NNPP Crisis: Parable of Shepherd and Hireling : A Sermon on the Table
DR. BONIFACE ANIEBONAM
Prior to the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC, February 2023 general election, an unwritten gentleman’s agreement was entered between Dr Rabiu Kwankwaso and Dr Boniface Aniebonam.
Dr Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso entered into this political agreement along side his political followers – “Kwankwasia Movement” to join forces with the professionals, political integrity group of the NAGAFF – a registered freight forwarding professional association, founded by Dr Boniface Aniebonam.
During the electioneering process, this agreement was actually tagged a likely emerging 3rd Force by Political analysts.
Indeed, it must be stated that the once, envied and celebrated agreement which saw the emergence of Dr Rabiu Kwankwaso as the presidential flag bearer of the NNPP in the 2023 general election, situating him as the NNPP ‘hireling” and Dr Boniface Aniebonam, who single handedly funded and sponsored the NNPP conceptualization,and registration process with the INEC, participations in previous general elections conducted by INEC since 2001 to date, thus, naturally and comfortably positions himself as the NNPP’s Founder and Pioneer National Chairman emeritus, thus, situating him as the NNPP’s “Good Shepherd”, unfortunately, this envied , highly rated and celebrated agreement appears to be a shadow of itself, and seen as an avoidable and unhealthy political development in the Party, which unfortunately ,is presently hanging on disheartening political spotlight.
It is on record that the combination of these two forces resulted in the NNPP’s fourth position placement as published by the INEC in its presidential results. The combined forces equally produced a sitting governor, federal senators, house of representatives and states house of representatives, etc.
It is natural for political parties or politicians to have internal disagreements, but at the end, genuine love for the party, party interests, upholding party’s constitution, exhibition of maturity at all times prevails over all contending issues, moreso when
there is no permanent enemy in politics, except interests, in this case national interests comes first, and party’s interests comes next before individual party member’s interest .
While the founding fathers of the NNPP, resorted into mediations from behind, and rested their hopes, to the effect that the present disagreement will be resolved politically soonest, but, alas, they were shocked to wake up one morning to read that, the Party’s Constitution has been mutilated and Party Logo changed, moto and slogan changed, and to make matters worse , such act was rectified in an illegal, controversial party convention convened by a faction in this disagreement.
This singular act of Dr Rabiu Kwankwaso, claiming knowledge and as being responsible for this condemnable acts, during a live television interview broadcast, that prompts this modest, referring of Dr Rabiu Kwankwaso as the biblical “hireling” and Dr Boniface Aniebonam a typical biblical “Shephard”.
In the holy Gospel John 10:11-14, the passage reads:
Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hireling and not a shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hireling and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd; I know my own and my own know me, as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep”.
From the above passage, it’s obvious that an hireling can not lay down his life for the flocks, because he is merely an hireling and not the owner.
The hireling interests are limited, driven by carefree attitudes and don’t usually go beyond monetary and momentary gains or interests. It is a general knowledge that, at the slightest danger ( crisis, or trials or provocation) the impatient and highly unwilling and non sacrificial hireling easily resorts to the maxim – to “run away”, and out of wickedness, he turns back to scatter and even poison the flocks unto death.
But, not so with a flocks owner, who is willing to lay down his life for the flocks in the face of any danger. He knows the flocks and the flocks understands him.
However, the way out of the present political quagmire is the main stay and concern of this discuss, on behalf of the founding fathers of the NNPP.
GOING FORWARD:
It is in the interest of the Party, for its growth and greatness that, on behalf of the founding fathers of the NNPP, I wish to admonish both the hireling, shepherds and flocks to take a cue from the Prophet Elijah in the Bible and doing so for their own sakes, hence, my SUNDAY SERMON ON THE NNPP.
In the Bible scripture of II Kings: Back in the Elijah’s day, the King of Syria was warring with Israel, planning attack after attack, and each time he planned one, the King of Israel finds out about the attack beforehand.
The King organized ambushes, and the King of Israel escaped every of the ambushes. The Syrian King begins to think there’s a spy in his camp, somebody feeding the King and the Israelites what his war plans are. So he reasoned strongly that, there is some saboteurs in his camp and insists to know who is responsible for it. And he ordered his closer officers to check things out and report to him.
At this point, the warriors and counselors have to speak up to the King, and they said: “O King, no one in the camp is spying you nor committing treason, it is that, Prophet Elijah, even while you’re lying down on your bed, God is showing him what you are planning to do and God gives him the information and then he tells the King of Israel”.
Likening the present situation with the story of the Elijah and the King of Syria,, let us take heed as leaders of the NNPP, the King of Syria sends his entire army after the prophet Elijah.
Now it’s dawn, Elijah was inside his tent. His servant gets up, looks out, and he saw all the Syrian horses and chariots about to surround them, and he panicked. Back in the tent he woke the prophet up, and told him, “.. the army of Syria with their horses and chariots are surrounding us. Elijah, we are doomed”. Elijah said to the Servant, ” Fear not. For they that are with us are more than they that are with them “.
Note that, earlier before the Syrian King sent all his warriors, he had sent first and second batches of his warriors and Elijah called forth fire from heaven to consume them.
And then, the leader of this batch, came fort alone and pleaded with Prophet Elijah to spare his life and the lives of all the warriors.
Now here are the five (5) remarkable things Elijah did positively:
a). He prayed, “and caused blindness to come upon them and their horses. And so it was. They all down tooled their arms.
b). He led them and their horses in their blindness state into the presence of the Kings of Israel and warriors of Israelites and commanded them not to touch a blind helpless men.
c). He prayed again, and their eyes were opened. And they were all standing helpless and panicking before their supposed enemies.
d). The Israel sought Elijah’s permission to kill them, but Elijah said no, rather asked them to spread a table and give them some bread and some water.
e). And they broke bread together and drink water together from the same table.
And the Bible tells us that they never attacked each other again. So instead of mobilizing for war they broke bread.
Finally, while not sounding a preacher per say, permit me to on behalf of the founding fathers of the NNPP, to appeal and urge every member, especially, Dr Rabiu Kwakwanso and Dr Boniface Aniebonam, and other leaders of the NNPP to mobilize no further for war, but instead break bread.
There is always a spiritual strength and angle in every disagreement. Our physical strength from all indications can not progress us nor advance our common goals and growth as a political party being looked up to, to show dynamic leadership to Nigerians.
One again, let’s come to a common table and break bread for there lies our spiritual strength.
*Dr. Eugene Nweke, former President of NAGAFF, Maritime expert, wrote from Apapa, Lagos.
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