Britain responsible for Nigeria’s present woes – Cleric

Reverend Dr. Simeon Chinedu Ononogbu, Abia-born Ebonyi state-based cleric is the founder of Living Temple Church of God and a prophetic preacher for forty-four years. In this interview with EGWU AGHA AMARACHUKWU, he speaks on issues on the front burner, saying Britain is the cause of Nigeria’s problems

Could you introduce yourself?
I am Reverend Dr. Simeon Chinedu Ononogbu from Abia State, but I am more Ebonyian than the Ebonyians, because I have spent over twenty years here having contributed my quota to the development of Ebonyi State, lived here before the state was created. I am the founder of Living Temple Church of God. And by His grace, I have served in CAN. In 1996, I was the coordinator of CAN, in -charge of Ebonyi north and central, for three years. I was elected the state financial secretary of CAN, in 1999, for another three years. Then, in 2003, I was elected the general secretary of CAN, until 2005. So, I have been on ground. Right now, I am one of the advisers of Penticostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN). I am the chairman of SSO, the security outreach of PFN. I have served Ebonyi state too, as member of the pilgrim welfare board, for four years, from 2004 to 2008.

Can you tell us your thoughts on the issue of restructuring of the country?
Since they have started now to talk of restructuring, what are they restructuring? It means there has been a faulty foundation of the country earlier, which they want to correct. We are in trouble today as a country because Britain ceded Nigeria to a particular region and they made them believe that they are born to rule and others will serve. All this time, I was thinking that because of the statement of Ojukwu, we would have learnt from what happed between 1967 and 1970. But unfortunately, we have not learnt anything. Nigeria is a faulty country because they had wanted us to be one. This restructuring would have come earlier than now not after one hundred years of being a country and after 57 years of Independence.

Why do you think the timing for restructuring is wrong?
Because a particular people started agitating long ago after seeing a lot of injustices, there are a lot of injustices in the country and marginalisation of a particular region. Some people do not see the war as the president said but they were born during that period of the war. They do not know any other thing than Biafra. Their certificates bear Biafra and they were told what happened to their fathers. And the same thing is happening till now. Look at our children after you have suffered to train them, you can see I have seven of them, they cannot get jobs, instead, you see them riding keke what kind of future can you have by ridding keke? But some children from a particular region of Nigeria have a future, before graduating from school, there are jobs waiting for them. Are we in the same country? Something is wrong.

If at the end, the quest for restructuring failed. Which section of the country do you think should be held responsible for sabotaging the idea?
Everybody knows that Nigeria is not in order. But unfortunately, one of the things Britain sold to us is propaganda. We know how to tell lies as if lies is truth. Yoruba has the adage that if lies start twenty years ago and the truth starts today, truth will overtake lies. God asked us to stand on the truth. We are all claiming to be children of God. These people say they are Christians and others say they are Muslims. Did any of these religions teach you to tell lies, that a liar will go to the kingdom of God? My bible tells me that no liar will see the kingdom of God, not to talk of entering it. You are committing many atrocities and closing it with lies, how do you expect God to answer you. If they are talking of restructuring and there are genuine reasons for it, let them do it. People have seen that they are not honest with the idea of restructuring. Nigeria is a country not a nation. It is a country of three nations.
Let us practice a decentralized system where the regions stand on their own and take care of whatever comes from their natural resources.

You participated in the civil war. Was Gowon right to have said that nothing about Biafra was discussed during the Aburi Accord meeting?
Gowon was not correct. How many times did they go to Aburi during the war. I was twenty years old when I joined the army. A twenty years old man is not a child. Why did Gowon not stand bold that time to oppose what Ojukwu said on Aburi? There was an agreement that made us say ‘on Aburi we stand’ and that was why Biafra was declared. They went there and Ojukwu dealt with him. He was not like that then. That is why he is saying what he is saying. He is not correct. I do not agree with him. It is because Ojukwu is no more. It is unfortunate that Gowon as a general is saying that kind of thing.

Gowon also said part of the reason why restructuring will be impossible is that some states will lack the resources to survive. Do you subscribe to it?
The states of the federation are already free. If restructuring should take place, I do not think the state will be asked to drop their freedom. You stand as your state. If anything is coming out of your state, a percentage will go to the centre. Every state will mange the resources that comes out of it. The idea of Gowon that states will not survive if the country is restructured, he is just talking as a human being; he is not God. Most of the people saying all these things did not hear from God, they are only talking as mere human beings. I do not agree with him. Nigerians should learn to hear from God on restructuring.

You said you have made three landmark prophecies that came to be fulfilment. How do you see the attack by the Nigerian Army on IPOB and its operations?
The attack on IPOB was the plan of the enemies to destroy Nnamdi Kanu. And that is why the Nigerian Army went after him. Unfortunately, till now, they have not told us where he is. They will tell us where he is when the time comes. As I am talking to you now, as a man of God, a prophet and an apostle of Jesus Christ, in 1998, I was in Abuja. I did a forty days fasting, asking God of my ministry. At the end of the forty days which ended on18th April, that night, God appeared to me and it was Nigeria and Abacha issue He brought to me and I saw the heaven open. And I saw armies of heaven. I was putting on a general’s dress. I saw many generals coming in with their armored cars and they were shouting on people to give way.
The armored cars were moving this way and that way and I summoned courage and went to one of the generals, he told me there is a coup that Abacha has been removed. And that somebody has been asked to take over from him. Then I woke up. 19th April being Sunday, I preached in my church on the topic: ‘divine coup’. I told them what I saw and what will happen. And it did not take long the case between Abacha and Abiola came to an end. Then, between May 22 and 24 in 1998, this letter came up that every state in Nigeria should participate in prayer for the nation and I was chosen to lead Ebonyi State to Abuja. I did not want to go, because they said Abacha was bribing people to come and pray for him to become president for life by August 1998. I was apprehensive. I did not want to involve myself. The ministers of God there and the CAN chairman, all forced me to lead Ebonyi.
I led Ebonyi and the 36 state leaders and Abuja were camped at Sheraton Hotel. At night, they called us and say it was not Abacha that invited us but they wanted us to come and pray for the nation. We elected people to plan for the programme. All of a sudden, we moved to our rooms to sleep, around 3am, my phone rang and I asked myself who knew that I was there. I picked the intercom and a voice asked are you Rev Dr Ononogbu, I said yes. The voice said please listen, the committee has chosen you as the speaker of this programme, that I should dress properly in suit. I said thank God, I did not come with any suit. I told him to look for another person. This is a programme where we had arch Bishops, Bishops and many top men of God from the 36 states and Abuja and you are choosing a young man from Ebonyi State. They gave me a topic- Peace and Unity in Nigeria. As I was arguing with him, I told him my dress is already dirty, he told me to press a green button that somebody will come and attend to me. While I was arguing, I heard a voice that told me accept it. I had a divine voice and I told them that it was on one condition that I will speak. And that is, only what God wants me to speak.

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