Boko Haram ready to fight the world -Cleric

Evangelist Matthew Owojaiye, the Kadu­na-based founder of Food for the Total Man Ministry and tele-preacher of the Old Time Revival hour is one man who loves to stroll majesti­cally where even angels fear to tread. He is never afraid or shy from controversy, particularly when he knows is in the interest of humanity. He is blunt to a fault. Call him activist on the pulpit, and you would be per­fectly correct. So, it was hardly a surprise that he was the one who released the list of the abducted Chibok girls last Sunday.
Last Sunday, you shocked the nation by releasing names of the abducted girls. Why did you do that?
Some people were saying nobody was abducted, as if the story was cooked up. Can you imagine that? If your daughter was abducted and there is no trace three weeks after, how will you feel? Then someone comes to say there was no abduction. And it was only from one local government that the girls on the list came from, just Chibok local government. That is where the school is locat­ed. Other people from other places send their children to the school. We couldn’t get their names because we had no way to.
Is that why you had only 180 names of the kidnapped girls on the list?

Yes, you are very right. There were more girls kidnapped but only the ones from Chibok local government could be traced. So, it is just a partial list. Two, they knew that Chibok local govern­ment is 90 percent Christian. Why didn’t the abductors go to other boarding schools in Borno State that are still running?
And speaking with the local, they knew that the terrorists were coming at least two hours before they arrived. They didn’t know whether they were com­ing for the girls, but everyone in Chibok knew they were coming. Then, are they goats? Can you carry 234 human beings and go away with them without the DPO of the town knowing? You mean to tell me that the DPO didn’t know those girls were being shipped away like goats? The security forces could not send alerts and distress calls around? Within 24 hours, why couldn’t the government surround the entire place and cordon them off? We are treat­ing this issue with levity as if the girls are not important. It is a tragedy.
How did you come about the list of the ab­ducted girls?
The issue is I am a North­erner. I went to Government College, Keffi. The late Presi­dent Umar Yar’Adua was two years my junior. There is no part of Nigeria I do not know. So, they should say my information is wrong first before I tell them where I got the list.
So, you won’t say how you got the list?
No, I won’t. Let them invali­date it first, then we would see.
When you got the list, why did you decide to go public with it instead of intimating government and securi­ty forces first? 
If you want something to get out there, you have to be tacti­cal. If I go to the police, would I be able to say whether it is a Boko Haram officer or not? You don’t want anybody to kill your information. The issue is wheth­er the list is authentic or not? I am an elder in the North. I get invited to the Northern Elders Forum’s meetings. Everyone in the North, whether Christian or Muslim, knows me. I am not an upstart or a nonsense speaker. They should first fault my list and then we can talk further.
Many Nigerians react­ed with outrage to your statement that the girls were Christians. Would you have been this sad if they were not Chris­tians?
We would still have screamed, but you see, we have been deliberately marginalised, persecuted and underdeveloped over the years, all the Christian communities in the North. We should talk about that too because that is injustice.
When I was asking for compensations for the girls, did I ask for only the Christians? I asked that N50 million be given to their parents while rescue efforts are ongoing. So, there is no religious motive or an at­tempt to politicise it. The stark truth is that these kidnapped girls are 90 percent Christians and we should let people know. There is what you call punitive judgment. Do people expect me to ask for N5? If you ask for N50 million, government might ap­prove N10 million after negotia­tions. If you ask for N10 million, you might get N2 million and they will say that is what we can afford. Were they expecting me to ask for N1? Will I get a kobo out of it?
Well, people are just angry that you de­manded for N50 million compensations when the girls have not even been rescued.
It was just to make the parents happy. When a man is in trauma, he needs all the helps he can get. When you get some help, it gives a sense of relief. That is why I asked for the com­pensation. The compensation is not for me. I was not kidnapped; neither was any of my girls.
Have you been to Chi­bok since the incident?
No. I haven’t been there and I won’t go.
Why? 
That is simply because they will locate me within an hour of my arrival. I tell you, I am known to everyone in the North. I am not just a northern­er; I have lived there all my life. You see, even our people can’t share information with anybody because they are damn afraid. I can’t sneak in there for a day before they know.
Don’t you know these people have spread their networks everywhere? Do you know any Muslim that condemns them, they kill?  So, when you are gathering things, you send your people that are not known; you don’t send a known person because you won’t get the information.
You get a lot of on-the-spot reports in Chibok. What is the mood of the people there like now?
One, they are happy that I have shouted. They are sending me texts, saying: ‘God, bless you,’ ‘We’re proud of you.’ They are feeling relieved that the whole world is paying attention now. But before, they were inconsolable and hopeless.
If these abducted girls are rescued, what is the guarantee that others will not be ab­ducted again?
That is what we are saying now. If you read my statement, it says we should move people out of some of these volatile areas to safe locations. Those students in SS1-SS2 should be relocated because they are still vulnerable. I said the abducted girls should be sent overseas for rehabilitation because let me tell me you, how many soldiers do we need to guard schools? How many soldiers do we have? So, to say we should place sol­diers everywhere is impossible.
So, we need to move these girls away. We are hearing ru­mour again that they still want to kidnap more girls. It is a soft target and easy to access. You think Chibok is a big place? The first person to go to secondary school in Chibok, called Karam Chibok, was my classmate in Government College, Keffi in 1963. So, when you see that kind of number in SS3, you know that is where they can get the most girls.
Some highly placed persons in Abuja are wondering if the entire abduction saga was not stage-managed from the word go. That is why I am boiling. If your daughter is missing and someone says it is stage-man­aged, won’t you feel more terrible? Will you lie over such a sensitive issue?

