KINGDOM PERSPECTIVE
with Remi Akano; e-mail: remiakanosr@believeandrepent.com
For many weeks now, I had “threatened” to pose the Unity Question on this page as a follow-up to what turned out to be series: A Wake-Up Call to Church Leaders. Here at last is that “threat” being carried out! My apologies please, to one and all.
We had said at the onset of the “Wake-Up Call” series that one of the major reasons for the Church’s lack of influence is the disunity in the body. Yes the body of Christ is what the Bible calls the church. Anyone with a physical body, I believe, can confirm that any disconnect between any two organs automatically leads to dysfunction, at least, graduating to malfunction and, left unchecked, subsequently to systemic breakdown. Have you ever seen someone who suffers from Parkinson’s? That is, at its most basic explanation the result of a disconnect between the brain and the limbs. You see, it is that simple; so simple you need plenty of “education” to miss it!
Frankly, I am truly exasperated by the attitude of the various arms of the Church to this fundamental commandment of Jesus Christ as to dub it heresy, as in falling away from the truth! No, I am not exaggerating, the teachings and injunctions of the Bible on the oneness of the church, appear to my uneducated mind to be so clear and so direct that the choices we have are either to obey or rebel. Much of the church, not just in Nigeria, but in most parts of the world, seems to have chosen the path of rebellion. Again, I am not exaggerating.
If anything I have said gives you the impression that I am passionate about this subject, you are right. I am so passionate about it because uniting the Church has become one of my ministries. I like to count myself among those you might call church unity activists. Let me explain that; in fact let me explain how the I was tenderly, gingerly led me into an acute awareness of this critical issue.
Five years ago, I felt a leading to put my training and experience in the media and marketing communication to work for the propagation of the gospel. I had been a magazine editor and publisher for years and naturally, I felt the place to start was publish a magazine. After going about it my way by making the magazine a mere mini-mag in what I had styled a multi-mag monthly and it did not work, I went back to God to find out what I was supposed to be doing. Clearly, the instruction was publish a Christian magazine. That for me, as a Pentecostal meant just one thing: publish for the Pentecostal wing of the church. In fact, virtually everybody I interacted with took that fact for granted. But I kept having this check in my spirit that I might not have gotten my brief right. As I prayerfully tried to pursue the vision, the word “kingdom” continually leaped at me and the magazine eventually took the name KINGDOMPeople. Then it dawned on me! If it is a kingdom publication, it is meant for the entire church, not any wing of it!
As one of my pastors would say, please come with me, I am taking you somewhere. I eventually produced a pilot edition and then a maiden edition, about one year apart! The next edition is still being awaited! You know why? Many powerful members of my pentecostal family saw the magazine as a hybrid that cannot contribute much to the growth of the church; church obviously as in the Pentecostal and charismatic wing of it. And what did the “denominationals” think? For some, it was “ah, here comes another poaching tool of the Pentecostals!” For some others, we must protect our congregation from Pentecostal pollution. The result? No patronage of any kind; at least not the kind that sustain a colour gloss monthly. My protests to God after the failure elicited a strong impression in my spirit; I was being called to publish a magazine to propagate the unity of the church, not one to benefit from an existing well-knit readership! In other words, KINGDOMPeople has to be one of Christ’s tools for uniting his body.
In the event, I beat a retreat on the magazine project to await the fullness of time and became active in what I have since discovered is an emerging Church Unity movement. We have set up a One Church Campaign as a project of the magazine. I have written and published a mini-book on the subject which was presented to a multi-denominational audience at a One Church Luncheon over a year ago. The book circulated free. In the emerging movement in the Lagos area alone are Sonship Unity Foundation, One Spirit Club and One Body Ministries. Sonship Unity Foundation is God’s vision to Pastor Paul Adams, the famous actor and producer. The group, with which I have the privilege of being involved with has held a number of unity events and has plans for many pan-Church projects. One Spirit Club is anchored by Kunle Lagunju, a young man whose zeal for things of God is simply amazing. They are also hard at work propagating unity. One Body Ministries is run by Joseph Baiyekusi, whom I have not met but who is doing a great job through his Unity message in his free monthly newspaper format magazine “Ekklesia.”
Now I have said all of that first to explain how I got into the fray, as it were and why this is has become one of my life’s works; the men’s ministry being the other major one. I have also in the course of saying all of that pointed out that God has begun to move in the hearts of many people to take up the challenge of bringing the church back to the path of obedience, ion this very crucial subject.
In spite of this however, the task remains almost daunting. There is what Rev Ladi Thompson, Pastor of Living Waters Unlimited describes as Pentecostal arrogance to deal with. There is denominational holier-than-thou to confront. There is the worship by many top pastors at the altar of a certain kind of trinity known as”my self, my church and I”
Let me share a couple of insights with you from personal experience and observations. A couple of quotations from the mini-book I mentioned earlier should come in useful here. Writing in that book, one attempted a snapshot of the state of the Church in Nigeria today under the title, One Christ; Many Bodies? On distrust for instance, we have this passage: “The distrust is so strong that a respected member of the KINGDOMPeople Commission, a body of Christians from across the denominational divides who have agreed to serve as conduits of God’s wisdom to the vision (of KINGDOMPeople magazine of which this writer is Editor) told the inaugural session of the group that his particular denomination finds it easier to deal with Moslems than Pentecostals. This according to him was because Pentecostals were perceived as deriving pleasure in condemning the orthodox churches in order to poach away their members! Thank God for such forthrightness, which is the rock upon which unity can be built.”
The passage on doctrinal disagreements reads: “Closely related to the issue of distrust is that of disagreement on doctrine, mostly minor ones.
“Many a Pentecostal thinks that the Catholic confessing his/her sin to the priest is misapplying scripture and speaks derisively about it. Many an Anglican thinks speaking in tongue is akin to speaking gibberish and jumps at every opportunity to condemn it.
“Every Saturday morning, one brother from the Seventh Day Adventist Church goes around my neighbourhood proclaiming that day as the Sabbath and assuring all who work that day of dire repercussions. He also never misses the opportunity provided by Sundays to condemn as a waste of time all worship efforts that day.
“Among the Pentecostals there are differences of the pseudo-doctrinal type too. The deliverance minister is dismissed as preying on the people’s ignorance; undertaking long punitive fasting and prayer projects and seeing demons everywhere. The healing minister is a miracle-purveyor who heals at crusades but is unable to disciple the people because he doesn’t have the word-base to do so. He is therefore responsible for most cases of the clean house syndrome that Jesus spoke about in Luke11: 24-26. The teacher is laughed at as lacking in power; teaching the word with no signs and wonders following. The so-called prosperity preacher is branded an unholy filthy lucre-chasing congregation manipulator whose ministry cannot stand the test of scrutiny. And the holiness preacher is seen as hypocritical or ignorant or both.”
Flowing from this total lack of unity which is, at one level, the result of total denominational loyalty, a number of unfortunate manifestations are noteworthy. We’ll examine them together next week, if the Lord tarries.
First published in a Nigerian Daily, the Sunday Independent, published in Lagos Nigeria.
