In my world, a man is measured not by his ability to kill his subjects, to destroy his political opponents, to shed the blood of the defenceless, to throw the innocent in dungeons, to humiliate and persecute his adversaries, to abuse his power and to pervert the judicial system but by the level of his humanity and his sense of decency, fairness, justice and restraint.
“Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his anointed saying, ‘let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us’. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision” – Psalm 2: 1-4.
Everything that I said about President Muhammadu Buhari and his APC during the last presidential campaign has come true.
In less than one year I have been proved right in my continuos assertion that when it comes to running the affairs of our country, President Goodluck Jonathan is by far the better man and the PDP by far the better party.
That is what is hurting them and what they cannot bear to hear. Now they seek vengeance and wish to silence me, yet I am prepared for the worst.
The only thing that I underestimated was the high degree of malice that our president has for all his political adversaries and critics, the inexplicable pleasure that he derives in inflicting pain on the innocent, the strange delight he harbours in indulging in wickedness and the monemental incompetence he displays when it comes to administering the affairs of our nation.
For him the only one thing that matters is the total annihilation and utter decimation of all his traducers. That and his shameless defence and insidious protection of the murderous Fulani militias and herdsmen.
He is unable to compete on the intellectual plain so, for him, the answer to all things is to unleash his modern-day gestapo on his enemies, with firm orders to fabricate, implicate, break, crush and destroy.
In my world, a man is measured not by his ability to kill his subjects, to destroy his political opponents, to shed the blood of the defenceless, to throw the innocent in dungeons, to humiliate and persecute his adversaries, to abuse his power and to pervert the judicial system but by the level of his humanity and his sense of decency, fairness, justice and restraint.
They wish me ill and I await them without any fear or trepidation because my Redeemer liveth. This is a battle of the gods.
It is a conflict and struggle between the servants of Lucifer and the children of the Lord. He will never abandon me and in the end He will vindicate me and deliver me from their evil claws.
There is nothing I despise more than cowardice and weakness. Those who tremble before the storm are not worthy of being called Christians.
Those who cannot stand up for truth are no better than infidels and unbelievers.
Those who bow and tremble before men and who have no understanding or knowledge of the power of God are not worthy of grace or life.
Those who break ranks and run at the crack of the whip are not worthy of being called men.
The Bible says “who art thou O man? Though art as a grass that withers. Though art as a flower that fadeth. A man that is born of woman: that is today and tomorrow is no more”.
Man is nothing and each one of us, no matter how highly placed, wise, strong, educated, rich or powerful, must humble ourselves before God. He alone is all-powerful and He alone is the giver and taker of life.
He said “Esau I hate and Jacob I love”: some He hates and others He loves. Some He blesses and others He curses. Some He gives life and others He kills: He favours whom He pleases and none can question Him.
No nation, no president, no leader, no government, no party, no institution, no trial, no tribulation, no persecution, no circumstance, no humiliation, no shame, no betrayal and no test is worthy of our fear: God alone is worthy of that.
He alone rules in the affairs of men and forges the destiny of nations. They may destroy your name, shame you before the world, take your liberty and cut short your life but it means absolutely nothing because God is still in control and He alone judges between the oppressor and his helpless prey.
Nothing can happen to any man unless the Lord permits it and when He permits it He always has His purpose.
The Bible says “had the Princes of this world known they would not have crucified the Lord of glory”.
They humiliated Him, hung Him on a cross, spat on Him, lied against Him, insulted Him, bore false witness against Him and eventually killed Him, yet He rose again and conquered them all.
There was a purpose to His humiliation and suffering and He fulfilled that purpose: He paid the price for His mission and destiny and indeed for us all.
We are His sons and heirs: if He can endure such tribulations and pain, so can we. As a matter of fact we should count it all as joy.
We should take solace in the fact that nothing is hidden before God. We should remember that those that seek to persecute, kill and destroy innocent men will eventually suffer the judgement of God.
They, and all that are theirs, will pay a heavy price for the evil that they have done, the innocent souls that they have crushed, the destinies that they have destroyed, the dreams that they have shattered and the innocent blood that they have shed.
No matter what lies ahead we must always remember this: God is great, God is good and there is nothing that He does that is not perfect. Praise the Lord!
Femi Fani-Kayode, a lawyer and former Minister of Aviation, is a leading member of Nigeria’s political opposition, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
