Why We Can’t Rebuke Corrupt Public Officials Publicly- Wale Oke
The newly re-elected president of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, Bishop Francis Wale Oke, has explained why the fathers of faith can not rebuke corrupt public officials publicly.
Speaking on channels television current affairs programme, The Morning Brief,monitored in Lagos on Monday, Bishop Oke said rebuking them openly would amount to confrontation.
He, however, said the church leaders are doing a lot speaking to the public officials privately to admonish them to do the right thing.
According to him, ” there are several instances that we have spoken to some governors privately that what you’re doing is not right, why don’t you ensure that people benefit from your programme. And they listen. I don’t want to mention names.”
Continuing, he said; “Criticising them openly would amount to confrontation. We can’t do that because we are not elected. We are just to give advice, and since we don’t want to play to the gallery, we’re doing that privately,” he added.
On why the church leaders allowed corrupt public officials to use their pulpit for Thanksgivings after their alleged poorly delivered services, Bishop Oke said the church is a public place and that the leaders have no power to drive away anybody.
” It’s part of the protocol to recognise them when they come around in the church because it’s a public place. Though the prophets of old in the Bible confronted Kings who were not doing the right thing, we can not criticise our seemingly corrupt public officials publicly because we are not playing to the gallery.”
Bishop Oke said the fathers of faith are working to give the young ministers the shoulder to lean on so that their finishing point will be their starting point.
” We are not focusing on what the young ministers are doing wrong. We are focusing on their strength, Pastor Poju Oyemade and other Ministers put together the Colloquum that preceded our Biennial conference, and it was wonderful,” he said.