Wednesday, 12 September 2007
THAT CHAMPIONS MAY NOT BE HOMELESS
KINGDOM PERSPECTIVE
with Remi Akano
e-mail: remiakanosr@believeandrepent.com
As you read this, one event will be opening in far away London, which can rightly be described as momentous. It’s this year’s edition of International Gathering of Champions Conference. It is an annual event of Kingsway International Christian Centre (KICC) founded and run by Nigeria’s Pastor Matthew Ashimolowo. It is epochal even. And I am not being hyperbolic.
You can be forgiven for cynically asking, why? Is it the theme: Open Heavens? Is it the fact that such giants of the faith as Bishop Eddie Long, Tudor Bismark, Pastor Jamal-Harrison Bryant, Dr Marcus Lamb, Dr. N. Cindy Trimm, Robb Thompson, Mike Murdock and Bill Winston would be ministering? Or the calibre of anointed music ministers who would be in attendance led by such famous names as Minister Israel Houghton and Pastor Donnie McClurkin and including Psalmist Judy Bailey, Minister Byron Cage and the KICC Mass Choir?
Those would be enough reasons were this a promotional piece. Those would be good enough reasons to urge you to catch the next available flight to London to “be a champion” or at least rub shoulders with the champions. But no, this is NOT a promotional piece. It is a piece meant to be yet another wake-up call to the church.
You see, IGOC 2007 has been styled “The Last One” by its organizers and even the event website is www.thelastone.com. And unless you have been following the drama playing out between KICC and the authorities in London, you might even be tempted to applaud the packaging savvy of KICC event people. But like a beautiful bandage over a wound, the Last One tells the story of battles fought, won and lost; the story of how the enemy has successfully bruised the heal of a flourishing seed of the woman, but thanks to God is blissfully unaware of his exposed head!
This quote from Pastor Matthew Ashimolowo’s welcome message on the lastone.com website introduces the heart of the matter: “…It will also be memorable for another reason - this will be the last IGOC conference to be held on this site in Hackney, because our land has been acquired to use for the 2012 London Olympic Games. So a chapter in our history is drawing to a close. But with an end comes an opportunity for a new beginning, and we bless God for His faithfulness to us over all the preceding years, and trust Him for greater things to come. IGOC will continue, and in due course we will let you know where it will take place next year.”
Allow me to background this a little. For about five years now, KICC had been in a battle to retain the 9.5-acre land upon which its church is built in Hackney due to the authorities’ refusal to grant her zoning permits. They were given until November 2006 to relocate. A spokesperson for the church, Charlotte Coker, had admitted that much last year. Her words: “the church has been trying for several years to get permission to continue religious activities on the site and to build offices, a hotel and a sports arena. The request was denied in 2003 and was upheld on appeal in 2004”.
So, on the face of it, this is a straight case of land use violation for which, were it to be Abuja in the heydays of Obasanjo, Nasir El-Rufai would simply have moved in the bulldozers. But please listen to Pastor Asimolowo’s perspective on the issue back then. Speaking to Charisma magazine, he said: “KICC is facing spiritual warfare in the extreme. Christians around the world need to snap out of the thought that Europe is a Christian continent. It is now post-Christian, and persecution is happening in ever-increasing frequency. Britain carries the same spirit.”
Expatiating on the spiritual angle he continued: ‘The local authority has now deliberately canceled the bus route in front of our church so people will struggle to get to church on Sunday. They are also now wheel-clamping cars of people attending our three services in the surrounding roads to KICC on Sundays which they didn’t do previously. Mosques not far from us are not experiencing the same thing so we know what this is all about….KICC has cooperated with the LDA in trying to find an alternative home. But the four sites the church was shown were inappropriate or will not be available in time. The church researched another 21 locations to no avail. Since then the LDA has been dragging its feet…KICC wants to be a centre of an outreach to athletes, officials, media and spectators who visit London during the Olympics.”
Back then, Pastor Ashimolowo’s concluding statement had caught our attention and in a piece titled, “KICC Versus London: Much More Than the Olympics Park”, we commended it to readers of this column (published elsewhere). The pastor had told Charisma “…We are soliciting the prayers of the body Christ. The bible says in Isaiah 59:19 that ‘when the enemy comes in like a flood, the spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him.”
I do not have any doubt in my mind that many people would have hearkened to the pastor’s request for prayer at the time. I also do not doubt that our prayer answering God did hear and has responded and in his omniscience has decided to open a new chapter for “Europe’s fastest growing church.” That is why they have to move.
The good news is that they have found a place. Pastor Ashimolowo said on thelastone.com website: “A plot at Beam Reach, a brown field industrial site in the London Borough of Havering, has been identified by the London Development Agency as a suitable location for our community complex. With the full support of the Olympic Delivery Authority and the London Development Agency, from whom we are acquiring the Site, we are now seeking to make a permanent new home in Havering.”
But they are a long way away from clinching it. There are several layers of applications and approvals required. London Thames Gateway Development Corporation (LTGDC), the London Borough of Havering and other stakeholders, including local people will all be involved. In Asimolowo’s words: “The planning authority will assess KICC’s relocation to Beam Reach, based on the type of use proposed and its relationship to national and local policies and other planning issues”.
That is why I say this is a wake-up call. The enemy will do its best to stall the process, so we need to counter him with our prayers. Let me end by paraphrasing my conclusion in the 2006 article. In situations like this the word of God in Isaiah 45:1 is quite reassuring. It reads like this in the Message translation: “GOD's Message to his anointed, to Cyrus, whom he took by the hand To give the task of taming the nations, of terrifying their kings-- He gave him free rein, no restrictions.” Let’s war with the word of God so that cyberspace may host www.newbeginning.com to herald next year’s IGOC Conference.
First published in a Nigerian Daily, the Sunday Independent, published in Lagos Nigeria.
with Remi Akano
e-mail: remiakanosr@believeandrepent.com
As you read this, one event will be opening in far away London, which can rightly be described as momentous. It’s this year’s edition of International Gathering of Champions Conference. It is an annual event of Kingsway International Christian Centre (KICC) founded and run by Nigeria’s Pastor Matthew Ashimolowo. It is epochal even. And I am not being hyperbolic.
You can be forgiven for cynically asking, why? Is it the theme: Open Heavens? Is it the fact that such giants of the faith as Bishop Eddie Long, Tudor Bismark, Pastor Jamal-Harrison Bryant, Dr Marcus Lamb, Dr. N. Cindy Trimm, Robb Thompson, Mike Murdock and Bill Winston would be ministering? Or the calibre of anointed music ministers who would be in attendance led by such famous names as Minister Israel Houghton and Pastor Donnie McClurkin and including Psalmist Judy Bailey, Minister Byron Cage and the KICC Mass Choir?
Those would be enough reasons were this a promotional piece. Those would be good enough reasons to urge you to catch the next available flight to London to “be a champion” or at least rub shoulders with the champions. But no, this is NOT a promotional piece. It is a piece meant to be yet another wake-up call to the church.
You see, IGOC 2007 has been styled “The Last One” by its organizers and even the event website is www.thelastone.com. And unless you have been following the drama playing out between KICC and the authorities in London, you might even be tempted to applaud the packaging savvy of KICC event people. But like a beautiful bandage over a wound, the Last One tells the story of battles fought, won and lost; the story of how the enemy has successfully bruised the heal of a flourishing seed of the woman, but thanks to God is blissfully unaware of his exposed head!
