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| St Saviour's Anglican Church, Otuoke |
Two recent incidents, I was saying,
make me wonder what manner of men have led and continue to lead us. One was ex-military
head of state and civilian president, Olusegun Obasanjo, who brazenly attempted
to rewrite very recent history concerning his abortive attempt at
life-presidency a few short years ago. He went on television and bold-facedly
declared that he was never part of the move to amend the constitution of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria to grant him another term. He even had the temerity
to describe his Channels Television interviewer as mischievous!
The other incident is President
Goodluck Jonathan’s admission that he solicited the help of the CEO of an
Italian construction company handling several government contracts to renovate
or rebuild the church in his home village of Otuoke. In fairness, “complained
to” were his words. The statement made at the dedication of the new or
renovated sanctuary has, to my knowledge, not been denied.
An incident as simple and
straight-forward as that has helped to provide a window into the moral and even
spiritual condition of the hearts of some of those who find themselves in
position of power and influence in our land. And what I personally glimpsed from
many of the published reactions, reported here in the last two weeks, is
shocking, to say the least.
Most of the reactions remind one of a
guy called Niccoló Machiavelli, who though did not invent the maxim, helped
propagate that “the end justifies the means.” The arguments have gone mostly
like this: since the end is renovation or rebuilding of a church, which is a
good thing; it doesn’t matter if a contractor was cajoled into handling it of
free-of-charge, in violation of the code of conduct for public officials and
against basic morality.
I have also read and heard arguments
about the church building being a corporate social responsibility project of
the company. A corporate social responsibility project in the home church of
the President and instigated by the President who has the power and influence
to make things happen or stop from happening for the contractor. How nice!
However, what worries me most of all
is that this is about a church building and the leaders of the Church of
Nigeria (Anglican Communion) have risen in defence of the President. In
defending the president and the building, they have come against those who have
rightly called for further investigation into the matter, particularly the
Action Congress of Nigeria, which had asked the national Assembly to start
impeachment proceedings against the President.
Specifically, the
head of the Anglican Church of Nigeria was quoted as saying: “The call by the
opposition party is not only satanic and barbaric, but equally ungodly as it
was a direct attack on Christianity in the country…capable of causing further
religious implosion in the country already bugged down by problems that
bothered on security… anybody who intentionally kicks against the construction
of church building in any part of the country under any guise should have his
brains re-examined...”
Even in righteous
indignation, these words would still have been out of place in the mouth of the
lowest of clergymen. Yet, this was none other than the Primate of All Nigeria.
With the greatest respect, I wonder where the moral high ground to call
politicians, who we accuse of “heating up the polity” to order, when Church
leaders allow themselves the liberty of speaking like them.
But even more
significant is the fact that there is nothing righteous about the indignation
the church seemed to be expressing. Except in the minds of those who have read
and internalised Machiavelli’s Prince, the God that we serve does care about
means, as much as he does, the end. In other words, God would be concerned
about the means by which St Saviour’s Anglican Church at Otuoke was built or
renovated. He would be interested in whether any laws were violated, whether
the process was moral etc.
Perhaps the story of Saul, the king in
the 15th chapter of the first book of Samuel would serve to drive home
the point: “Saul smote the Amalekites from Havilah until thou comest to Shur, that is over against Egypt. And he took Agag the king of the
Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the
sword. But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of
the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but every
thing that was vile and refuse,
that they destroyed utterly… And Samuel said… the LORD sent thee on a journey,
and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against
them until they be consumed. Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of
the LORD, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the
LORD? And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and
have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag the king of
Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. But the people took of the
spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly
destroyed, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal. And Samuel said, Hath
the LORD as great delight in
burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to
obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams” (verses 7-9; 17 -22).
This story, no doubt well known
amongst us Christians as a powerful reminder of God’s insistence on obedience,
is also powerfully illustrates that good and therefore welcome as sacrifice
normally is to God (the end), Amalekite
fat obtained in disobedience (the means) disqualified it! Church leaders of all hues and all who lead in
every area of national endeavour, who name the name of the Lord, (mostly men)
must always remember that God is a law and order God, who refrains from, and
abhors, impunity. He expects no less from us. (CONCLUDED).
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