The recently leaked audio, alleged to be a pre-election conversation between the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, and Bishop David Oyedepo, and the reaction it has generated shows Nigeria’s elite hypocrisy.

As arguments go on about its authenticity, it is hard not to wonder what the fuzz is all about. It is correct to say that anyone who wants to lead Nigeria must shun the divisiveness that Obi exhibited in this alleged audio. The ideal leaders for Nigeria post-May 2023 should seek to unite the country and not hold such extreme, albeit patently hypocritical, positions. Nigeria needs a leader for all.

Second, the level of genuflecting in the alleged tape, if it turns out to be true, is uncomplimentary at this man’s status. Although Oyedepo is in his late 60s, Obi himself is already 61. How an eight-year difference in age makes someone your “daddy” one million times within five minutes is a mystery that appears like hypocrisy and deceit. We will return to this matter.

Oyedepo, if he was indeed the one speaking on the audio, said nothing that should warrant criticism. Not only did he not condemn any religion, but he also showed that Nigeria belongs to everyone and that no group could try to take ownership. He talked about good governance and the need to elect honest people and encourage his audience to trust in God. He promised to release “a clip,” which might appear as campaign alright, but what is wrong with that?

Oyedepo is a Nigerian who has every right to hold an opinion. That he leads a congregation does not stop him from holding or sharing opinions. What is clear, as I know it in reality, and as these elections have proven, is that congregations have people with different party affiliations and persuasions. It is therefore not automatic that a pastor’s sermon would make every Christian vote for their pastor’s candidate, no matter what they say. It is like people go to churches and mosques every day; they hear about the need to flee sin but still commit many atrocities against God and human beings!

I agree some congregants follow pastors’ charges dogmatically, but the preponderance of the people will follow their convictions. These convictions are, however, influenced by anything from party loyalty to religion, ethnicity, or even monetary inducement. Many Nigerians just go to these worship places with no impact, otherwise this country would be a more pleasant place to live in. But that is a matter of another day.

And that takes us back to the question of how Obi’s conduct and his alleged utterance. I consider it grand hypocrisy that some Nigerians take his “respect” for Oyedepo as a song of ridicule.

Do we forget that most of us revere intermediaries between the supernatural and the natural? If a herbalist were 20 years old, he would still be called “Baba” by his faithful and patrons in deference to his perceived supernatural endowments. People have only transferred this to their pastors and imams or whoever represents the god they worship. In the case under discussion, the clergy is older than the politician, but much older people usually bow and tremble before their younger religious leaders. So how is this a surprise?

Then, these two men were having a private conversation. In such conversations, people should be free to say whatever they want, behave however they want, and even deceive each other if they like, with the confidence that no one would know! How confidential conversations in Nigeria are gradually becoming public resources is what should worry us all more than how salacious the gist is. We should be wary of brutal politics where private conversation goes viral without the consent and authorisation of the parties in the discussion. Nations could go into conflagrations by such conducts, and centripetal and centrifugal forces must avoid this house falling on our heads.

But more than that, why do we pretend like elections are not war in Nigeria? Given the high stakes attached to politics, politicians and their allies deploy and employ whatever they can lay hands on to win elections. Regardless of how crooked or absurd all is fair in the war of elections in Nigeria. It doesn’t matter whether it is identity politics, (which manifests in religion and ethnicity), brigandage, incumbency, and so on, winning at all costs is all that matters to politicians.

And if we were to consider how many politicians relied on primordial sentiments in the 2023 elections, we would have enough blame to go around.

One idea that is said to be behind the Muslim-Muslim ticket of the All Progressive Congress (APC) is the belief that northern Muslims do not regard the faithful from the South as genuine.

As a result, the APC decided that having a “real” Muslim from the north would buoy their chances. It is the same party Nigerians caught pants down in the reported invitation of fake bishops to one of its events in Abuja. That invitation was to show that some Christian leaders supported the party.

The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) wasn’t much different. Hinging its campaign on APC’s insensitivity to the country’s religious polarity was a veiled tickle of people’s religious sentiment. The party then picked a Christian running mate as a differentiation from the APC.

People labelled the Labour Party labelled as playing on religious sentiments from the outset. Each time Daniel Bwala and Festus Keyamo, spokespersons for the campaigns of the PDP and the APC, respectively, got on the air, they impugned Obi’s campaign as holding onto ethnic and religious sentiments without the prospect of going anywhere. This is the reason Obi’s alleged suggestion that the election was “religious warfare” in contradiction to his public denial of the same may corroborate his opponents’ allegations.

But the elections were indeed a war of sorts. In the months and weeks leading up to the elections, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) left no one in doubt as to its opposition to the APC ticket. It denounced the ticket and encouraged its members to vote against it. Anyone who pretends that CAN and other Christian bodies did not take this election as a war deceives himself.

Nigerians can also not forget the shenanigans of the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC). It missed no opportunity to issue statements about the rights of Muslims in politics, condemning and vilifying at will. It only went quiet when the APC decided on its Muslim-Muslim ticket. On Monday, the group issued a statement advising President Joe Biden to disregard Nigerians’ protests against the outcome of the elections. There are no pretences about how much the major religions in Nigeria scramble to attain political office by all means.

So, there is nothing Obi said that has not manifested in the conduct of all political leaders and some Nigerian citizens. However, promoting divisiveness is unhelpful for the country’s future. The continuous campaign after the election and excavation of all dirts after the emergence of a winner by weaponising our differences spells trouble for the country’s stability.

Rather than dissipate energy on the condemnation of Mr Obi, who has already lost this election, Nigerians should address our incoming leaders on the need to give everyone a sense of hope. They must treat everyone fairly and give them their due, regardless of their spiritual affiliations.

In addition, the next government must work very hard to free the people from the pangs of poverty. Nigerians truly love to serve God, but a lot of the extremism in the air stems from the tentative sense of hope that the spiritual excursions in religion provide.

Finally, the government must reduce the size of government and be deliberate about reducing the stakes in public office in Nigeria. The current desperation would make anyone do anything in their bid to get into office. The government must make participation in government less attractive so that only the best of the country will occupy these positions.