This quote from Pastor Matthew Ashimolowo’s welcome message on the lastone.com website introduces the heart of the matter: “…It will also be memorable for another reason - this will be the last IGOC conference to be held on this site in Hackney, because our land has been acquired to use for the 2012 London Olympic Games. So a chapter in our history is drawing to a close. But with an end comes an opportunity for a new beginning, and we bless God for His faithfulness to us over all the preceding years, and trust Him for greater things to come. IGOC will continue, and in due course we will let you know where it will take place next year.”
Allow me to background this a little. For about five years now, KICC had been in a battle to retain the 9.5-acre land upon which its church is built in Hackney due to the authorities’ refusal to grant her zoning permits. They were given until November 2006 to relocate. A spokesperson for the church, Charlotte Coker, had admitted that much last year. Her words: “the church has been trying for several years to get permission to continue religious activities on the site and to build offices, a hotel and a sports arena. The request was denied in 2003 and was upheld on appeal in 2004”.
So, on the face of it, this is a straight case of land use violation for which, were it to be Abuja in the heydays of Obasanjo, Nasir El-Rufai would simply have moved in the bulldozers. But please listen to Pastor Asimolowo’s perspective on the issue back then. Speaking to Charisma magazine, he said: “KICC is facing spiritual warfare in the extreme. Christians around the world need to snap out of the thought that Europe is a Christian continent. It is now post-Christian, and persecution is happening in ever-increasing frequency. Britain carries the same spirit.”
Expatiating on the spiritual angle he continued: ‘The local authority has now deliberately canceled the bus route in front of our church so people will struggle to get to church on Sunday. They are also now wheel-clamping cars of people attending our three services in the surrounding roads to KICC on Sundays which they didn’t do previously. Mosques not far from us are not experiencing the same thing so we know what this is all about….KICC has cooperated with the LDA in trying to find an alternative home. But the four sites the church was shown were inappropriate or will not be available in time. The church researched another 21 locations to no avail. Since then the LDA has been dragging its feet…KICC wants to be a centre of an outreach to athletes, officials, media and spectators who visit London during the Olympics.”
Back then, Pastor Ashimolowo’s concluding statement had caught our attention and in a piece titled, “KICC Versus London: Much More Than the Olympics Park”, we commended it to readers of this column (published elsewhere). The pastor had told Charisma “…We are soliciting the prayers of the body Christ. The bible says in Isaiah 59:19 that ‘when the enemy comes in like a flood, the spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him.”
I do not have any doubt in my mind that many people would have hearkened to the pastor’s request for prayer at the time. I also do not doubt that our prayer answering God did hear and has responded and in his omniscience has decided to open a new chapter for “Europe’s fastest growing church.” That is why they have to move.
The good news is that they have found a place. Pastor Ashimolowo said on thelastone.com website: “A plot at Beam Reach, a brown field industrial site in the London Borough of Havering, has been identified by the London Development Agency as a suitable location for our community complex. With the full support of the Olympic Delivery Authority and the London Development Agency, from whom we are acquiring the Site, we are now seeking to make a permanent new home in Havering.”
But they are a long way away from clinching it. There are several layers of applications and approvals required. London Thames Gateway Development Corporation (LTGDC), the London Borough of Havering and other stakeholders, including local people will all be involved. In Asimolowo’s words: “The planning authority will assess KICC’s relocation to Beam Reach, based on the type of use proposed and its relationship to national and local policies and other planning issues”.
That is why I say this is a wake-up call. The enemy will do its best to stall the process, so we need to counter him with our prayers. Let me end by paraphrasing my conclusion in the 2006 article. In situations like this the word of God in Isaiah 45:1 is quite reassuring. It reads like this in the Message translation: “GOD's Message to his anointed, to Cyrus, whom he took by the hand To give the task of taming the nations, of terrifying their kings-- He gave him free rein, no restrictions.” Let’s war with the word of God so that cyberspace may host www.newbeginning.com to herald next year’s IGOC Conference.
First published in a Nigerian Daily, the Sunday Independent, published in Lagos Nigeria.
Monday, 20 August 2007
WANTED: A CHRISTIAN LEGISLATIVE AGENDA
KPerspective, August 19, 2007
First I like to apologise to those readers of this column who may have been awaiting my take on what we had these past few weeks promoted as “The Unity Question”. Truth is, I really cannot wait for it myself! But, unlike most newspaper exertions, I try not to take “personal charge” of things; I try to follow my heart, not my head. In other words, I tend to write as the Spirit leads, if you forgive me for spiritualizing! I assure you that the Unity Question will come your way shortly.
But while we wait, two news items during the last week makes something of a continuation of the series,”A Wake-Up Call to Church Leaders” inevitable. And that, in spite of the headline is, essentially what this is.
The first of the reports carried last Sunday was headlined ”Sharia Court Arraigns 18 for Sodomy.” The meat of the story was that 18 young men, aged between 18 and 21, were allegedly caught in Bauchi in an act of sodomy. The report published in this paper last Sunday reads in part: “..The suspects were arrested in a hotel around the Federal Polytechnic, Bauchi, planning to contract a marriage between two of them, a move that is against Sharia law that is practiced in the state… some of the accused were wearing female clothing, and had come to the city from five neighbouring states of Gombe, Plateau, Yobe, Jigawa and Bauchi to celebrate a gay marriage…All the accused persons pleaded not guilty to the offence as read out to them and the trial judge, Taminu Abubakar, adjourned the matter till August 21 when the prosecutor is expected to call his witnesses and tender any exhibit to prove his case…”
The second report was in the Monday edition of Daily Independent and it was based on the communiqué issued at the end of a quarterly meeting of the Christian Association of Nigeria (Northern States & Abuja zone). Reported under the headline, “Release Bamaiyi, Al-Mustapha, CAN Tells FG”, the last paragraph read: “The communiqué urged the National Assembly to expedite action on the Christian Pilgrim commission Bill that seeks to outlaw homosexualism, lesbianism and other abominable sexual practices upon which the wrath of God dangles.”
I am sure you can already see the nexus between the reports. From the first report, it is clear that our Moslem compatriots got on the case of homosexuality before us. We may have our reservations about the death penalty attached to this offence by Sharia Law, but we sure agree that this is an issue that does require some government restraining action before we join the so-called civilized rights-crazy world of the west.
That is why this columnist can be counted amongst those who welcomed and tried to promote the Obasanjo administration effort to outlaw homosexual liaisons and gay marriages. We had described the executive bill presented to the last National Assembly as “Obasanjo’s Blow for Righteousness” and right into the twilight days of the Assembly we were calling on CAN, PFN and all Christians to rise up for the bill.
In concluding one of the articles on this subject we had written: “That is why all Kingdom-minded Nigerians must rise in defence of this “blow for righteousness” and safeguard of our public morality. Believe it or not, the tardiness we are seeing, though a seeming characteristic of our law-making process may be the result of subtle, underground resistance from the enemy camp to which foreign funding is always available. Also, you never know the “sexual preferences” of some of our legislators; after all, didn’t late coupist Gideon Orkar alert the nation of the presence of homosexuality in high places during the dark days of military rule? …” We must move NOW. Every one of us must leave our representatives in no doubt where we stand. And we must all rise up in prayer to ensure that this first body blow is delivered without further delay. Christian Association of Nigeria, the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria and all such Christian bodies must rise; unite with all who wish Nigeria well to push this bill through now! Of course, nothing happened!
