Pastor Kris Okotie of the Household of God Church tells Punch's
Gbenro Adeoye in this interview why he still wants to run for president
despite his three failed attempts and why he splashed over N150m on
two luxury cars recently. The issue about the Catholics was also
addressed again...
What’s your thought about Chief Olusegun Obasanjo’s letter to
President Jonathan? Like I mentioned in that piece, I don’t want
to get involved in the presidential skirmishes; but it is common
knowledge that I admire President Olusegun Obasanjo as the
greatest leader that Nigeria has ever had. He is the ipsissimus of
the Nigerian genitive nuance, that is, the personification of the
untapped uniqueness of the Nigerian seed.
Why did you describe Obasanjo like this? Is it not ironic because
not a few Nigerians feel he was part of the problem of Nigeria?
The perception of the Obasanjo persona is always predicated on
conjecture and political superstition. Many do not have the
necessary comprehension of the complexities of political
leadership; hence, their uninformed and misguided classification
of the great leader (Obasanjo) . Africa needs an amalgam of
strong institutions and strong men. Obasanjo is a strong man.
He possesses the intrinsic determination which galvanises wilful
projections.
What informed your recent write-up titled ‘2014: Relevance Of A
Paradigm Shift’? Is it a prelude to announcing your intention ahead of
2015 presidential election? No, I started writing for the media,
(including a contribution to Punch) about a year ago. This article is
just one of my regular write-ups. It has nothing to do with my
presidential ambition. That said, I will run in 2015, God willing.
Has God spoken to you yet about contesting for the election or not?
God spoke to me about my participation in the political process,
which was why I took the step in the first place. He has not said
anything contrary.
Why do you still want to contest knowing that you have not always
secured reasonable votes to become president? Besides, elections in
Nigeria have not always been free and fair. You said it. The elections
have always been rigged, everybody knows that and that is why it is
incorrect to say I have not always secured the votes required to win.
Why do you think your previous shots at the presidency failed?
I can sum it up in one word - Rigging by the PDP. Even one of the
party’s stalwarts, Chief Adeseye Ogunlewe, told PUNCH recently that
all elections have always been rigged. So that answers the question.
If you are contesting in 2015, what will you be doing differently and
what should Nigerians expect?
I don’t want to disclose that now because of my previous experience.
Someone out there could steal our strategy.
Each time you say God instructs you to contest, people always have
the impression that you ought to win if you are truly directed by God,
how come you have not been getting majority votes? These election
questions are inter-related. If they didn’t rig, then I could have won.
Apart from election malpractices, the duty of a servant of God is to
obey his master when he gives him instructions, irrespective of
whether he fails or succeeds. Like Moses in the Bible, who kept
fighting until Pharaoh released the Israelites.
Since FRESH Party has been proscribed by INEC, are you planning to
join PDP or APC to contest for the election in 2015? We won a court
victory against the de-registration of our party in June last year. So I
will still run on the FRESH Democratic Party platform, God willing.
Do you think Nigerians take you serious because some of them
describe you as a serial contender? Some of them wonder whether you
heard God right? Those who opine that my presidential ambition is a
dramatic serialisation of a political whim are indeed the unintelligent
who seek to fathom the Okotie enigma. I consider such people a
necessary comic relief from the tedium of the day. Why would I
jeopardise my life, deplete my domestic economy, engage political
rascals, hoodlums and brigands and threaten the stability of my
ecclesiastical responsibility if I’m not fully persuaded that this is a
heavenly calling? My only reply to these gainsayers is, delay is no
denial.
In the recent write-up that was earlier mentioned, you wrote that the
realignment of political forces always comes with a big bang but has
never taken us to the Promised Land, are you saying that the APC will
go down like the mergers we have had in the past? Mergers hardly
work in this country. Our political maturity is still too low to allow the
kind of coalition that the people envisage. Even though I have my
fears on the latest effort by the opposition, I believe APC can still pull
it off given the chance.
You are from the South- South as President Jonathan. Why are you
contesting instead of supporting his re-election bid? The constitution
guarantees me that right. Besides, why should I support Jonathan?
Why can’t he support me? Moreover, I do not believe in the myopic
concept of regional xenophobia. Nigeria deserves the best.
Some of your fans believe it was a tragedy to have left music at the
time you did, do you agree?
No. I left music for a higher calling. Thank God I did. I still play
music in church.
Some still believe that you might stage a comeback, is that feasible?
Well, only time will tell. With God all things are possible.
Are you planning to make gospel music?
I have not given it a thought yet.
You look quite young for your age, what’s the secret?
I have often said that if you want to look young, win souls for Jesus
Christ. Moreover, I belong to the Methuselah clan. God made him the
oldest man in the Bible so that he could witness for Him. It follows
from that logic; if you want to live long and look young, win souls.
How will you sum up your experience in ministry in the last 30 years?
It is indeed a rare privilege and honour for which my gratitude to the
Lord Jesus Christ cannot possibly be expressed in words. Over the
course of my gospel career, I have come to realise that ministry apart
from winning souls, is all about service, really. It is probably the best
nursery and training ground for leaders in any sphere of human
endeavour. It is in ministry that the complex problems of humanity
stare you in the face. You encounter circumstances that only God
could handle because of their sheer complexity and bizarre nature.
You are a multifaceted human being. The musician, lawyer, pastor and
politician, how do you manage all these? I do by maintaining a
balance and I enjoy it.
You stirred up controversy when you said Catholics would go to hell.
Why did you say that?
It's because the church perverts the gospel of Jesus Christ and that
perversion is located in the leadership, even as Pope Francis recently
announced. However, there are many good Christians within the
Catholic Church who are not aware of the doctrine of the Roman
Catholic Church, that has substituted Mary for Jesus, in what is
known as the hyperdulia of the Virgin Mary . Salvation for them is not
through Jesus alone but in accordance with what Pope Francis
recently announced to the world. That, in itself, is a direct violation of
the sanctity of the scriptures.
You even described the Pope as “an anti-Christ and a friend of Satan”
and the Catholic Church is a counterfeit church set up by Satan. What
made you say this? The heresies in their doctrine and the recent
announcement by Pope Francis corroborate this position.
Are you still planning to remarry?
No.
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