Reno Omokri: I pray for Buhari twice a day… the Lord is my witness
Reno Omokri, special assistant to ex-president Goodluck Jonathan on new media, says in spite of his constant criticism, he prays twice daily for President Muhammadu Buhari.
Omokri, a pastor, said the Bible is not against chastising leaders, and noted that the president is often oblivious to the things happening in the country.
Consequently, he said Nigerians have a responsibility to inform the president of developments that “sycophants” surrounding him may not reveal.
In a video posted on his Facebook page, Omokri said: “People have been asking some questions about why I was criticising President Buhari. It’s as if a lot of people don’t understand what is happening.
“They say ‘Reno you are a pastor, you are not meant to criticise the president… the Bible says you should pray for our leaders’. This is simply a case of misunderstanding what the Bible is talking about.
“I pray for president Buhari every single day. The Lord is my witness. May the Lord punish me if I’m lying. I shouldn’t be saying this. I’m being forced to say this because of the email I have been getting. I pray for him twice a day — morning and night.
“That is what the Bible says but the Bible did not say we should not criticise our leaders. If you read the Bible, Jesus in (Luke 13 vs 32) criticised King Herod.
“In 2nd Samuel 12 vs 1-14, Nathan the prophet criticised David. Before then, Samuel himself criticised Saul in 1st Kings chapter 17 and 18.
“When you criticise people, it doesn’t mean you hate them. It means you love them and [you are] showing them the way to go. The people who wound you, criticise and correct you, are your real friends.
“Buhari, a lot of times, does not know what is happening in the country. I have been in the presidential villa where I was a spokesman to the former president.
“Till today, that president still holds me in high regards and I am the only one of his spokesmen he kept after office and I can still speak for him today.
“The man has confidence in me but when we were in the villa, you could see how people were so sycophantic. They will tell him things were okay and when I want to speak, someone will hit me on the back and say ‘don’t talk’.
“So, the president needs people who are patriots who love the country to tell him what is happening. The president may not know that a bag of rice is N20, 000, he may not know that bread is about N300. He may not know that Nigerians are buying dollars for N500 at the black market.
“He needs people to tell him what is going on. We have to tell him what is going on. God forbid that I would use foul words against the Lord’s anointed. I would never insult the president. If God does not want him to be president, he wouldn’t be.”
If somebody should trust himself to the extent of dabling into the oval office of a nation and claim to abhor criticism, then he has made the biggest mistake of his lifetime or rather is in a wrong Job. Period
Good one from you pastor Reno,i hold u in high esteem what happens is that many people dont understand the bible they read.They read literary and did not comprehend.Continue to say the truth and truth will prevail one day
I have said it before that one of the greatest problems of the Church is that we have too many so-called Pastors who do not understand that Bible they carry around; neither do they have a working knowledge of the God of the Bible Whom they claim called them. The result of that is that they rather try to use passages of the Bible to authenticate their mistakes and failures.
Reno Omokri has said openly that he does not like President Buhari and he shows this by using every opportunity to criticize him and his government in the most impolite and uncharitable way. How can you possibly say with a straight face that you pray for the same person you despise and wish he never became President? What then is the content of your prayer?
As well, the Bible tells us that it is only prayer done in faith that can please God – Heb.11:6 ‘’But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him’’. And that it is only faith that works by love that can ever be effective – Ga 5:6 ‘’For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.’’ How then can you pray for PMB and God will answer? It is an exercise in futility because it is not done in love.
Your claim that PMB is surrounded by people who do not tell him the truth and so you have to take up that assignment is saying that you are the only custodian of the truth among Nigerians. That is arrogance.
…’’the Bible did not say we should not criticise our leaders’’ Seriously? Then is this passage in your Bible – 1Ti 5:1 ‘’Rebuke not an elder, but intreat him as a father…’’ And this one – Ex 22:28 ‘’Thou shalt not revile the gods, nor curse the ruler of thy people.’’ And where specifically did the Bible say we should criticize our leaders? Even to ‘’criticize’’ is not a Godly thing to do – google the meaning – ‘’to indicate the faults of someone in a disapproving way’’. It is arrogant to do that to an elected leader.
The fact that the Lord Jesus criticized Herod does not confer that honour on you – He is the King of all kings! Are you? Nathan and Samuel were anointed by God as the Prophets to their king; are you? As well, note that those Prophets used to go in and bring a Word from God privately to their king, they did not stand and lambast him in the village square for all to hear as you are wont to do. It was Absalom that did that to his king and God punished him for that.
Mr. Omokri, please, get over it that your work as Presidential aide/adviser/critique is over because the one who employed you to do that has been replaced.
Dr,thank u 4educating him! I’m pleased wt ds writeup
Your comment. I will advise Reno who is just a mundane Pastor to keep quiet because his paid master…GEJ has lost election. The Mundane Pastor is trying to seek for relevance again so as to be appointed by this administration. Our national treasury that was siphoned alongside his Oga..Reuben Abati have not been recovered, he is now looking for another means of doing his evil act again. I know one day God will surely expose u