What the CAN Northern Zone communiqué represents, in the opinion of this writer, is the same weak, tame approach to issues of grave importance to the political, economic and even moral health of the polity. All we do is “call upon government” “appeal for calm”, “call upon Nigerians to pray” etc. When are we going to be pro-active? CAN’s communiqué possibly did not even get the title of the bill they are calling upon the legislators to work on. Or how do you explain a “Christian Pilgrim Commission Bill that seeks to outlaw homosexualism, lesbianism and other abominable sexual practices…” Let’s get serious, brethren.
That is the rationale for some of the suggestions we have canvassed on these pages recently. It is pertinent to recall one of the suggestions. Specifically we canvassed the need to establish structures “for monitoring, liaison with and influencing of the activities of the three departments of governments at all levels.” In particular we wondered “…if it were possible to appoint a legislative liaison and monitoring group. Such a group may be armed with a Christian legislative agenda and a check-list of the attributes of just laws. With a legislative agenda of say, three laws that Nigeria Christians would love to see passed in a particular legislative year, this group can liaise with Christian legislators and even powerful non-Christians where necessary. With a well thought-out legislative checklist Christian members can be guided to oppose or support or propose amendments to bills.”
If we were wondering about the efficacy of the suggestion when that piece was written, we feel fully persuaded today that “a legislative liaison and monitoring group armed with a Christian legislative agenda and a check-list of the attributes of just laws” is an imperative, if Christianity is going to make meaningful contributions to the development of democracy and the rule of law in our beloved nation. (Please feel free to join this debate at: http://thegreatcompany.blogspot.com or send your comments to the email address above.)
FROM MY INBOX WEIGHTY ISSUES
Thank you so much for your piece titled “A Wake-Up Call to Church Leaders”. It made my day! Some of the bewildering issues I ponder daily with respect to the church and Nigeria were touched on. You also went further to make very useful suggestions as to how we can commence. These issues are weighty and resolution will by no means be Child’s play.
The one that stood out for me and I believe can easily be jump-started is the retreat for Christian politicians on what is expected of them. The Moral values, good governance and accountability to not only to their political constituencies but to their Christian constituency too. I personally believe that if they attend these retreats and there is a focus on being responsible and accountable to lift the social and moral fabrics of their states, change may be recorded with some of them.
A lot of these people get into these leadership positions by ‘accident’. They are not prepared, have no vision of what they want for their states and can’t see that they are on a serious mission from God to bring about positive change. A god father sponsors them and uses them for his/her own personal aggrandisement and they soon catch up with the greed around them, the rest is history. We need people who on their own have an all consuming passion to bring about positive change and leave a legacy for the people. We are tired of people whose only claim to modesty is that they were begged to contest for elective posts.
Church leaders themselves are not helping, they dance and jubilate that the president or governors and government functionaries attend their services/churches and donate large sums of monies ostensibly for ‘kingdom’ work, they fail to speak the truth as it is without equivocation and stir up or prick their consciences, which brings about deep repentance. The leaders suck up to them so shamelessly and are so satisfied with mere attendance to their church. There is usually no difference between ‘church people’ begging for money and other material things and position from the people he/she encounters daily in the secular society. They are confused about and by the ‘church’. They can’t trust the church.
The church in Nigeria is in a serious state of decay and she, herself, needs immediate help. The church associations are fragmented and have no common agenda, you touched a bit on this, but it is critical that some form of forum be created to assist church leaders from different denominations to understand that the church is 1(one). The American church is pushing ahead with its issues in spite of the differences.
Maybe, that’s what our church (name supplied) was set up to do through people like you. I trust God to assist you with your magazine to fully take-off and remain on the stands as a consistent voice countering these ills. When the finances are in, then, radio programs, television programs, etc will reach as many audiences as possible and then we can begin to influence the political and social scenes more effectively. Did you notice that in the last elections, all the candidates purported to be have been endorsed by the ‘church’ did not go far. How were they chosen as the ‘right’ candidates? Who chose them? I heard that one of the candidates for governorship in Lagos (name supplied) for example was chosen because his wife is a Christian and attends a certain church. Was that enough credential to recommend him? Does he listen to his wife in political matters, etc? I can go on but let me stop here. Thank you!
Rev Uche Biosa (Mrs),
Oregun, Lagos,
Nigeria
IMPRESSED BUT…
We are impressed with the concept, depth and quality of analysis of the subject matter. No, we don't necessarily agree with the prescriptions contained in the write up. Still, if we can keep the issue on the front burner we just might generate enough momentum to help individuals that still have the opportunity to do right at whatever level of leadership - family, business, church, community, politics, etc..
Well done and please keep up the good works…Have peace.
Rev David Opasanya
Managing Business for Christ,
Apapa, Lagos, Nigeria:
Article first published in a Nigerian daily newspaper, Sunday Independent which is produced in Lagos, Nigeria.
First I like to apologise to those readers of this column who may have been awaiting my take on what we had these past few weeks promoted as “The Unity Question”. Truth is, I really cannot wait for it myself! But, unlike most newspaper exertions, I try not to take “personal charge” of things; I try to follow my heart, not my head. In other words, I tend to write as the Spirit leads, if you forgive me for spiritualizing! I assure you that the Unity Question will come your way shortly.
But while we wait, two news items during the last week makes something of a continuation of the series,”A Wake-Up Call to Church Leaders” inevitable. And that, in spite of the headline is, essentially what this is.
The first of the reports carried last Sunday was headlined ”Sharia Court Arraigns 18 for Sodomy.” The meat of the story was that 18 young men, aged between 18 and 21, were allegedly caught in Bauchi in an act of sodomy. The report published in this paper last Sunday reads in part: “..The suspects were arrested in a hotel around the Federal Polytechnic, Bauchi, planning to contract a marriage between two of them, a move that is against Sharia law that is practiced in the state… some of the accused were wearing female clothing, and had come to the city from five neighbouring states of Gombe, Plateau, Yobe, Jigawa and Bauchi to celebrate a gay marriage…All the accused persons pleaded not guilty to the offence as read out to them and the trial judge, Taminu Abubakar, adjourned the matter till August 21 when the prosecutor is expected to call his witnesses and tender any exhibit to prove his case…”
The second report was in the Monday edition of Daily Independent and it was based on the communiqué issued at the end of a quarterly meeting of the Christian Association of Nigeria (Northern States & Abuja zone). Reported under the headline, “Release Bamaiyi, Al-Mustapha, CAN Tells FG”, the last paragraph read: “The communiqué urged the National Assembly to expedite action on the Christian Pilgrim commission Bill that seeks to outlaw homosexualism, lesbianism and other abominable sexual practices upon which the wrath of God dangles.”
I am sure you can already see the nexus between the reports. From the first report, it is clear that our Moslem compatriots got on the case of homosexuality before us. We may have our reservations about the death penalty attached to this offence by Sharia Law, but we sure agree that this is an issue that does require some government restraining action before we join the so-called civilized rights-crazy world of the west.
That is why this columnist can be counted amongst those who welcomed and tried to promote the Obasanjo administration effort to outlaw homosexual liaisons and gay marriages. We had described the executive bill presented to the last National Assembly as “Obasanjo’s Blow for Righteousness” and right into the twilight days of the Assembly we were calling on CAN, PFN and all Christians to rise up for the bill.
