Rose Ejembi, Makurdi
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has said that he will not, under any circumstance, compromise his faith in order to support injustice or evil under the guise of politicking.
Osinbajo stated this in response to a poser raised by the Catholic Bishop of Gboko, His Lordship William Avenya, at a stakeholders meeting organized at the Banquet Hall of Government House in Makurdi on Tuesday night.
He also noted that he can never give up his faith or stand for injustice, expressing his readiness to resign from his present position as Vice President should the need arise to fight against injustice.
“My Lord Bishop, you said you are not a politician, I am also not a politician. As a matter of fact, I’m also a priest and I’m a Christian, a born again Christian. Because I’m a born again Christian, my destiny is not determined by any man but by God who I serve,” stated the Vice President.
“Let me assure you that under no circumstance, non whatsoever, will I give up my faith or refuse to stand up for my faith. You can take that to the bank.
“Even the position that I currently occupy, I did not ask for it and I’m prepared to leave it at a short notice. It doesn’t mean anything. I became a born again Christian after I became a professor, a professor of the law of evidence, a professor of proof.
“But when the Lord Jesus Christ met me, He persuaded me by showing me clearly that there is such a thing as the evidence of faith that are not seen. It is because of the evidence of things that are not seen, it is because you can make something out of nothing that I stand here today as Vice President.
“How possible can anyone say that the killing of women and children doesn’t matter because he is Vice President or because he is president? How is that possible? Certainly, it cannot be for a person who is born again. A renewed mind will know that there is justice, there is consequence even if there is no justice here on earth.”
Also reacting to another speaker, Mrs Magdalene Dura, who claimed that the massacres in Benue was an ethnic cleansing agenda, Osinbajo insisted that he did not believe the killings had an agenda.
“Some people have suggested that there is an agenda, I heard the very eloquent words of Dr. Magdalene Dura who said this is an agenda. The suggestions that have been made that indeed, there is ethnic cleansing and all of that.
“But let me say to you that although, I do not accept that but the only way that we can proof that there is indeed no agenda is to protect the people, it’s to fight for justice and to rebuild where there has been destruction. That’s the only way to prove it.
“As I said to you, I do not accept and I do not believe that there is an agenda. No one will deliberately kill his own people. No one will do so. But we cannot bring back the dead but we can make life more bearable for the living.”
Earlier, Bishop Avenya had challenged the Vice President to stand against injustice being meted out to Benue and other minority tribes in the country or face the consequence of his inaction.
“The point I’m trying to make is that a day is going to come when you as Vice President, the injustices in our land, especially those perpetrated on smaller tribes that have no one to fight for them; when the issues and the records are raised, you too will bear the brunt of that problem.
“So, as a Christian person, exonerate yourself from this situation. I plead with you to be a Christian and a committed Christian, somebody who understands the law and one who speaks for justice. This is the way to reconciliation and peace in our land. Let us stop this political thing that means practically nothing. Let us talk in truth.”
Mrs Magdalene Dura had lamented that Nigeria has failed Benue state and launched a genocide against its people across the country.
“There is a genocide against the Tiv people across the country. Nigeria has failed Benue. We know our killers and they are Fulani herdsmen. They are Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore (MAKH). We have cried out but non has been arrested. Military presence in troubled areas is a right, one a privilege.”
Commenting earlier, Governor Samuel Ortom, who thanked the Vice President for listening to the people, urged the Federal Government to find a lasting solution to the Benue problem.