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I was saying that these are defining moments for the Nigerian Church. With the assistance of famous devotional writer, Bob Gass, we said that defining moments show us who we really are; show others who we are and, determine who we will become. Defining moments, the man of God concluded, give us an opportunity to turn, change direction, and seek a new destination. They present options and opportunities. In these moments, we must choose. And the choice we make will define us!”
I identified two of several fronts where the church must make critical choices and take courageous actions as, “… the impending general elections and the opportunity for socio-economic and political changes that they present and; the protection of lives and properties of adherents of the faith particularly in the north of Nigeria”.
I also posited that “what makes 2011 and the first few years of this Jubilee decade so defining for the Church are not the above mentioned events; it is ironically, the challenges the church has faced and scaled, and the activities and the successes achieved in 2010…”
I then identified one of the successes that have positioned the church for the historic role Christian Association of Nigeria, as a result of the crisis that occasioned its last national executive committee elections. It was a crisis that became so bad that a church elder statesman like Rev Dr Moses Iloh was calling for an alternative body. But as it turned out, it was a crisis which the enemy plotted for evil, but like the sale of Joseph into slavery in Bible times, God allowed for good. For, if current trends continue, the Church has never been more united, and therefore stronger than under the current Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor-led executive.
The other 2010 event that has brought the Church to these defining moments actually predated the above-mentioned crisis and the victory. It was the coming together of some highly respected senior citizens with identifiable, exemplary Christian witness under the aegis of Christian Consultative Forum of Nigeria. Convened by Pastor Oritsejafor, then just President of Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, the body weighed in towards the end of the succession crisis which resulted from the ill-health and subsequent death of President Umar Yar’Adua. It was a development that I saw as a “welcome rise…from slumber.” I, in fact, described the convening of the group at that particular juncture in our national journey as one of the gains of that crisis. This, as was stated then, was because, although it was said to have been borne out of “an apostolic summit held by some of Nigeria's front running Christian leaders on November 2, 2009”, it did seem as if it was that crisis that propelled it from the drawing board to action.
Although the action was not more than a call “on political leaders in the country to adhere to the constitution in efforts to resolve the political quagmire and leadership issue caused by the absence of President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua.” It clearly portended new possibilities in Christianity’s engagement with the Nigerian polity over issues of national importance. Also, one of the forum’s objectives reflected a new determination to avoid passivity in the business of nation building. Henceforth, he said then, the body of Christ was going to be involved in the task of transforming “the nation into a progressive, equitable and developed nation”.
That objective explained why the Forum, attended, among others, by former Nigeria High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Dr. Christopher Kolade; board room icon and one-time presidential aspirant, Deacon Gamaliel Onosode, a former Chairman of Nigeria Breweries Plc, Elder Felix Ohiwerei, former Chief of Staff, Rear Admiral Mike Akhigbe (rtd), and university don, Professor Adamu Baikie, did not stop at addressing the then power vacuum crisis, it issued a powerful communique. CONTINUES BELOW
That communiqué read by Mr Femi Pedro, a former Deputy Governor of Lagos State read in part: “The Forum noted that for the church to lead in the turn around, it must get itself to a level of building a new Nigeria on integrity, which involves attributes like competence, faithfulness, probity, transparency, commitment, courage, ethical values and behaviour and accountability.
“…Therefore, reiterate that the church is neither a social institution nor a political party, but a spiritual fellowship for Christians and its only agenda is that of God. And that is, through this agenda, that our Christian leaders must be consistently courageous to teach all men (both leaders and followers) to observe all things that Christ has commanded;
“…Concluded that the church must lead in the transformation of our nation, its leaders must lead with integrity, honesty of purpose, and speak out forcefully against the ills of country’s leaders. The church must also teach and develop its members into leaders and must promote integrity and discipline, encourage austere living, and generosity and discourage prosperity and materialism.”
“…Recognised that the church cannot be transformed if it has not been working to develop its own leaders and champions, amongst its members. The church must therefore instil discipline amongst its members, sanction erring members and develop new leaders in the way of the Lord. We therefore, need to restore the right values, re-establish high standards in corporate and public governance and social behaviour, and to adopt good discipline, and establish a reliable system for ensuring consistently good performance. In addition, the church should not promote materialism and prosperity gospel, but encourage austere living and generosity.”
Now, that communiqué was to be developed into an action plan for the Church. It is not clear how far these wise men have gone with the plan, but the fact that the convener of that Forum now sits atop CAN has increased the chances of it being a veritable tool for national transformation.
As readers of this column might remember, we tried to analyse the communiqué, last year. We will recall some of the highlights next time in the belief that it will assist us to understand why the Church must act now. (CONTINUES)
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