In concluding one of the articles on this subject we had written: “That is why all Kingdom-minded Nigerians must rise in defence of this “blow for righteousness” and safeguard of our public morality. Believe it or not, the tardiness we are seeing, though a seeming characteristic of our law-making process may be the result of subtle, underground resistance from the enemy camp to which foreign funding is always available. Also, you never know the “sexual preferences” of some of our legislators; after all, didn’t late coupist Gideon Orkar alert the nation of the presence of homosexuality in high places during the dark days of military rule? …” We must move NOW. Every one of us must leave our representatives in no doubt where we stand. And we must all rise up in prayer to ensure that this first body blow is delivered without further delay. Christian Association of Nigeria, the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria and all such Christian bodies must rise; unite with all who wish Nigeria well to push this bill through now! Of course, nothing happened!
What the CAN Northern Zone communiqué represents, in the opinion of this writer, is the same weak, tame approach to issues of grave importance to the political, economic and even moral health of the polity. All we do is “call upon government” “appeal for calm”, “call upon Nigerians to pray” etc. When are we going to be pro-active? CAN’s communiqué possibly did not even get the title of the bill they are calling upon the legislators to work on. Or how do you explain a “Christian Pilgrim Commission Bill that seeks to outlaw homosexualism, lesbianism and other abominable sexual practices…” Let’s get serious, brethren.
That is the rationale for some of the suggestions we have canvassed on these pages recently. It is pertinent to recall one of the suggestions. Specifically we canvassed the need to establish structures “for monitoring, liaison with and influencing of the activities of the three departments of governments at all levels.” In particular we wondered “…if it were possible to appoint a legislative liaison and monitoring group. Such a group may be armed with a Christian legislative agenda and a check-list of the attributes of just laws. With a legislative agenda of say, three laws that Nigeria Christians would love to see passed in a particular legislative year, this group can liaise with Christian legislators and even powerful non-Christians where necessary. With a well thought-out legislative checklist Christian members can be guided to oppose or support or propose amendments to bills.”
If we were wondering about the efficacy of the suggestion when that piece was written, we feel fully persuaded today that “a legislative liaison and monitoring group armed with a Christian legislative agenda and a check-list of the attributes of just laws” is an imperative, if Christianity is going to make meaningful contributions to the development of democracy and the rule of law in our beloved nation. (Please feel free to join this debate at: http://thegreatcompany.blogspot.com or send your comments to the email address above.)
FROM MY INBOX WEIGHTY ISSUES
Thank you so much for your piece titled “A Wake-Up Call to Church Leaders”. It made my day! Some of the bewildering issues I ponder daily with respect to the church and Nigeria were touched on. You also went further to make very useful suggestions as to how we can commence. These issues are weighty and resolution will by no means be Child’s play.
The one that stood out for me and I believe can easily be jump-started is the retreat for Christian politicians on what is expected of them. The Moral values, good governance and accountability to not only to their political constituencies but to their Christian constituency too. I personally believe that if they attend these retreats and there is a focus on being responsible and accountable to lift the social and moral fabrics of their states, change may be recorded with some of them.
A lot of these people get into these leadership positions by ‘accident’. They are not prepared, have no vision of what they want for their states and can’t see that they are on a serious mission from God to bring about positive change. A god father sponsors them and uses them for his/her own personal aggrandisement and they soon catch up with the greed around them, the rest is history. We need people who on their own have an all consuming passion to bring about positive change and leave a legacy for the people. We are tired of people whose only claim to modesty is that they were begged to contest for elective posts.
Church leaders themselves are not helping, they dance and jubilate that the president or governors and government functionaries attend their services/churches and donate large sums of monies ostensibly for ‘kingdom’ work, they fail to speak the truth as it is without equivocation and stir up or prick their consciences, which brings about deep repentance. The leaders suck up to them so shamelessly and are so satisfied with mere attendance to their church. There is usually no difference between ‘church people’ begging for money and other material things and position from the people he/she encounters daily in the secular society. They are confused about and by the ‘church’. They can’t trust the church.
The church in Nigeria is in a serious state of decay and she, herself, needs immediate help. The church associations are fragmented and have no common agenda, you touched a bit on this, but it is critical that some form of forum be created to assist church leaders from different denominations to understand that the church is 1(one). The American church is pushing ahead with its issues in spite of the differences.
Maybe, that’s what our church (name supplied) was set up to do through people like you. I trust God to assist you with your magazine to fully take-off and remain on the stands as a consistent voice countering these ills. When the finances are in, then, radio programs, television programs, etc will reach as many audiences as possible and then we can begin to influence the political and social scenes more effectively. Did you notice that in the last elections, all the candidates purported to be have been endorsed by the ‘church’ did not go far. How were they chosen as the ‘right’ candidates? Who chose them? I heard that one of the candidates for governorship in Lagos (name supplied) for example was chosen because his wife is a Christian and attends a certain church. Was that enough credential to recommend him? Does he listen to his wife in political matters, etc? I can go on but let me stop here. Thank you!
Rev Uche Biosa (Mrs),
Oregun, Lagos,
Nigeria
IMPRESSED BUT…
We are impressed with the concept, depth and quality of analysis of the subject matter. No, we don't necessarily agree with the prescriptions contained in the write up. Still, if we can keep the issue on the front burner we just might generate enough momentum to help individuals that still have the opportunity to do right at whatever level of leadership - family, business, church, community, politics, etc..
Well done and please keep up the good works…Have peace.
Rev David Opasanya
Managing Business for Christ,
Apapa, Lagos, Nigeria:
Article first published in a Nigerian daily newspaper, Sunday Independent which is produced in Lagos, Nigeria.
A WAKE-UP CALL TO CHURCH LEADERS (3)
KPerspective August 12, 2007
KINGDOM PERSPECTIVE
with Remi Akano
e-mail: remiakanosr@believeandrepent.com
As we said in the last two editions of this column, the time has come for the church in Nigeria to take its place as a crucial stakeholder in the affairs of our nation. For too long, we have been contented to sit by and watch while politicians, of all hues, toy with the destiny of our nation and the future of our youths. We have become like the clean-up specialists who waiting in the wings to clear the mess made by politicians. Or like fire fighters after the act of arson is well under way.
When they start sectarian violence, we rush in with words of comfort and relief materials for the victims. When they bastardize government universities, we fall over ourselves to build our own. When they rig elections, we sermonize on the need to move our nation forward. One wise man said politics is too important to be left for politicians; we say politics is to dirty to be played by “real Christians.” The result is what we are seeing today – five of six governors accused of wrongdoing in office; one already convicted; one already singing canary-like and one almost certainly irredeemable – are Christians, nominal or not!
In offering a more pro-active approach to the crisis we had sought that the umbrella body for all Christians, the Christian association of Nigeria (CAN) puts in place certain structures to begin to tackle the challenges. We had said that these times call us to “prayerfully put structures in place to deliberately begin to engage with the “political class” in the area of godliness, ethics and the common good; keep an eagle eye upon those who get into government proclaiming their love for the Lord Jesus; and continuously and directly engage with government at all levels to ensure that godliness is an overriding factor in policy formulation, direction and implementation..”
We did make some specific suggestions about official liaison with the three main branches of government and regular retreats for Christians who find their way into office. The last five words of this last sentence throws light upon one of the most fundamental challenges that Christianity has when our ability to influence governance and public policy is concerned. How do our brethren “find their way into office?”
