WANTED URGENTLY: A NIGERIAN CHRISTIAN CHARTER

"As a step in that direction, it was decided that Kingdom Men should, with the support of and in collaboration with sponsors hold this special roundtable three months before the elections on the theme, TOWARDS A NIGERIAN CHRISTIAN CHARTER. The content of the charter, which will derive from the event, will set out minimum moral standard expected of those seeking their votes; commitment to carefully thought-out policy positions on politics, economy and social issues. Religious freedom, corruption, rule of law, marriage, children and women rights  are among issues expected to feature at the roundtable and ultimately on the charter."

Seventeen men, collectively known as the King’s Men, came together for about 20 hours from Friday evening to Saturday morning penultimate week for a retreat to discuss the next phase of the activities of Kingdom Men, the ministry they steward. As always when these men meet, the role of the nation of Nigeria and the place of Christian men in its growth and development was a major consideration in charting the path forward.

One of the highlights of the decisions taken at that meeting was to hold a special edition of one of the programmes that featured at the last Mega-Summit – Politics and Governance Roundtable. The special edition has become necessary, the men concluded, because the spiritual and moral content of activities leading to the fast approaching 2015 General Elections is, thus far, virtually ZERO. A deliberate redirection and infusion of these critical elements is therefore urgent.

As a step in that direction, it was decided that Kingdom Men should, with the support of and in collaboration with sponsors hold this special roundtable three months before the elections on the theme, TOWARDS A NIGERIAN CHRISTIAN CHARTER. The content of the charter, which will derive from the event, will set out minimum moral standard expected of those seeking their votes; commitment to carefully thought-out policy positions on politics, economy and social issues. Religious freedom, corruption, rule of law, marriage, children and women rights  are among issues expected to feature at the roundtable and ultimately on the charter.

Incidentally, this issue featured prominently in the fifth part of an open letter to Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, in August 2010. I am quoting extensively from that letter below, because it offers the reader insight into the origins of the charter idea. Here goes:

“As you most probably might have read, a number of Christian leaders in the United States widely recognised for their ‘public witness on behalf of justice, human rights, and the common good’ came together in 2009 and subsequently came up with what has now become known as the Manhattan Declaration. Described as a ‘Call to Christian Conscience’, the declaration, in the words of one of its proponents, ‘speaks to the church just as much as it speaks to the larger culture’. Originally signed by about 150 prominent Christian clergy, ministry leaders and scholars including Nigeria’s Most Rev Peter Akinola and released on November 20, 2009 at a press conference in Washington , DC , its focus was on three issues that the enemy is using powerfully to destroy the Christian heritage of that country.

“In the main, the signatories affirm in the 4700-word declaration: ‘The profound, inherent, and equal dignity of every human being as a creature fashioned in the very image of God, possessing inherent rights of equal dignity and life; Marriage as a conjugal union of man and woman, ordained by God from the creation, and historically understood by believers and non-believers alike, to be the most basic institution in society and; Religious liberty, which is grounded in the character of God, the example of Christ, and the inherent freedom and dignity of human beings created in the divine image.’

“As we write this, well over 460,000 persons have signed on to the declaration. But that is not the story. The big deal is that it caught the eyes of Christians in the United Kingdom, made so great an impression on them, that on the eve of the last General Elections, they launched the Westminster Declaration of Christian Conscience 2010. A former Archbishop Canterbury, Lord Carey, was among 30 senior Christian Leaders, who signed and launched the declaration last Easter Sunday (April 4, 2010).

“Both in timing and content, it was widely seen as the Christian Manifesto for the election; deftly designed to send a clear message to all parliamentary candidates that Christians will be supporting only those whose politics do not conflict with Christian beliefs and interfere with their right to live according to those beliefs. Towards this end, the declaration articulated those range of policies around which churches in the UK are united, including support for marriage, opposition to assisted suicide and euthanasia, support for the rights of children born and unborn, and support for all those who are sick, disabled, addicted, elderly, poor, exploited, trafficked or exploited by unjust trade, aid or debt. In other words Christians were being galvanised not to vote for candidates whose previous records or current platforms conflict with these minimum.

“Mr President, it is my view that CAN, under your leadership, ought to spearhead a Nigerian Christian Charter along these lines, articulating the Christian standpoint on issues such as corruption, violation of voters’ rights through election rigging, freedom of worship and etc with a view to guiding our brethren in the choice of political party to join and candidates to vote for.  Thanks for your time, sir.”