Let’s not even think or assume this is a lie at all. It is nauseating. It will be a betrayal to think it is a lie. Okay, what are we going to gain? It is very painful, indeed.
Since you released the list, how many people in government have reached out to you?  
None. None, because they know it is true. Let me tell you, if these children did WAEC, are you telling me that WAEC doesn’t have their names? Are you telling me that WAEC doesn’t have their pictures? The people in the North, those in government, know me very well. Nobody can tell me the list is a lie.
So, even in the security forces, no­body has asked you how you came about the list?
They don’t need to because they know me before. We carry integrity. I preach on the TV every week and I have handled national issues. I am an activist, fighting for the truth. The Muslims like me in the North. They say, ‘You speak the truth. Whoever is wrong, you rebuke. If it is Muslims, you say so. If it is Christians, you still say so.’
Had there been any threat to your life after the list was published?
No. Nobody has said anything to me.
You have not received any SMS or death threats?
Nothing at all.
Will you still remain in Kaduna?
There is no reason to relocate or move. Why should I? The people know that I am speaking the truth. I move around freely. I take Okada and go anywhere I like because people know me.
Do you have plans to meet with gov­ernment officials and present the list to them?
I told you government knows about these girls already. They have their pictures and identities. Didn’t they apply to write WAEC? Can’t the govern­ment collect their data from WAEC if they don’t have them? If they can’t still get it, then it is a terrible thing.
The President in his media chat last Sunday called on the parents of the missing girls to help with information.
What information again? The ones government already has? You see, the parents of these girls are afraid. If they speak, they could come after them. They could be gone too. You mean the principal does not have the pictures of her students?
Well, she said they were burnt during the attack.
Okay, the ones in WAEC too were burnt?
Are you angry that this saga is be­coming increasingly politicised?
Whoever is playing politics with this thing, God will judge because lives are involved. A nation that does not respect lives is in trouble.
So, which is the way out of this issue?
I have recommended so many measures before on my TV show, Old Time Revival hour. I said govern­ment should take like 20,000 youth from that side and send them to India, China and others to learn vocational skills. Give each N1 million for take-off after graduation. That is nothing compared to what government has spent on security. When these terrorists hear about their transformation, they will want that kind of life too. The government must take concrete steps to employ youth in that area.
With this insecurity, which excellent teachers will go to the North? We are damaging ourselves more.
I was in a meeting where Maitama Sule said, ‘You people you are doing the wrong thing.’ He said revolution is coming and they will cut off our heads if we are not careful. I like the man a lot. He is a very honest, straightforward man. So, with this thing, we are destroying the north. And who should develop the north most? Is it not we northerners? If our chil­dren are not getting educated, are we not destroying the north?
This insurgency, is it religious or po­litical? I ask because Muslims also get killed.
It started with religion because the terrorists said they wanted Sharia law in the whole of the north. It is public knowledge that that was what they wanted. But whoever stood up to criticise them got killed. They said themselves that every Christian is an ene­my, but they have turned themselves to the enemies of the nation. And now, they are ready to take on the whole world.
So, we must all come together to fight them. When you go to the market to buy things, do you use reli­gion? Let us not play politics because this country is being destroyed.
At 67, when are you thinking of back­ing down from agitations?
No, I won’t, because this is my assignment from heaven. This is what I will do until I die. If I die now, will they say I am too young? This is a lifetime strug­gle for me. All those who have known me since my secondary school days will tell you this is my life. They used to call me UPGA back then. Those who listen to me on TV will say that I am the only one that can say it, and if I say it, it must be the truth.
Are your children still in Nigeria?
They are all here. Only one out of my six children is doing his Masters in Canada. He will return after studies. I tell you, I am in the thick of this and there is no going back.
We must pursue honesty and justice for all. Nigeria belongs to all of us. We are more than the politicians. So, why can’t we vote them out of pow­er? Education is programmed to fail. The rich do not want children of the poor to be educated so that they can keep them under. We must fight all of these to save Nigeria.