I believe this is a very crucial question which if examined critically should assist in addressing the character question among men and women, who in addition to whatever party flags they may fly, are also easily identified with the Christian faith.
Look at it this way: a man or woman of God feels the call to serve God in the public or political arena. He tells members of his church family about it. What does he get? Apathy or outright discouragement and in many cases prayers! God answers prayers, but like James said in the Bible, faith without works is dead! A man or woman seeking election into office needs money to run his campaign. When he doesn’t get help from his brethren, he’ll try to get it from other sources. Enter the godfather - with all the consequences, as we saw in the case of Dr Chris Ngige and his so-called estranged godfather in Anambra state, Chris Uba and; erstwhile Governor Rashidi Ladoja and Lamidi Adedibu in Oyo State.
Even where a solo financier is not involved there are usually a variety of sponsors and financiers each waiting in the wings for returns on their investment. That ties the office seeker’s hands long before they become office holders and also whittles, if not eliminate, whatever influences the church could have had upon such people. Arguably, a Christian, well grounded in the word should be able to resist evil wherever it raises its head, but it certainly does become more difficult where the righteous forsake their brothers and sisters to “find their way to office.”
The need to raise awareness among us about politics and governance is rally pressing. And just like I pointed out last week, it isn’t as if some work hadn’t been done or even been done in this area. I cited the programmes of the Justice < development and Peace Commission of the Catholic Church and Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria’s Social Security Outreach.
For instance, in a publication titled, Understanding God’s Prophetic Agenda for Nigeria, the PFN listed eight things Pentecostal Christians are supposed to do to increase their political awareness. Among them are: “Cultivate the habit of reading at least one newspaper daily and listening to radio or television programs where politics is discussed; Have a personal file for keeping vital political documents and articles… and buy a copy of the Nigerian Constitution.”
The need for Christian brethren to identify the ward they live or work within there local governments was emphasized as well as identification of your councilor and local government chairperson.
The last three items in the “what to do” section of the booklet reads like this:
“Just as you are actively involved in evangelism, lead a Christian into the political terrain. Make as many converts as you can from day to day; Decide with your converts to join a convenient local chapter of any of the political parties and; Find out association of Christians who are discussing politics, planning a new era for Nigeria and join them”
I have quoted from that publication just to show that things are already being done. But those things have to be stepped up now that we still have a number of years to another election and done as a church, one church, the body of Christ so that it may be effective. Once again, I do not discount the high level of disunity in the body, but I know the more we find ourselves working together for common goals, the better united we would be.
Somebody has asked me: what’s all this noise about Christianity and governance? What we need, according to this school of thought are civil and clean people in power, people who are committed to serving the people and not themselves or their families. Fine sentiments, on the surface, except that the place to find such people in whom such values are resident and capable of enduring is the church. I do not disparage any faith, but I speak for mine, please!
At a more fundamental level, it must be emphasized that morality not anchored on religious values DO NOT ENDURE. And that is one of the very few things that ex-President Matthew Obasanjo and I agree upon!
I recall that towards the end of his tenure, he had the opportunity of speaking on this very important issue. At the maiden edition of the African Forum on Religion and Government (AFREG) at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, Obasanjo was reported to have called for concerted spiritual response to the problems confronting Africa if we are going to successfully transform the continent. A newspaper report quoted him as saying: “if there is one thing Africa badly needs, it is perhaps such a unifying principle that commands the respect of all and life-changing enough to energise us to make awesome sacrifices for the development of the continent".
The challenge of transforming Africa, he was reported to have said, transcends moral principle and so he would like to see African nations moving spirituality to its proper place as the underpinning factor of everything else. His words as quoted in one of the reports: "Morality without a spiritual base is hollow…Spiritual response will define our core positions in all aspects of life, whether in our work ethics, or relationships or interfaith issues, or even morality.”
He lamented what he called the scarcity of integrity, described AFREG as a timely initiative and endorsed the group’s objective "to build a movement of African leaders of integrity who are committed to transforming Africa into a First World continent shaped by God-centred moral values,"
Even if Obasanjo was at that time busily gnawing at his own integrity, none can fault his position on this quintessential matter. God-centred moral values must be the driving force for governance in Nigeria, if we are to fulfil God’s end-time plan for Africa and the world. That is why Nigeria’s Kingdom leaders MUST ARISE and really lead the church towards God’s prophetic agenda. (Watch out for “the Unity Question” and please feel free to join this debate at: http://thegreatcompany.blogspot.com)
Material first published in a Nigerian daily, Sunday Independent.
KINGDOM PERSPECTIVE
with Remi Akano
e-mail: remiakanosr@believeandrepent.com
As we said in the last two editions of this column, the time has come for the church in Nigeria to take its place as a crucial stakeholder in the affairs of our nation. For too long, we have been contented to sit by and watch while politicians, of all hues, toy with the destiny of our nation and the future of our youths. We have become like the clean-up specialists who waiting in the wings to clear the mess made by politicians. Or like fire fighters after the act of arson is well under way.
When they start sectarian violence, we rush in with words of comfort and relief materials for the victims. When they bastardize government universities, we fall over ourselves to build our own. When they rig elections, we sermonize on the need to move our nation forward. One wise man said politics is too important to be left for politicians; we say politics is to dirty to be played by “real Christians.” The result is what we are seeing today – five of six governors accused of wrongdoing in office; one already convicted; one already singing canary-like and one almost certainly irredeemable – are Christians, nominal or not!
In offering a more pro-active approach to the crisis we had sought that the umbrella body for all Christians, the Christian association of Nigeria (CAN) puts in place certain structures to begin to tackle the challenges. We had said that these times call us to “prayerfully put structures in place to deliberately begin to engage with the “political class” in the area of godliness, ethics and the common good; keep an eagle eye upon those who get into government proclaiming their love for the Lord Jesus; and continuously and directly engage with government at all levels to ensure that godliness is an overriding factor in policy formulation, direction and implementation..”
We did make some specific suggestions about official liaison with the three main branches of government and regular retreats for Christians who find their way into office. The last five words of this last sentence throws light upon one of the most fundamental challenges that Christianity has when our ability to influence governance and public policy is concerned. How do our brethren “find their way into office?”
I believe this is a very crucial question which if examined critically should assist in addressing the character question among men and women, who in addition to whatever party flags they may fly, are also easily identified with the Christian faith.
Look at it this way: a man or woman of God feels the call to serve God in the public or political arena. He tells members of his church family about it. What does he get? Apathy or outright discouragement and in many cases prayers! God answers prayers, but like James said in the Bible, faith without works is dead! A man or woman seeking election into office needs money to run his campaign. When he doesn’t get help from his brethren, he’ll try to get it from other sources. Enter the godfather - with all the consequences, as we saw in the case of Dr Chris Ngige and his so-called estranged godfather in Anambra state, Chris Uba and; erstwhile Governor Rashidi Ladoja and Lamidi Adedibu in Oyo State.
Even where a solo financier is not involved there are usually a variety of sponsors and financiers each waiting in the wings for returns on their investment. That ties the office seeker’s hands long before they become office holders and also whittles, if not eliminate, whatever influences the church could have had upon such people. Arguably, a Christian, well grounded in the word should be able to resist evil wherever it raises its head, but it certainly does become more difficult where the righteous forsake their brothers and sisters to “find their way to office.”