It’s been four years since I made that case, in vain, it seems. You can therefore understand my excitement that Kingdom Men has accepted the challenge. Won’t you please join us? For inquiries please send email to info@kingdom-men.org or phone 08034502888.

AN ELIJAH RISES IN AMERICA

‘If Mr. al-Baghdadi won't convert to faith in Christ, then he should have no problem calling on his god "allah" to answer by fire. It will be a great stage for the world to finally see whose God is the one true God…"Allah" worshipped by the world's 1.6 billion Muslims, or the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of the Bible!’

Yes, you read that right; an Elijah has arisen in the United States and he is ready for a Mount Carmel-type showdown! His name is William Keller and he runs liveprayer.com, an internet-only church. In other words, what PUNCH’s Jide Ojo was asking of Nigeria’s prophets; what I had myself always wondered about, is set to take place if the other party thinks it fit to accept the challenge.

In concluding a two-part serial, Descent Into Darkness (June 29 & July 6, 2014), I alluded to the silence of Nigeria’s many Christian leaders in the face of increasing tyranny in the land. I wrote as follows:

“Please note the emphasis above on the prophets’ silence. It reminds me of a brilliant piece titled, “Where are the Nigerian prophets?” by PUNCH’s Jide Ojo. He wrote in part: ‘Just imagine (Christian) clerics…jointly or individually challenging Abubakar Shekau, the leader of Boko Haram, to a spiritual duel like Elijah of old did.  Just imagine what the defeat of Boko Haram and other terrorist groups by Christian leaders will do to the growth of Christianity and restoration of peace in Nigeria…Will our Christian leaders seize the moment to demonstrate their much talked about God-given spiritual prowess?’ I sometimes wonder too, but how can God use people who keep quiet in the face of evil be used by God? How can servants of God who are obeying the orders of the powers that be to “…See not… prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits” (Isaiah 30:10), operate as God’s agents?”  

You can therefore imagine how excited I was at receiving a bulletin in my inbox recently. Here’s the news slightly edited by me to remove any potentially offensive word:

“Liveprayer's Rev. Bill Keller has sent a personal video message to the head of ISIS, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, encouraging him to renounce Islam and inviting him to convert to Christianity. In his video message, Keller goes on to tell al-Baghdadi that if he refuses to renounce Islam, he is challenging him to a modern day "whose God will answer by fire" showdown like the prophet Elijah challenged the prophets of baal to on Mt. Carmel in the book of 1 Kings, Chapter 18.

“Keller stated, ‘As an evangelist, my life's work and desire is to lead lost souls to faith in Jesus Christ. The Bible says it is God's desire ALL come to repentance, that none be lost. The fact is Jesus died for the sins of ALL men, even Mr. al-Baghdadi’.

“When asked about his challenge to a modern day Mt. Carmel showdown, Keller smiled, ‘What Elijah did on Mt. Carmel was to expose the prophets of baal and their "god" as false prophets who believed in a false god…

“Keller went on, ‘If Mr. al-Baghdadi won't convert to faith in Christ, then he should have no problem calling on his god "allah" to answer by fire. It will be a great stage for the world to finally see whose God is the one true God…"Allah" worshipped by the world's 1.6 billion Muslims, or the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of the Bible!’

“When asked about fears for his personal safety Keller said, ‘Jesus said don't worry about the man who can kill your body, worry about the man who can kill your soul. You can only be killed once, and I have no fear of dying since only God will say when my work is finished. When He does, I will be ready to spend eternity in Heaven with Jesus. I trust God to protect me and when He answers by fire, the world will see Him in all of his glory and Islam will be exposed for the lie it is. This could start a true worldwide revival.’

“Rev. Keller has given al-Baghdadi until the end of July to either convert to Christianity or work out the details for the showdown to see whose God will answer by fire.”

Concerned that it might be a hoax, I, in line with journalism’s best practices, scoured the net for the video and for a while couldn’t find it, so I sent Bill Keller an email asking him to confirm the existence of the video and its supposed content. His reply was: ”I am..I did..and it is still there..here is the link..if I can help you answer any questions..be happy to..just email me..blessings” I checked the link he provided and yes the video was live on youtube.  I wrote to acknowledge the link and he followed up with this: “Blessings my friend..please help get this to various media sources in your country...it is time people stood up to a bully like this..like Elijah stood up to the false prophets of baal on Mt. Carmel..of course..you never know..al-Baghdadi might get saved..:)..

Is the stage set for a Mount Carmel type showdown somewhere soon, then?

WORLD CUP 2014: DID GOD FAIL BRAZIL?

