The question can be asked: are the churches ready, willing and able to be partners-in-governance? The answer, unfortunately, is not a categorical ‘yes’. In spite of the great potential that the church has to influence social, economic and political behaviour of its members, very little is being done in this respect. These issues don’t get attention from the pulpit. Most of the small groups are so focussed on their areas of “specialty” that they also end up becoming replicas of the church, unable to talk about day-to-day issues. The Churches have to rise to the Fashola Challenge!
I was saying that Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola’s establishment of a well-staffed, functional department for religious liaison in his office is noteworthy. I suggested that it is a reflection of the governor’s recognition of the place of the spiritual in the affairs of man. I noted that “the calibre of staffing, the depth of the speeches they present on behalf of their principal…demonstrate that he sees this as an important factor in his on-going success”
Now, I do not claim to know how spiritual he is himself, and it’s probably not the place of this column, Christian in orientation as it is, but the visibility of the religious affairs department seems to say something about the state of the man’s heart and his understanding of the potential contribution of religious and faith-based organisations to the development of the state under his watch. The latter is the focus of this piece.
Fashola, for instance, was recently represented at the 47th Synod of the Obun-Eko Circuit of Methodist Church Nigeria’s Diocese of Lagos, by Rev’d Mrs Yewande Akitoye-Braimoh, Special Adviser, Christian Religious Matters. Now, notice, this wasn’t a synod of the Lagos Diocese as a whole, but a circuit of it. It was therefore possible to either decline or send a lower-level official. But he honoured it. I do not discount the interplay of such forces as “who knows whom” etc, but I perceive a deliberate decision to interface with the Church, on what ordinarily might have been seen as by a less perceptive leader as no business of the their’s.
A Sunday Independent report of the event lends credence to this. Speaking on behalf of the governor, Akitoye-Braimah was quoted as describing the synod theme, “Church in a Troubled World” as “instructive and appropriate, especially taking into consideration our present need as a people for spiritual, social and moral rejuvenation in the service of our fatherland.”
According to the report written by Aramide Oikelome, the governor seized the opportunity to call on religious leaders to work towards sustaining the on-going interface between church and state in order to impact lives positively and enhance development of the state.
The report quoted him as saying: “The role of the Church in contributing to societal harmony is in greater need now than before because of the social dislocation likely to arise from the global economic meltdown. Like most institutions and organisations, which are taking measures on the crisis, the Church will be expected to rise to the occasion and provide leadership to its numerous flocks.”
As I stated last week, Governor Fashola’s unabashed liaison with religious bodies is indeed courageous because it runs against the grain of the liberalist tendencies of most of our opinion leaders and moulders. I have referred to the recent statement credited to our very dear Nobel laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka that religion is irrelevant in the public life of our nation.
But this isn’t just about courage, it’s about wisdom. Read the above statement again. The world economy is going through recession, the kind that a country like Britain has not experienced since the Second World War. Every one who knows anything about the way the world works knows that people will experience all kinds of pressures. The young man who loses his job will be tempted to steal. The pretty damsel, whose parents cannot provide for, will be tempted to use what she has (her body) to get what she needs. You can picture the variety of pseudo-creativity and pragmatism that people will seek to bring into the good old task of meeting their daily needs. There is no better institution than the Church to step in and rein in the clear and present danger to the social fabric that the economic crisis poses.
The governor was further quoted: “We regard our religious leaders as partners in governance because they are saddled with the responsibility of admonishing the congregation to be law-abiding and shun criminal tendencies that pose a threat to the security of the state. The church can also act as partners to the government in preaching against lawlessness, corruption, disorderliness and disobedience to constituted authority and leaders.”
This is hardly debatable, also. On the roads, in the market place, in our offices, virtually everywhere, lawlessness and disorderliness reign supreme. Disobedience to constituted authority is the norm. A vast majority of the people who manifest these anti-social traits can be found in various worship places including churches. Doesn’t it therefore make sense for government to carry the message to where the people are? That is the wisdom of the Fashola approach, which is a far cry from the cynical reach-out at the approach of elections that we used to see.
The question can be asked: are the churches ready, willing and able to be partners-in-governance? The answer, unfortunately, is not a categorical ‘yes’. In spite of the great potential that the church has to influence social, economic and political behaviour of its members, very little is being done in this respect. These issues don’t get attention from the pulpit. Most of the small groups are so focussed on their areas of “specialty” that they also end up becoming replicas of the church, unable to talk about day-to-day issues. The Churches have to rise to the Fashola Challenge! We have to deliberately begin to exhort and admonish our members about these issues.
The beauty of it is that the people are willing, if the leaders are ready. That is to say, it is more up to the pulpit than to the pew, as I believe this little story illustrates. Recently I took a motorbike (okada) from Ogba to Adeniyi Jones Street in Ikeja both in Lagos, Nigeria. The driver, a young well-turned out guy, handed me a crash helmet. I dutifully wore it on my handkerchief covered head. He drove off, his own helmet dangling from where he hung it between the bike's speedometer and the hand throttle, and merrily launched into singing. Three gospel choruses later, I interrupted him.
From your songs, I sense you are a Christian, I began.
Yes sir, he replied obviously deferring to my age. “Do you know that the Bible teaches us to obey to the laws of the land?”
Yes sir, he responded.
Do you know that ‘okada' operators and passengers are by law bound to wear crash helmets?
Yes, and I have mine here, he said patting the helmet where it was. And, I put it on anytime I'm nearing police or Road Safety (Commission) check-points, he answered.
I pointed out to him that what the Bible says is to obey constituted authority, not deceive them. And that what he was doing was deception not obedience. I quoted to him the Biblical passage in Colossians 3:22-23 which reads: “Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God: And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men.”
What followed was very instructive. Without another word, he parked the bike, took his helmet, put it on, strapped it securely at the chin and drove off.
God bless you, I prayed for him and he replied with an ‘Amen’.
As I disembarked at my destination, he thanked me warmly and assured me, he would stay obedient.
I do not for one moment assume that I shall get the same results every time I chanced across a law-breaking biker, but I do intend to continue to try. Truth is that there are far too many people out there whose Christianity does not reflect in the quality of citizenship. I am fully persuaded that the Church can help raise the level of obedience to constituted authority in our nation, and work to mitigate the threat to our socio-economic well-being that the global financial crisis constitutes.
In passing, I understand that representatives of church were at a meeting with officials of Fashola’s government where the subject of noise pollution was discussed recently. I am told that maximum noise levels were agreed upon as - 55 decibel during the day and 45 decibel at night; while early morning services should not start earlier than 6am nor daytime services continue beyond 9pm. Perhaps this will need fine-tuning, but it is one of the advantages of the interface between Church and State that we’ve been talking about, particularly if consultation is wide enough. Kudos, Governor BRF. (Concluded).
PIX: Archbishop John Onaiyekan, President, Christian Association of Nigeria
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