"It is for this reason that somebody or group has to rise up to the challenge in some other ways. One such ways is to go the way of Christian leaders in the United States (through the Manhattan Declaration) and those of Britain (though the Westminster Declaration) and codify a set of principles by which those who fly the Christian flag should be encouraged to comport themselves or forfeit the right to expect our support and those of like minds."
I
do not remember who said it, but, it’s been ringing in my head lately that “if
you want anything done badly enough, you do it yourself.” Perhaps you’ve heard it said before too. However,
I am fully persuaded that in the matter of the urgent need for a Nigerian Christian
Charter of Conscience (see last week’s column), it is incumbent upon those who
are concerned about the direction of public conduct of those in leadership
positions in our land, to rise up and let’s ‘just do it’.
When in 2010, I did an open letter serial to
the President of Christian Association of Nigeria, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor and
mentioned the subject in the fifth part; I had hoped that something would get
done about it. My hope then was not baseless. As President of the Pentecostal
Fellowship of Nigeria, he had much earlier convened a meeting of Christian Consultative Forum of Nigeria. As
we reported in another serial in February 7 & 14, 2010, the forum 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’. Pastor Ayo stated the objective then as to enable ‘the body
of Christ to transform the nation into a progressive, equitable and developed
nation….’
That
forum was attended by such eminent Nigerian followers of Christ, with years of
incontrovertible Christian witness, ‘as 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 and university don, Professor Adamu Baikie, (who)
addressed the long neglected issue of the role of the Church in nation
building…’
That
forum issued a communiqué, which, at the time excited this writer so much
because it was answer to prayer and public advocacy through a serial titled
“Wake-Up Call to Church Leaders.” That all-important document posited 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;
“…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 (raise) 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.”
We stated then that the
communiqué was “pointing in the way that the Church must go if it will take its
place in providing the leadership in every sector of our national life as
indeed it should.”
Pastor Oritsejafor went on
to contest a very bruising election for the presidency of CAN, won the first
and subsequently the second term and the forum and all that it stood for simply
went to deep sleep. You would have thought that his new position offers a
stronger platform from which to push the forum and its ideals, but it hasn’t
been like that. I do not judge him, particularly, against the background of the
upsurge in terror in our land, which, unacknowledged by many, is first and
foremost formed and fashioned against Christians and Christianity, seen as
coterminous with western values.
It is for this reason that
somebody or group has to rise up to the challenge in some other ways. One such
ways is to go the way of Christian leaders in the United States (through the
Manhattan Declaration) and those of Britain (though the Westminster
Declaration) and codify a set of principles by which those who fly the
Christian flag should be encouraged to comport themselves or forfeit the right
to expect our support and those of like minds.
Kingdom Men has accepted
that challenge and we will pursuit it with all that we have in Christ. We will
knock every door, including those of Oritsejafor and the eminent leaders in the
Christian Leaders Consultative Forum (CLCF) and corporate bodies owned or led
by Christians who are not shy to be associated with the name of Christ – and
that may include you and yours – as the Holy Spirit shall direct. So, help us
God.
