Nigerians Condemns Okupe's Comparism of Jonathan to Jesus
While justifying the state of the nation on a breakfast show on Channels Television yesterday, the Senior Special Assistant to President Jonathan, Doyin Okupe, tried to compare Jonathan with Jesus Christ, saying, Jonathan is suffering the same thing Jesus suffered during his time from the hands of Nigerians.
Punch went all out to gather comments from various Nigerians on what they think about the statement made by Okupe, which many have termed, sacrilegious, outrageous, and sycophantic. Read the full report by Punch:
Nigerians
have severely criticised the Senior Special Assistant to the President
on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, for comparing President Goodluck Jonathan with Jesus Christ.
Speaking during a live breakfast show on
Channels Television on Monday, the presidential aide said Jonathan had
borne the nation’s problems and woes on his shoulders in the same way
that Jesus Christ had always carried the burden of Christians all over
the world.
Gesticulating widely during the
programme, Okupe stated that, with regard to the Nigerian situation,
Jonathan could best be likened to Jesus Christ.
Noting that Nigerians had failed to
understand the troubles the President had gone through for the sake of
“everybody” in the country, he said, “There are political issues. People
do not understand the burden this particular President is bearing. He
is like Jesus Christ. He (Jonathan) is bearing the burden of everybody.”
In view of Jonathan’s “untold burden” for
the nation, Okupe said, it would be impossible for his principal to
lose re-election in 2015.
The presidential aide boasted that though
certain politicians had been allegedly sabotaging the Federal
Government’s reforms, especially in the power sector, victory was still
certain for his principal.
“Today, the Nigerian Army is in total and
perfect control of the North East. I can’t see Jonathan losing this
(2015) election. It’s not possible,” he added.
Reacting to his comments, many Nigerians
lambasted Okupe for comparing Jonathan to Jesus Christ and asked him to
withdraw the statement.
Online activists who took a swipe at
Okupe urged Jonathan to publicly reject the title of “Nigeria’s Jesus
Christ” which they said Okupe erroneously bestowed on him.
An angry online activist, Tayo Moore, accused Okupe of insulting Jesus Christ by comparing Him with his boss.
Noting that the development was
sacrilegious, Moore advised Okupe not to hold the belief that he could
“insult” Jesus Christ and go scot free.
“Okupe has just confirmed that he doesn’t
know or have Christ. It is only a matter of time before he (Okupe)
begins to compare Prophet Mohammed and Jonathan in the same breath.
“That will be his final undoing. I am
wondering what the Christian Association of Nigeria has to say on
Okupe’s sacrilege, given its current ‘leadership’ or should I say lack
thereof?” Moore argued via his Twitter handle.
A Kano-based respondent, Nazir
Galadanchi, cautioned the medical doctor-turned politician against
uttering what he described as a blasphemous statement.
Galandanchi argued that Okupe’s latest
analogy was not surprising as he had recently compared his boss with the
late anti-Apartheid leader, Nelson Mandela, with a view to selling the
President’s candidature to Nigerians.
“That’s blasphemy. Okupe should please seek for forgiveness,” he added in a message on Twitter.
Political blogger, Japheth Omojuwa,
described Okupe’s latest comparison as the height of “desperation” of
the Jonathan-led Presidency.
“Doyin Okupe just called Goodluck
Jonathan Nigeria’s Jesus Christ. We have finally reached the peak of
their desperation. How can you trust a bad marketer to sell a bad
product? Okupe trying to sell Jonathan is the journey of a blind man
leading another,” he tweeted.
Social commentator, Temitope Atiba,
stated that it amounted to an oddity for Okupe to preoccupy himself with
drawing semblances between the President and the central figure of
Christianity.
“You can see the stark irony of life when
Doyin Okupe begins to compare Goodluck Jonathan to our Lord Jesus
Christ. Then again Goodluck Jonathan and Jesus Christ have little else
in common apart from flesh and blood,” Atiba argued.
Describing Okupe’s comparison as strange, another respondent, Aisha Yesufu, said it was the “height of madness.”
“Is nothing sacred to these people? Is
there nothing that one does not dabble in with these people? This is the
height of madness,” she added.
She also cautioned Okupe against blaming
Jonathan’s failures on activities of saboteurs, stating that “excuses
are meant for weaklings.”
“There is not bad weather only bad
clothing. Excuses are for weaklings. A government easily sabotaged
should give way. We are sick of the excuses. They (excuses) are way out
for weak leaders and sign of incapacity.
“All it (the Presidency) does is to
complain. This government blames all but itself. As long as this govt
blames others the solution can never be with it but with those it
blames.
“Since this government cannot fight all
those sabotaging it, then why is it a government? Probably, the
saboteurs will keep sabotaging him (Jonathan) and we will keep paying
for it,” she said.
Category: Nigerian National News
Category: Nigerian National News
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