An Open Letter To The Nigerian President Dr Goodluck Jonathan On His Visit To The Pope From A Nigerian In ABERDEEN.

Mr. President Sir,

I write at this critical moment, hoping to communicate this message to you before your encounter with the Holy Father Pope Francis. Am extremely happy that in the history of contemporary Nigeria, a civilian President has recognised the importance of visiting and conferring with the Pope in the midst of serious security crisis in several parts of Nigeria. I view a visit to the Pope in this regard as distinctive from those made to other religious leaders, as you have commendably done in the past, because of the significance of the Pope to the church of Christ.
Our Lord Jesus Christ appointed Peter to look after his sheep (John 21, 15-17), making Peter the ‘shepherd’ of his followers- the Christians. As the Pope steps into the shoes of Peter, we view him to be the Supreme Pastor and the representative of Christ’s love to all humanity. The Pope indeed shares this abundant love with all, as Pope Francis confirms in his premier speech on the World’s day of peace: “I wish to offer to everyone, individuals and peoples, my best wishes for a life filled with joy and hope. In the heart of every man and woman is the desire for a full life, including that irrepressible longing for fraternity which draws us to fellowship with others and enables us to see them not as enemies or rivals, but as brothers and sisters to be accepted and embraced”(Pope Francis, 2014)

Mr. President Sir, you have chosen a noble path by avoiding the temptation of disconnecting leadership from your Christian faith and belief in ecumenism; and you further acknowledged this determination in a public comment which I quote: "In a secular setting like Nigeria, Christian leaders in all tiers of government must seek the face of God in the discharge of their duties whether in the executive arm, the legislature or the judiciary," (Daily Times October 24, 2013). Your views here are totally in alliance with the prophetic counsel to the Biblical King Asa which states: “............ The Lord is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you (2 Chronicles 15:2 abridged). These words suggest that the success of leadership is closely associated with the religious inclination of the leader.

Consistently, the Holy Father Pope Francis largely corroborated this assertion in his speech during the World peace day and I quote: “The necessary realism proper to politics and economy cannot be reduced to mere technical know-how bereft of ideals and unconcerned with the transcendent dimension of man. When this openness to God is lacking, every human activity is impoverished and persons are reduced to objects that can be exploited. Only when politics and the economy are open to moving within the wide space ensured by the One who loves each man and each woman, will they achieve an ordering based on a genuine spirit of fraternal charity and become effective instruments of integral human development and peace (Pope Francis, 2014). Thus, with your positive disposition towards openly seeking the face of God through religious leaders and particularly this vital visit to the Pope; I pray that your government shall be strengthened and the aggregate ranking of your regime’s achievements shall be located above the average on good governance within the African region.

Mr. President Sir, as you visit the Pope, please remember to request prayers for peace in Nigeria and her continuous existence as one united nation. In particular, we need the return of peace to Northern Nigeria, where the security concerns have festered to inconceivable conditions. It is no longer news that in addition to the loss of many lives and property in the far North through the activities of the Boko Haram organisation, the Tiv speaking part of Benue State, has been invaded by some mercenaries, who have killed hundreds (with many killed through decapitation) and rendered a multitude homeless with impunity. The attackers are destroying farmlands and food crops, and the contagious effect of this atrocious act, on food production and starvation in the food basket state of Benue and on Nigeria at large is only imaginable. Sir, this unfortunate situation if not arrested now would extremely depopulate the Tiv people and escalate gross poverty in the land.

It is worth stressing for the records Sir, that the Tiv nation apart from being the workhorse of food production in Nigeria played a fundamental role, towards maintaining the unity and sovereignty of Nigeria during the civil war. Evaluating them on political alliance, the majority of the Tiv people have clearly demonstrated their faith in your ability to deliver good governance as Nigeria’s President and are ready to ‘swim and sink’ with you, in pursuit of your legitimate political aspirations Sir. This preference by the majority of the Tiv people to queue behind you in political coalition is the reason that our political leader Dr Gabriel Suswam, the Benue state governor proudly demonstrates his unalloyed support for your leadership. What this implies Sir, is that from most relevant perspectives, the Tiv people have largely remained loyal to Nigeria, your administration and your person as a politician. Thus, it is strange and hard to comprehend, why right on Tiv lands, the Tiv people have been unjustifiably, ridiculously, and so inhumanly treated by the Fulani mercenaries for so long, without effective intervention from the Federal government. Tiv people certainly do not deserve this unfair treatment from another Nigerian ethnic group or near abandonment by the Federal government at this distressed time. All we ask for under this circumstance is effective intervention by the Federal government, to finally end the ongoing genocide against the Tiv people, bring relief to victims, and restore our assaulted pride. I also pray for total restoration of peace to Northern Nigeria in general.

Mr. President Sir, having expressed my deep sentiments as above, I must acknowledge that as the CnC of the most populated country in Africa, you need more than physical human effort to totally achieve success in leadership and address security challenges. This visit to the Papacy thus presents a wonderful opportunity, to combine your faith, ours (Nigerians of goodwill), and that of the humble servant of God Pope Francis, to again, seek the Almighty God’s intervention for success in all your projects including restoration of peace to warring Nigerian areas. In addition to this though, the daily communion with the Lord in your private chambers and continuously seeking His face is equally indispensable.

As I subsequently pledge my unqualified allegiance to your leadership and faith in your demonstrated resolve for good governance as President of our country; I pray that your networking with top world leaders and business giants on this trip shall also be productive for the benefit of Nigeria and Nigerians.

May the good Lord grant you journey mercies as you tour the World on this important occasion and continue to endow you with divine wisdom in leadership for the benefit of all Nigerians.

Long Live Mr. President

Long Live the Nigeria.

Ngurumun Iorchir
University of Aberdeen
Scotland, UK.