KINGDOM PERSPECTIVE
with Remi Akano
e-mail: remiakanosr@believeandrepent.com
We were saying on this page last week that kingdom leaders have their work cut out for them by current developments in the polity. We drew attention to the arraignment of five former governors on charges of stealing or laundering of mind boggling amounts of public funds entrusted to their care while in office. Four of those five, we painfully noted, fly the Christianity flag. That's to say these men never hid their religious affiliation while in office.Governor Orji Uzor Kalu never left anyone in doubt that Abia, where he held sway for eight years, was God's Own State. You would think that with that awareness he would run the state "as unto the Lord." Apparently, AIGP Nuhu Ribadu, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) which he runs and a section of Abia citizens do not think he did. Of course the accused and accusers will have their day in court and ultimately justice would be done. And like we also noted last week, he wore the Christian badge all through his last presidential campaign as the flag bearer of his party, Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA); so much so that some of his campaigns would pass for crusades. There's Dr Chimaroke Nnamani under whom Enugu state became a mecca of sorts for officials of international agencies coming to eulogise and validate his achievements. Now the jury is still out on what earned this dashing medical doctor the accolades - his sartorial and oratorical elegance or an enduring socio-economic legacy. But no matter what the jury eventually comes up with, none can forget the consistency of his God rhetoric: “Enugu is working; to God be the glory” was the pay-off line ending all government radio jingles, television commercials and print media advertisements. Was he praising God and robbing God’s children? Only the courts can tell.Then, there is the one who shares the prophet’s name but not his mien and perhaps not his character, Joshua Dariye of Plateau state. A fugitive from justice in the United Kingdom where he was said to have jumped bail, he had as many thanksgiving services as there were victories in court, won not as a result of acquittals from the many charges of impropriety against him, but on account of Ribadu and his men’s inordinate impatience with the rule of law and due process. His Christian identity may now seem to be only “name-deep.”Now, I don’t know if there are still any cheer-leaders out there raising the “jolly good fellow” chorus for Taraba State’s ex-governor, Reverend Jolly Nyame. But after his alleged confession that he may have received some kickbacks and was ready to return his “part of the action” in some projects, they must be few indeed. Reverend? Time will tell.Of course, since last week’s piece was written, the sensational, long-drawn case involving Diepreye Alamieseigha, another Christian ex-governor, has been resolved with his plea bargaining which has now seen him out of gaol, but, possibly broke and broken. By the latter, I mean broken in spirit, contrite, able to reconcile with Christ whose arms have remained open to him in spite of all the un-Christlike things that did, some of which he has now confessed to. An interim “ex-Governors-in-Post-Immunity Trial” statistical report would look like this: Convictions 100%; Arraignments - 80%; Overall - 83.34%. Not a flattering picture, is it? It is useful to recall that last week’s piece was largely inspired by some of the things said by the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria’s president, Rev Ayo Oritsejafor, in a Sunday Independent interview with Mrs Aramide Oikelome. Among other things, he had lamented that the church was being shut out of a national issue as grave as the Niger Delta crisis and thus restricted, as it were, to praying. He argued that in addition to prayers, to which to the church remains committed, the church was also suited for peace broking assignments because of the credibility and incorruptibility of leaders like himself, the leaders’ credentials as non-politicians and the fact that most of the citizens of the area are Christians. I had reacted in the closing paragraph of that column this way: “My dear President, I suggest that the church’s involvement in the Niger Delta and everywhere else must transcend prayers and direct intervention as peace brokers; it must extend to, if not primarily be, ensuring that those who go to government naming the name of the Lord, must have the rest of Christ’s family to contend with each time they step out of line in the course of serving Christ through the nation. That, in my humble opinion is the urgent challenge to church leadership today”.Since then, I have had the opportunity of prayerfully reflecting on this very important issue and I believe that there is an urgent need for Christian leaders through the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) to seize the opportunity offered by the current nadir into which the moral high ground of the faith has plunged - courtesy of some of these so-called Christians in positions of authority - to rethink our approach to governance in our nation.I believe with all my heart that the situation should be seen as beyond a call to prayer, which is understandably our default setting, as it were. I believe it should be recognised also as a call to prayerfully put structures in place to deliberately begin to engage with the “political class” in the area of godliness, ethics and the common good; keep an eagle eye upon those who get into government proclaiming their love for the Lord Jesus; and continuously and directly engage with government at all levels to ensure that godliness is an overriding factor in policy formulation, direction and implementation. Permit me to articlate this a little.Let’s work from the known to the seemingly unknown. Let’s take the case of governors for example. Every Christian governor hopefully has a chapel around Government House manned by a chaplain, who I reckon must have a sort of ringside ticket to what happens in government. When a chaplain begins to catch a whiff of the filthy smell of lucre or the not-so-uncommon recourse to sexual wantonness, what does he do? Does he simply look the other way because he does not want to hurt the boss or; protect his access to comfortable living by steering clear of ministering to the boss on such subjects? Which leads me to the question: how are chaplains recruited? Do they get any kind of protection from the part of the Church family they come from? Where they try and fail to rein in a governor’s propensity to deviate from the Christian path, are they encouraged to alert the church family group so that a kind of early warning system can be put in place? In my view CAN has to consider working along this line.The church’s engagement with the political class, that is, those who are currently actively involved in politics can also be structured. It is my view, for instance, that CAN ought to hold annual retreats for Christian politicians where they all have the opportunity to listen to word-based evaluation of governance; exchange views on anti-Christian pressures and satanic influences and together agree to prayerfully resist those things. For ease of management, it can hold at state level. I am also fully persuaded that CAN should consider establishing structures for monitoring, liaison with and influencing of the activities of the three departments of governments at all levels. By this I wonder if it were possible to appoint a legislative liaison and monitoring group. Such a group may be armed with a Christian legislative agenda and a check-list of the attributes of just laws. With a legislative agenda of say, three laws that Nigeria Christians would love to see passed in a particular legislative year, this group can liaise with Christian legislators and even powerful non-Christians where necessary. With a well thought-out legislative checklist Christian members can be guided to oppose or support or propose amendments to bills. Through proper monitoring of speeches on the floor and voting patterns, it should be possible to identify those who consistently step out of line and work against them at election time. Such a structure, while not exactly appropriate for the judiciary, should also be considered for the Executive Arm too, while something else is worked for the judiciary. All of these bring me to the issue of platform; that is a consistent Christian position on issues of affecting the lives; lifestyle and faith walk of the Nigerian Christian, most of which would have universal application to the Nigerian. For instance there is talk in the air of electoral reform. Is it possible to have a Christian platform? What about the constitution? Is it absolutely impossible to have a position on this? For the avoidance of any doubts, this is not to promote sectarian differences in Nigeria; it is very simply to lift the underlying values, the fundamentals of governance in Nigeria.Where to start? I am aware that the Catholic Church in Nigeria has the very vibrant Justice and Peace Commission, the PFN, has the Social Security Outreach, the other groups sure have equivalent departments or outreaches. These outfits may be used to begin exploratory talks. The new CAN leadership led by Archbishop Onaiyekan, should in the name of Lord, pray about these things before throwing these suggestions out as idealistic, unworkable or inappropriate. Of course, there is the unity question amongst us too! As a kind of Church Unity activist, I know how real this is and how debilitating to the body. But it should not stop us. The fact of sitting together towards formulating and creating the structures will help in the bonding process. Yes the current disunity does recommend caution, so we may need to start small, but start we must. (Watch out for “The Unity Question”).
First published in a Nigerian Daily, the Sunday Independent, published in Lagos Nigeria.
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