“Faith, in this week of all weeks (the week leading to semi-final match), has come to the fore once again for Brazil and its beloved Selecao. In the hours before the semi-final against Germany, Scolari will find a chapel in Belo Horizonte and pray. Before emerging into the cacophony of noise at Estadio Minerao, the players will stand together and recite the Lord's Prayer as one. In churches and homes across Brazil, pictures of the players hang next to crosses and other religious symbols. These two pillars are inescapably intertwined here. Brazil's footballers - and the wider population - believe it is their destiny to win the World Cup in the City of God on 13 July.”

FIFA World Cup 2014 climaxes today with what promises to be an explosive intercontinental clash between Germany and Argentina. Did you read that? It’s Germany versus Argentina. Host, Brazil and almost everybody’s pre-tournament favourite for the trophy are not in the final. By the time you read this, they would have fought for top place against Holland and may won. But not even that is sure, as I write this.

Now, as you already know, unless you live on the moon, it is not just the failure of the team to qualify for the final, tragic as that is to Brazilians, it is the manner of their ouster; a whopping seven goals to one from the hands, or more appropriately, the legs of the German machine team. Humiliation, demolition, massacre, disgrace are some of the words that have been used to describe this new World Cup record – the most humiliating defeat at a World Cup semi-final. Incidentally it’s the only other record Brazil now holds, besides having won the cup more times than any other country.

How did the world’s best footballing nation come to suffer such devastating defeat? How did a country that did not anchor its expected victory only on skill, but also on the God factor fail so woefully?

Yes, the God factor was always a major part of Brazil’s strategic thinking for this and all previous championships. Let’s substantiate that.

In a BBC Sport article, “World Cup 2014: Faith and Football as Brazil Unites to Pray for Glory,” Ben Smith, writing from Rio De Janeiro reported incontrovertible evidence of the place of faith in this all-important national enterprise.

“It is hard to think of a country that combines sport and spirituality quite like Brazil”, he wrote. Beginning from the general, Smith noticed that “religious imagery is everywhere you look…. Close to where Brazil have trained in Teresopolis, there is a mountain range called God's fingers. Sao Paulo is named after Saint Paul, Salvador is named after Jesus, while Copacabana got its name from the Patron Saint of Bolivia, Virgin of the Candelaria.”

He proceeded to the particular: “Faith, in this week of all weeks (the week leading to semi-final match), has come to the fore once again for Brazil and its beloved Selecao. In the hours before the semi-final against Germany, Scolari will find a chapel in Belo Horizonte and pray. Before emerging into the cacophony of noise at Estadio Minerao, the players will stand together and recite the Lord's Prayer as one. “In churches and homes across Brazil, pictures of the players hang next to crosses and other religious symbols. These two pillars are inescapably intertwined here. Brazil's footballers - and the wider population - believe it is their destiny to win the World Cup in the City of God on 13 July.”

Prior to that stage of the tournament, the players had pressed faith into action to successfully. Ben reported that “before the penalty shootout in their last-16 game against Chile, Brazil captain Thiago Silva prayed alone on the sidelines. ‘I asked God to bless our players, especially [goalkeeper] Julio Cesar. He deserved that,’ he said.”

Continuing, Ben wrote: “What no-one knew was Cesar had placed a religious charm in his goal before the penalties began. It had been handed to him at the end of extra time by reserve goalkeeper Victor. ‘There is faith and there is superstition,’ Victor said. ‘In my case, it's faith. I am religious and I try to reinforce my spiritual side before every game. It is a way to strengthen myself and support my friends with my prayers. I had not planned to give it to Julio, but it happened on the spur of the moment. He welcomed it. It was a kind of reinforcement. I want to stress the importance of Julio as a goalkeeper. Faith is important, but we can't depend on faith alone. God does his part and we have to do our job on the field. Julio was well prepared.’”

Ben finds that Coach Scolari is also in the “victory by faith” business. Scolari, he wrote “has used it to bond and motivate the players. Before the victory over Colombia, he visited a chapel in the grounds of the team hotel in Fortaleza. In the dressing room before the match, the squad repeated the Lord's Prayer. And at the final whistle, defender David Luiz sank to his knees and prayed again.”

That brings us to the faith of the players. David Luiz typifies that. He told Ben: "My faith in Jesus gives me strength to keep on going out onto the field and to do my best…But I also want to inspire others - that is what God inspires me to do. For me, true life is found in the relationship with Jesus Christ. I believe that everything in life belongs to God and he has a clear plan for us if we follow him."

