that we can be food sufficient. For instance, why are we still importing rice?