Former Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) President, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, has described the administration of late former President Muhammadu Buhari as a “mess,” saying he saw its failures coming long before it took office in 2015.
Oritsejafor also said conditions in Nigeria have worsened under President Bola Tinubu.
The former Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) president spoke on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday, explaining why he had stayed largely silent on national issues in recent years.
According to him, he warned Nigerians ahead of the 2015 elections about the direction the country could take if Buhari became president.
“I intentionally stayed away. Why? Because in 2014, I tried to warn this nation of the direction it was going,” Oritsejafor said.
“When the Buhari government was getting ready to come in, I knew that it was going to be a mess. From there, I don’t know what to call where we are now, but it has grown worse.”
He said the state of the nation has now forced him to speak again, adding that leaders must be held accountable.
“It has gotten to a point where I feel I have to say something. I must begin to say something because I pastor people; they are human beings, they are Nigerians, and we must begin to hold people accountable for what is happening,” he said.
Oritsejafor dismissed claims that his criticism of Buhari and his silence after the 2015 election were linked to former President Goodluck Jonathan’s defeat.
He also revisited concerns about religious extremism and its effect on national unity and governance.
“I hold a grudge against them because they hold strongly to their faith. I hold a grudge against them because they are ready to take their faith to any level, and that includes planning for people to be killed, for people to die,” he said.
“A jihadist is an extremist. You can be a jihadist with your pen. You can be a jihadist in so many different ways. It’s not just those who carry a gun,” he said.
“You can be a jihadist by doing everything to make sure nobody else, no other religion, has any place in the governance or in the progress of a nation.”
He also questioned former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo’s role during Buhari’s eight years in office.
