POLITICS IS NOT A DIRTY GAME
*This sermon was first published on Wednesday, 18-02-26. However, it became compelling to repeat its publication after the recent primary elections conducted by some political parties in Nigeria turned out dirty and not so clean.
*It is sad to note that there were numerous complaints about malpractices during the processes of electing and selecting candidates for the forthcoming general elections, come 2027.
*Another reason why this sermon is being repeated, is to further remind and appeal to politicians and political parties, especially those yet to conclude their primaries, to always do their utmost best to dispense justice and to serve the common good of all.
*As long as election organisers refuse to deploy adequate technology in elections, so long shall malpractices continue. “He who has ears to hear, let him hear ( Matthew 11:15).
Please read on:
*After a life in liberation struggle, counterterrorism and a stint in unethical political jobbing, South African politician and freedom fighter, Themba Linus Dlamini reviewed his days and came to the conclusion that the title of his autobiography should be: POLITICS IS A DIRTY GAME.
*Politics was never meant to be a dirty game, but bad practitioners gave it the bad name. Every child of God or honourable man or woman can be a good politician, and a good politician can be a child of God and an honourable man or woman.
*Matthews 20:27 – 28 says: “And whosoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave – Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom to many.”
*People who seek leadership positions – teacher, pastor, politician, etc, ought to take a queue from Jesus Christ who, as a leader, served others creditably instead of being served. Be you a Christian or a Muslim, a leader in politics or any other calling for that matter, should be above board and work honestly to help improve the conditions of the poor and needy in his or her environment or country and even the world.
*Leadership and politics give us positions and platforms ordained by God, to serve humanity and not to place us above the law.
*1Samuel 12:3 says that even Samuel, a prophet of God as well as a kingmaker, submitted himself to scrutiny and cheated or bullied no one.
*We as a country have had enough of poor governance arising partly from poor selection processes and therefore, need to do better next time.
*Man can make the game of politics clean by obeying the rules, at least. We might think that it is too difficult and could take a long time; but we can begin with party congresses, conventions and primary elections in all the political parties in Nigeria; and not wait for the general elections before coming clean.
*No matter the mode of selection of candidates we decide to adopt, let us make fairness our watchword.
