Archbishop Samson Benjamin
Archbishop Samson Benjamin, the General Overseer of Resurrection Praise Ministry, took to the streets of Lagos on Sunday, April 11, to protest against the Buhari-led administration with a coffin on his head.
Benjamin, popularly known as Jehovah Sharp Sharp, carried a coffin as he marched through the streets of Festac.
The Bishop claimed God asked him to do so because he wasn’t happy with the government and the state of the nation.
The cleric explained that his action was the outcome of “a spiritual journey of more than one year”.
“From the 15th of September 2019 up until this moment, I have not eaten food cooked by fire or any pleasant food, I have been seeking the face of God over this great country.
“Last week, I had a mortal vacation, which was a solitary confinement where I didn’t talk to any human to be with the cabinet of the trinity, I didn’t see the sun, moon, clouds.’
“What you are seeing me do here right now is what the Prophets of Old would do. God will ask them to carry a symbol when he wants to pass a message to the leaders of the nation.
“He said to me ‘Go and carry a coffin on your head, it is not furniture or anything for interior decoration, it is good for nothing, it is at the end of the life of a man that he is put into a coffin.”
Benjamin quoted the message he heard: “Tell the leaders that they have intentionally depleted the common resources that belong to this great country and have brought hardship on the citizens, I am not happy with it.”
The Archbishop urged Nigerians to tell the leaders the truth. He described Nigeria as a disappointment to the Lord God almighty “who brought people of various ethnicities together and gave them the resources”
“But those in power have chosen to make the commonwealth of the country their personal property, this is the reason I am carrying this coffin, God is not happy, and he is saying it is not political leaders alone, including the religious and traditional leaders.”
On why he didn’t take it to the Aso Villa, the seat of power in Abuja, Benjamin said God had not asked him to do that yet.
“Human rights is the right of citizens of this country, we have found ourselves in a government that sees you as an enemy when you are being constructive in your criticism.”
The clergyman stressed that the way forward for Nigeria is that those in power need to sit and decide if the country should stay together or not.
“Secession cry is everywhere, the question is, Is it God’s will that all these must happen? We need to sit down at a round table and look at it again what and what put us together, whether those things are still workable today or are no longer workable”, Benjamin said.