The need to raise awareness among us about politics and governance is rally pressing. And just like I pointed out last week, it isn’t as if some work hadn’t been done or even been done in this area. I cited the programmes of the Justice < development and Peace Commission of the Catholic Church and Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria’s Social Security Outreach.
For instance, in a publication titled, Understanding God’s Prophetic Agenda for Nigeria, the PFN listed eight things Pentecostal Christians are supposed to do to increase their political awareness. Among them are: “Cultivate the habit of reading at least one newspaper daily and listening to radio or television programs where politics is discussed; Have a personal file for keeping vital political documents and articles… and buy a copy of the Nigerian Constitution.”
The need for Christian brethren to identify the ward they live or work within there local governments was emphasized as well as identification of your councilor and local government chairperson.
The last three items in the “what to do” section of the booklet reads like this:
“Just as you are actively involved in evangelism, lead a Christian into the political terrain. Make as many converts as you can from day to day; Decide with your converts to join a convenient local chapter of any of the political parties and; Find out association of Christians who are discussing politics, planning a new era for Nigeria and join them”
I have quoted from that publication just to show that things are already being done. But those things have to be stepped up now that we still have a number of years to another election and done as a church, one church, the body of Christ so that it may be effective. Once again, I do not discount the high level of disunity in the body, but I know the more we find ourselves working together for common goals, the better united we would be.
Somebody has asked me: what’s all this noise about Christianity and governance? What we need, according to this school of thought are civil and clean people in power, people who are committed to serving the people and not themselves or their families. Fine sentiments, on the surface, except that the place to find such people in whom such values are resident and capable of enduring is the church. I do not disparage any faith, but I speak for mine, please!
At a more fundamental level, it must be emphasized that morality not anchored on religious values DO NOT ENDURE. And that is one of the very few things that ex-President Matthew Obasanjo and I agree upon!
I recall that towards the end of his tenure, he had the opportunity of speaking on this very important issue. At the maiden edition of the African Forum on Religion and Government (AFREG) at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, Obasanjo was reported to have called for concerted spiritual response to the problems confronting Africa if we are going to successfully transform the continent. A newspaper report quoted him as saying: “if there is one thing Africa badly needs, it is perhaps such a unifying principle that commands the respect of all and life-changing enough to energise us to make awesome sacrifices for the development of the continent".
The challenge of transforming Africa, he was reported to have said, transcends moral principle and so he would like to see African nations moving spirituality to its proper place as the underpinning factor of everything else. His words as quoted in one of the reports: "Morality without a spiritual base is hollow…Spiritual response will define our core positions in all aspects of life, whether in our work ethics, or relationships or interfaith issues, or even morality.”
He lamented what he called the scarcity of integrity, described AFREG as a timely initiative and endorsed the group’s objective "to build a movement of African leaders of integrity who are committed to transforming Africa into a First World continent shaped by God-centred moral values,"
Even if Obasanjo was at that time busily gnawing at his own integrity, none can fault his position on this quintessential matter. God-centred moral values must be the driving force for governance in Nigeria, if we are to fulfil God’s end-time plan for Africa and the world. That is why Nigeria’s Kingdom leaders MUST ARISE and really lead the church towards God’s prophetic agenda. (Watch out for “the Unity Question” and please feel free to join this debate at: http://thegreatcompany.blogspot.com)
Material first published in a Nigerian daily, Sunday Independent.
Tuesday, 7 August 2007
A WAKE-UP CALL TO CHURCH LEADERS (2)
KINGDOM PERSPECTIVE
with Remi Akano
e-mail: remiakanosr@believeandrepent.com
We were saying on this page last week that kingdom leaders have their work cut out for them by current developments in the polity. We drew attention to the arraignment of five former governors on charges of stealing or laundering of mind boggling amounts of public funds entrusted to their care while in office. Four of those five, we painfully noted, fly the Christianity flag. That's to say these men never hid their religious affiliation while in office.Governor Orji Uzor Kalu never left anyone in doubt that Abia, where he held sway for eight years, was God's Own State. You would think that with that awareness he would run the state "as unto the Lord." Apparently, AIGP Nuhu Ribadu, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) which he runs and a section of Abia citizens do not think he did. Of course the accused and accusers will have their day in court and ultimately justice would be done. And like we also noted last week, he wore the Christian badge all through his last presidential campaign as the flag bearer of his party, Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA); so much so that some of his campaigns would pass for crusades. There's Dr Chimaroke Nnamani under whom Enugu state became a mecca of sorts for officials of international agencies coming to eulogise and validate his achievements. Now the jury is still out on what earned this dashing medical doctor the accolades - his sartorial and oratorical elegance or an enduring socio-economic legacy. But no matter what the jury eventually comes up with, none can forget the consistency of his God rhetoric: “Enugu is working; to God be the glory” was the pay-off line ending all government radio jingles, television commercials and print media advertisements. Was he praising God and robbing God’s children? Only the courts can tell.Then, there is the one who shares the prophet’s name but not his mien and perhaps not his character, Joshua Dariye of Plateau state. A fugitive from justice in the United Kingdom where he was said to have jumped bail, he had as many thanksgiving services as there were victories in court, won not as a result of acquittals from the many charges of impropriety against him, but on account of Ribadu and his men’s inordinate impatience with the rule of law and due process. His Christian identity may now seem to be only “name-deep.”Now, I don’t know if there are still any cheer-leaders out there raising the “jolly good fellow” chorus for Taraba State’s ex-governor, Reverend Jolly Nyame. But after his alleged confession that he may have received some kickbacks and was ready to return his “part of the action” in some projects, they must be few indeed. Reverend? Time will tell.Of course, since last week’s piece was written, the sensational, long-drawn case involving Diepreye Alamieseigha, another Christian ex-governor, has been resolved with his plea bargaining which has now seen him out of gaol, but, possibly broke and broken. By the latter, I mean broken in spirit, contrite, able to reconcile with Christ whose arms have remained open to him in spite of all the un-Christlike things that did, some of which he has now confessed to. An interim “ex-Governors-in-Post-Immunity Trial” statistical report would look like this: Convictions 100%; Arraignments - 80%; Overall - 83.34%. Not a flattering picture, is it? It is useful to recall that last week’s piece was largely inspired by some of the things said by the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria’s president, Rev Ayo Oritsejafor, in a Sunday Independent interview with Mrs Aramide Oikelome. Among other things, he had lamented that the church was being shut out of a national issue as grave as the Niger Delta crisis and thus restricted, as it were, to praying. He argued that in addition to prayers, to which to the church remains committed, the church was also suited for peace broking assignments because of the credibility and incorruptibility of leaders like himself, the leaders’ credentials as non-politicians and the fact that most of the citizens of the area are Christians. I had reacted in the closing paragraph of that column this way: “My dear President, I suggest that the church’s involvement in the Niger Delta and everywhere else must transcend prayers and direct intervention as peace brokers; it must extend to, if not primarily be, ensuring that those who go to government naming the name of the Lord, must have the rest of Christ’s family to contend with each time they step out of line in the course of serving Christ through the nation. That, in my humble opinion is the urgent challenge to church leadership today”.Since then, I have had the opportunity of prayerfully reflecting on this very important issue and I believe that there is an urgent need for Christian leaders through the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) to seize the opportunity