With all of these, why did Brazil fail to win the World Cup? Why did they fall so badly to Germany? Did God fail brazil? WHAT DO YOU THINK?

DESCENT INTO DARKNESS (2)

"My conclusion, then as now is: “when the media is being intimidated; when governors’ right to free movement and association is circumscribed; when military operatives treat elected officials with disdain; when impunity becomes the order of the day; when in the face of all that the prophets are silent, that is darkness visible. Please note the emphasis above on the prophets’ silence. It reminds me of a brilliant piece titled, “Where are the Nigerian prophets?” by PUNCH’s Jide Ojo..." 

June 2014, I wrote last week, will be remembered for a number of actions taken by agents of President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration “portend danger to our democracy and the corporate existence of our nation, Nigeria.”

Those actions, mainly infractions on civil and fundamental rights, not just of ordinary citizens, but also, of political leaders who belong to the opposition camp.

There was what I characterised as “an ill-explained clampdown on newspapers by the military authorities, which began on June 6 in Abuja and continued for almost two weeks spreading to some other parts of the country.” I pointed out that there had been no “report of the presidency distancing itself from this unconstitutional attempt to intimidate the media” and described as “portent number one”.

Portent number two was the Thursday June 19, well-coordinated exclusion of at least two governors from of the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) from the final campaign rally of the incumbent governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi at Ado-Ekiti, the state capital. While Edo’s Adams Oshiomhole was not even allowed the privilege of living his Benin City base by helicopter that he had legitimated hired, River’s Chibuike Amaechi was “luckier”, he was allowed to land in Akure, Ondo State. But what happened thereafter was simply unthinkable in a democracy. He was hounded out of the area by military operatives.

The Presidency’s reaction through spokesman Reuben Abati, as I noted, evasive, at best: “…security agencies had a duty to stop those who might be able to compromise the process from achieving their aim…”

Another party chieftain, ex-Governor Ogbonnaya Onu related his experience to an interviwer this way: “I also had a personal experience. I travelled in an aircraft which does not have facilities for night landing to Akure. We had to travel on road to Ado Ekiti and as soon as we concluded what we were doing in Ado Ekiti we rushed back to Akure Airport only to find out that our plane was not allowed to take off. It happened to me and some others who travelled with me.  Chief Audu Ogbeh was one of those affected. 

Also affected at that time was the governor of Imo State. When we saw the military and the three aircraft at the tarmac and were prevented from taking off we had to drive back, which was another one and a half hour. By then, it was already late so we decided that we must come back to Abuja because some of us travelled with just the dress on our bodies and there was no way we could pass the night in Ado Ekiti. So we had to leave Ado Ekiti around 7:30pm to arrive Abuja by 2am. So you could imagine the risk we took, although we thank God that the journey was safe. Those who went to Owerri got there around 11pm. It is really sad that the Federal Government can use the military to prevent Nigerian citizens from using the airports when they are in good condition from exercising their fundamental human rights. “

There was also the experience of House of Representatives Speaker, Tambuwal in which in brazen violation of protocol, a military operative insisted on searching his official vehicle before he could be allowed to enter the venue of a conference in Kaduna.

In concluding that piece, I raised the following posers: “…who gave the orders? If it was done unilaterally by the military high command, they acted outside of their constitutional authority in a democracy and it may be a sign of restiveness in the military. If they did and it has no repercussions, it may as well be running a diarchy. If the president approved those actions, it would be a clear sign of desperation as we approach the 2015 elections. And using the military to achieve political ends is akin to riding the tiger!”

My conclusion, then as now is: “when the media is being intimidated; when governors’ right to free movement and association is circumscribed; when military operatives treat elected officials with disdain; when impunity becomes the order of the day; when in the face of all that the prophets are silent, that is darkness visible.

Please note the emphasis above on the prophets’ silence. It reminds me of a brilliant piece titled, “Where are the Nigerian prophets?” by PUNCH’s Jide Ojo. He wrote in part: “Just imagine (Christian) clerics…jointly or individually challenging Abubakar Shekau, the leader of Boko Haram, to a spiritual duel like Elijah of old did.  Just imagine what the defeat of Boko Haram and other terrorist groups by Christian leaders will do to the growth of Christianity and restoration of peace in Nigeria…Will our Christian leaders seize the moment to demonstrate their much talked about God-given spiritual prowess?

I sometimes wonder too, but how can God use people who keep quiet in the face of evil be used by God? How can servants of God who have are obeying the orders of the powers that be to “…See not… prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits” (Isaiah 30:10), operate as God’s agents? Let him that has ears hear.” CONCLUDED