Learning from History

My various social media accounts have been swamped by Trump’s Nigerian ‘Christian’ supporters with a video showing the President-elect avowing his evangelical orientation, seeking to make America a ‘Christian’ nation again.

My view is that given the reality of the world we live in now, any western nation that wants to go back to a pure ‘Christian’ state would no doubt have to resort to extremism to achieve its aims. Is that what Christian folks really want? A Christian version of ISIS?

I do not think any rational Christian seeks the ‘extremist’ Christianity under which America was founded. In spite of the same Bible we all quote telling me men are created equal and seen as equal by God, you need to watch the documentaries ‘Into the West’ (for North America) and ‘The Bible and the Gun’ (for Africa) to gain better knowledge of European conquest and subjugations of other groups. It may help in understanding the trajectory of the experiences of the indigenous population as well as blacks in North America within the ‘Christian’ nation Trump fantasises about.

I learn from history. That is why my Christianity is not with lack of knowledge. It is why I have come to realise there are ‘prophets’ and there are prophets. It is why with conviction in my faith, I subject every rhetoric from many ‘Christians’ to God’s word and wisdom.

It is why I have come to realise that rhetoric from politicians to gain your vote and ascend to political power is always different from their acts and actions once they get into the coveted office, once their hand is on the ‘eku ida’.

It is why I will remind Nigerians eager to ram Trump’s ‘Christian’ credentials down our throats that not too long in our historical past, we had a man who became a ‘born again’ and touted it as a primary reason why he should be trusted as the saviour of Nigeria. Our ‘born again’ President did not blink an eye a few years down the line to publicly tell Nigerians ‘CAN my foot’.
If that historical past is already blunt in the memory of most Nigerian Christians, for those who would not bury their heads in the sand, they would acknowledge that the foundation of the economic disaster Nigeria faces today was laid by so called Christians bestriding our corridors of political and economic power less than 24 months ago.

N.B.
I am still amused by Nigerians who do not live in North America to talk less of the US of A, jumping up and down as if their existence depends on Trump or Hillary.

In any case, for those of them who keep reminding me that Trump’s success is evidence that he has been chosen by God, I will like to ask them why they cannot extend the same measure of judgement to their own backyard by accepting that President Buhari’s success in the 2015 elections is also evidence that he is chosen by God to lead Nigeria at this point in time.

What is good for the goose is not good for the gander, Abi?