There are statements that are made in a moment but continue to speak long after the moment has passed. “He never gave me one dollar” is one of such statements. The remark came from a charismatic Archbishop Leonard Bature Kawas who recently endorsed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu during his interview on Arise TV programme. We need not condemn the Bishop, nor should we assume that his endorsement was bought simply because he mentioned money. He may genuinely believe that the President deserves his support. But perhaps, beyond the Bishop himself, the statement has opened a much bigger conversation for Nigeria. When a man of God says publicly that a politician never gave him a dollar, the ordinary Nigerian may begin to ask: Is political support now measured by what politicians give religious leaders? Is an endorsement about conviction, conscience and the common good, or can it become a matter of personal relationship and benefit? These are uncomfortable questions, but a healthy society must be able to ask them.

Before we continue with the implication of that statement, there is a need to understand that not every “bishop” belongs to the same ecclesiastical tradition. In the Catholic Church, a bishop is a successor of the Apostles, ordained into the episcopate and entrusted with the pastoral care of a particular Church in communion with the Pope. The word “bishop” is also used by charismatic, Pentecostal and independent Christian communities, but their structures, authority and rules are not necessarily the same as those of the Catholic Church. Therefore, what one charismatic bishop does should not automatically be presented as the position of Catholic Bishops. In fact, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria has repeatedly stated that the Catholic Church does not endorse political parties or candidates. The Bishops have maintained that clergy should educate citizens, promote good governance and form consciences without turning the Church into a platform for partisan politics.

Why is this distinction important? Because consecrated men and women, especially Catholic clergy, carry a responsibility that goes beyond personal preference. Canon 287 §2 of the Code of Canon Law states that clerics are not to take an active part in political parties, except where competent ecclesiastical authority judges that this is necessary for the defence of the Church’s rights or the promotion of the common good. Canon 285 also places further restrictions on clerics concerning public offices involving civil power. The reason is simple: the priest or religious is called to be a father and pastor to all. Once he openly becomes the priest of one political camp, those who support another camp may begin to feel that the Church is no longer their home. The Church can challenge government, praise good policies, condemn injustice and educate citizens without becoming the campaign office of any politician. Indeed, the Catholic Bishops have made this distinction very clearly: the Church is not indifferent to politics, but she does not belong to any political party.

 

This is where the bishop’s statement becomes a lesson for all Nigerians. Political endorsements by religious leaders carry enormous weight because many people trust their spiritual leaders more than politicians. A politician can promise roads, jobs and security, but when a respected minister of God speaks, people may listen with the ears of faith. That influence must therefore be handled with great care. Ministers of God should not allow themselves to become decorations at political gatherings, nor should their pulpits become campaign platforms. They should teach people how to examine manifestos, demand accountability, reject vote-buying, resist tribal hatred and judge leaders by justice, competence, integrity and concern for the poor. The Church can tell a politician, “We appreciate what you have done,” and equally tell that same politician, “This policy is hurting our people.” That is prophetic freedom. The minister of God should be able to stand before both government and opposition and speak the truth without fear of losing favour.

Perhaps, therefore, “He never gave me one dollar” should not become a weapon against the bishop. It should become a mirror for Nigeria. It should make us ask what we have reduced political leadership to and what we have reduced religious influence to. A minister of God should not be known primarily by the politicians he supports, but by the truth he speaks and the lives he transforms. Politicians should not need to purchase religious approval, and religious leaders should not need political patronage to remain relevant. Nigeria needs pastors who can pray for leaders without becoming their political agents; leaders who can commend good governance without surrendering their conscience; and citizens who can listen to religious leaders without surrendering their own responsibility to think. In the end, the greatest endorsement a minister of God can give any politician is not a microphone, a banner or a public declaration. It is the honest verdict of a conscience formed by truth. And the greatest gift a political leader can give the Nigerian people is not a dollar to a bishop, but a country in which the ordinary citizen can live with dignity, security, justice and hope. May God help all our spiritual leaders.