CALL FOR STUDENTS TO RETURN TO CLASSES
JUNE 14, 2016
By Peter Barnabas Pamula
I am compelled to write this article to encourage our future leaders at the UPNG, UoT, and UoG to return to classes. Your protest against bad leadership and mismanagement of our economy is loud and crystal clear. We all agree and support your views regarding our economy and leadership.
For now, in my respected view, I encourage you all to return to classes and complete your studies. You are the future and save that future! Do not jeopardise the opportunity given by authorities on a golden platter. The world is too big, and the issues it has are complex and too big. You have a choice, because the damages will be regrettable. Let the appropriate authorities (Courts, Ombudsman Commission, Fraud Squad) deal with the issues you have raised, including the commission of inquiry into the student shooting by police personnel.
GOD: SUPREME LEADER
I reiterate that in this life, as far as leadership of a nation is concerned, we must understand that man appoints leaders to positions, but God anoints leaders to lead. Leadership from a biblical perspective is that God is the author of leadership. God is the Supreme and Ultimate universal leader, while Satan opposes and competes to claim this position. This contention over the dominionship and rulership that transpires in the spiritual realm has extended into a proxy warfare in the physical realm. This planet has become the theatre of unseen contending forces for universal control. The battle for proper leadership in PNG is part of that predicament and strategy.
The glaring rendition of shared responsibility is God’s ability to share His leadership with man, just to manage the affairs of man in His domain. In His infinite wisdom, He extends to man the provisions of rulership, despite fallen man has human flaws and propensity to sin, and under the wrong influence can abuse the position. Yet, with this privileged position, man is destined to fulfil God’s plan for a nation, and apparently the planet.
GOD ANOINTS LEADERS
Man’s appointments of leaders are temporary and for convenience sake, and they do not last. But God’s anointment of leadership is secured, and its legacy and footprints in the history of a nation will last. In the annals of sacred history, God has handpicked leaders to chart the destiny of a nation and its people. The legacies of these anointed leaders continue to inspire generations after generations in this precarious planet.
It is on the proposition of this view that if Peter O’Neill’s leadership is anointed and favoured by God, God will give him the spirit of a solider and capacity to endure the current turbulence and storm. With this divine favour, the widespread animosity and anxiety will evaporate into thin air. Also, God will give him the ability and power to lead this nation to the next level of economic and spiritual prosperity, in spite of the prevailing antagonism against his leadership, as well as appalling global and national economic conditions.
However, if God turns His back on him, the foundations in which he stands will collapse and trivialise. The Almighty God who created the island of New Guinea, its people, and natural resources (wealth) will showcase his power and might to dethrone him, because this nation was curved out of history by the election and visitation of God, through the resilient efforts of Christian missionaries. With this divine favour upon this nation, any leader who stands in the economic and spiritual prosperity of its people will be heartlessly removed and dampened. We are yet to see this reality.
O’NEILL PREDICAMENT
Firstly, the rejection or acceptance of his leadership at the 2017 elections at his Ialibu-Pangia Electorate will determine the WILL of God over his life. With the current predicament, God will work in the minds and hearts of the Ialibu-Pangia people to keep him or reject him. In fact, this is his third term in public office, and the constituents of his electorate will decide his fate in the coming general elections.
Secondly, his prosecution from the alleged scandals and imprisonment at Bomana Gaol is yet to materialise. The current fiasco regarding his warrant of arrest implemented by the National Fraud Squad and Anti-Corruption Directorate, and issued by the District Court, which was stayed by the National and Supreme Courts is a matter for the competent Court of Law to deliberate and pass judgment. Whether O’Neill benefited directly from the proceeds from these alleged scandals is yet to be proven by the competent Court of Law.
Also, O’Neill has repeatedly denied the allegations levelled against him, and resolved to fight them in the Court of Law. In my view, this is all about INTEGRITY. It is not about the law and its sciences anymore. Rather, it is about moral consciousness and the integrity of the public office he holds. With this dilemma, credible sources of evidence of O’Neill fraudulently obtaining money from the public purse will help the judges to make a better decision and rest the case. This enterprise is so complex and staggering. For time being, we leave this serious matter with the appropriate authorities, that is the Judiciary.
Thirdly, majority of our elected parliamentarians have decided to keep O’Neill in the Prime Minister’s seat and lead the nation. Their loyalty and allegiance speak volumes about the charisma and leadership attributes he possesses and displays. Several NGO groups have vehemently opposed to replace him, and other good politicians have vowed to be the Prime Minister, and have repeatedly conspired and lobbied to dethrone him in this term of Parliament, yet the picture we get from our elected representatives is quite different. Whether these politicians are lured by the DSIP or PSIP funds by O’Neill and his team is yet to be researched and established. But a few state ministers I conversed with suggest that O’Neill is a LEADER, not a politician.
Finally, our constitution provides provisions for the election and removal of the Prime Minister from office. Since the birth of this nation, our democracy is based on the West Minster form of governance, where Prime Ministers are elected and removed from the floor of Parliament. The Prime Minister can only be removed from office, if he/she is medically unfit to assume office, or ousted by the court of disputed returns in a court of law. O’Neill has vowed NOT to step down from the office of the Prime Minister, because all the allegations against him are misleading, spurious, and malicious in nature. He positively responded to the UPNG students’ petition by outlining his stance of the issues and plans to work together to improve the nation’s economy.
In my view, I commend the students for airing the concerns of the citizens of the country regarding the issues of corruption and mismanagement of the economy of the country. Also, I commend the spirit of unity and patriotism demonstrated by students, and petitioned O’Neill to step down from Prime Minister’s office. The O’Neill government was apprehensive and responded to the petitions point by point. However, O’Neill vowed not to step down to the demand of the students. This stance needs to be respected, because he is also facing another front: The Courts. Going beyond the set limits and boundaries is quite absurd. We need to respect authorities established by God. God says in His Word that He establishes kingdoms and kings and He removes them from power. Let us not take the prerogatives of God to effect that change.
RETURN TO CLASSES
There are myriads of antagonistic expressions on social media and elsewhere about O’Neill’s leadership. It seems O’Neill has developed a crocodile skin to contain the harassment and heat directed at him. But it can be emotionally and psychologically woeful.
While I commend the university students to represent the silent majority of the nation to combat corruption and bad leadership, in my respected view, I encourage them to return to classes and complete your studies, and let the appropriate authorities deal with the issues you have raised, including the commission of inquiry into the student shooting by police personnel. You are the future and save that future! Do not jeopardise the opportunity given by authorities on a golden platter. The world is too big, and the issues it has are complex and too big. You have a choice, because the damages will be regrettable.
CONCLUSION
Our nation’s future and the future of this planet is in the mighty hands of God. You are that future that God is counting on, so return to classes and get educated, and you can make a difference. The world is too big and the problems of the world are too big and complex.
Only God has the power to fix them, even by appointing and removing leaders from the throne. For now, let us not assume the prerogatives of God, for He anoints leaders and leads nations and kingdoms of this world!
Peter Barnabas Pamula, MA Religion, PhD Candidate. He is an author, researcher, and theologian. He writes on issues of faith, geo-religious, geo-politics, and social and economic issues affecting Papua New Guinea. In the next article, we will discover O’Neill’s achievements in 2015. The author can be contacted on email: pamulap@aiias.edu
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