Fani-Kayode vs Osinbajo: The emerging clash of pastors

by Alexander O. Onukwue

The Acting President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, has not been in everyone’s good books, despite his apparent astute handling of the nation in the absence of President Buhari. Azu Ishiekwene has criticised Prof Osinbajo’s “tentativeness”, and this perceived reluctance to hammer down on issues may not be unconnected with his other vocation as a religious leader.

Femi Fani-Kayode has had issues with this. He does not like that the Acting President is supposedly using his religious cloak to gently coax Nigerians into seeing reasons with him. To Fani-Kayode, Osinbajo is a public official who should not try to gain the affection of the Nigerian people by playing the religious card. A recent piece demanded that the Acting President “leave God out of Nigeria’s problems”.

He has stopped short of using the choice words – satanic, devilish, cult, to name three – he has unfailingly dished out on the APC on the Acting President, but he has not held back from giving the man a hot serve from his menu book of loathsome descriptions.

For Fani-Kayode who is a “Lover of God’, it is a cunning tactic by which he wishes to be steady in the self-assumed role of exposing the evils of the APC. He is probably a version of Pontius Pilate who, though would not directly input any guilt on the villain, will however, not just allow for scourges to be thrown, but make suggestions of his own. In Fani-Kayode’s diary, Osinbajo, for choosing to align with Buhari, will not escape vicious criticism even if he’s a religious man of similar Faith.

Fani-Kayode may not have a physical congregation somewhere but do not underestimate that his Facebook and Twitter sermons are noted and munched by feeding disciples.

In the two years of APC’s administration, he has mostly had time for President Buhari, and other key figures like Lai Mohammed and Nasir El-Rufai, with the focus on Osinbajo coming at this time that he is the Acting President. One of Fani-Kayode’s major accusations at Buhari has been that he wants to Islamise Nigeria. Should it become necessary for Osinbajo to become substantive President, it would be interesting to see if the accusations will be that Osinbajo, the Pastor, would want to Christianise Nigeria.

This becomes especially “juicy” as the former Minister seeks a seat on the PDP’s National Working Committee, as either Chairman or, possibly, the chief ombudsman.

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