offered by the current nadir into which the moral high ground of the faith has plunged - courtesy of some of these so-called Christians in positions of authority - to rethink our approach to governance in our nation.I believe with all my heart that the situation should be seen as beyond a call to prayer, which is understandably our default setting, as it were. I believe it should be recognised also as a call to prayerfully put structures in place to deliberately begin to engage with the “political class” in the area of godliness, ethics and the common good; keep an eagle eye upon those who get into government proclaiming their love for the Lord Jesus; and continuously and directly engage with government at all levels to ensure that godliness is an overriding factor in policy formulation, direction and implementation. Permit me to articlate this a little.Let’s work from the known to the seemingly unknown. Let’s take the case of governors for example. Every Christian governor hopefully has a chapel around Government House manned by a chaplain, who I reckon must have a sort of ringside ticket to what happens in government. When a chaplain begins to catch a whiff of the filthy smell of lucre or the not-so-uncommon recourse to sexual wantonness, what does he do? Does he simply look the other way because he does not want to hurt the boss or; protect his access to comfortable living by steering clear of ministering to the boss on such subjects? Which leads me to the question: how are chaplains recruited? Do they get any kind of protection from the part of the Church family they come from? Where they try and fail to rein in a governor’s propensity to deviate from the Christian path, are they encouraged to alert the church family group so that a kind of early warning system can be put in place? In my view CAN has to consider working along this line.The church’s engagement with the political class, that is, those who are currently actively involved in politics can also be structured. It is my view, for instance, that CAN ought to hold annual retreats for Christian politicians where they all have the opportunity to listen to word-based evaluation of governance; exchange views on anti-Christian pressures and satanic influences and together agree to prayerfully resist those things. For ease of management, it can hold at state level. I am also fully persuaded that CAN should consider establishing structures for monitoring, liaison with and influencing of the activities of the three departments of governments at all levels. By this I wonder if it were possible to appoint a legislative liaison and monitoring group. Such a group may be armed with a Christian legislative agenda and a check-list of the attributes of just laws. With a legislative agenda of say, three laws that Nigeria Christians would love to see passed in a particular legislative year, this group can liaise with Christian legislators and even powerful non-Christians where necessary. With a well thought-out legislative checklist Christian members can be guided to oppose or support or propose amendments to bills. Through proper monitoring of speeches on the floor and voting patterns, it should be possible to identify those who consistently step out of line and work against them at election time. Such a structure, while not exactly appropriate for the judiciary, should also be considered for the Executive Arm too, while something else is worked for the judiciary. All of these bring me to the issue of platform; that is a consistent Christian position on issues of affecting the lives; lifestyle and faith walk of the Nigerian Christian, most of which would have universal application to the Nigerian. For instance there is talk in the air of electoral reform. Is it possible to have a Christian platform? What about the constitution? Is it absolutely impossible to have a position on this? For the avoidance of any doubts, this is not to promote sectarian differences in Nigeria; it is very simply to lift the underlying values, the fundamentals of governance in Nigeria.Where to start? I am aware that the Catholic Church in Nigeria has the very vibrant Justice and Peace Commission, the PFN, has the Social Security Outreach, the other groups sure have equivalent departments or outreaches. These outfits may be used to begin exploratory talks. The new CAN leadership led by Archbishop Onaiyekan, should in the name of Lord, pray about these things before throwing these suggestions out as idealistic, unworkable or inappropriate. Of course, there is the unity question amongst us too! As a kind of Church Unity activist, I know how real this is and how debilitating to the body. But it should not stop us. The fact of sitting together towards formulating and creating the structures will help in the bonding process. Yes the current disunity does recommend caution, so we may need to start small, but start we must. (Watch out for “The Unity Question”).
First published in a Nigerian Daily, the Sunday Independent, published in Lagos Nigeria.
with Remi Akano
e-mail: remiakanosr@believeandrepent.com
We were saying on this page last week that kingdom leaders have their work cut out for them by current developments in the polity. We drew attention to the arraignment of five former governors on charges of stealing or laundering of mind boggling amounts of public funds entrusted to their care while in office. Four of those five, we painfully noted, fly the Christianity flag. That's to say these men never hid their religious affiliation while in office.Governor Orji Uzor Kalu never left anyone in doubt that Abia, where he held sway for eight years, was God's Own State. You would think that with that awareness he would run the state "as unto the Lord." Apparently, AIGP Nuhu Ribadu, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) which he runs and a section of Abia citizens do not think he did. Of course the accused and accusers will have their day in court and ultimately justice would be done. And like we also noted last week, he wore the Christian badge all through his last presidential campaign as the flag bearer of his party, Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA); so much so that some of his campaigns would pass for crusades. There's Dr Chimaroke Nnamani under whom Enugu state became a mecca of sorts for officials of international agencies coming to eulogise and validate his achievements. Now the jury is still out on what earned this dashing medical doctor the accolades - his sartorial and oratorical elegance or an enduring socio-economic legacy. But no matter what the jury eventually comes up with, none can forget the consistency of his God rhetoric: “Enugu is working; to God be the glory” was the pay-off line ending all government radio jingles, television commercials and print media advertisements. Was he praising God and robbing God’s children? Only the courts can tell.Then, there is the one who shares the prophet’s name but not his mien and perhaps not his character, Joshua Dariye of Plateau state. A fugitive from justice in the United Kingdom where he was said to have jumped bail, he had as many thanksgiving services as there were victories in court, won not as a result of acquittals from the many charges of impropriety against him, but on account of Ribadu and his men’s inordinate impatience with the rule of law and due process. His Christian identity may now seem to be only “name-deep.”Now, I don’t know if there are still any cheer-leaders out there raising the “jolly good fellow” chorus for Taraba State’s ex-governor, Reverend Jolly Nyame. But after his alleged confession that he may have received some kickbacks and was ready to return his “part of the action” in some projects, they must be few indeed. Reverend? Time will tell.Of course, since last week’s piece was written, the sensational, long-drawn case involving Diepreye Alamieseigha, another Christian ex-governor, has been resolved with his plea bargaining which has now seen him out of gaol, but, possibly broke and broken. By the latter, I mean broken in spirit, contrite, able to reconcile with Christ whose arms have remained open to him in spite of all the un-Christlike things that did, some of which he has now confessed to. An interim “ex-Governors-in-Post-Immunity Trial” statistical report would look like this: Convictions 100%; Arraignments - 80%; Overall - 83.34%. Not a flattering picture, is it? It is useful to recall that last week’s piece was largely inspired by some of the things said by the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria’s president, Rev Ayo Oritsejafor, in a Sunday Independent interview with Mrs Aramide Oikelome. Among other things, he had lamented that the church was being shut out of a national issue as grave as the Niger Delta crisis and thus restricted, as it were, to praying. He argued that in addition to prayers, to which to the church remains committed, the church was also suited for peace broking assignments because of the credibility and incorruptibility of leaders like himself, the leaders’ credentials as non-politicians and the fact that most of the citizens of the area are Christians. I had reacted in the closing paragraph of that column this way: “My dear President, I suggest that the church’s involvement in the Niger Delta and everywhere else must transcend prayers and direct intervention as peace brokers; it must extend to, if not primarily be, ensuring that those who go to government naming the name of the Lord, must have the rest of Christ’s family to contend with each time they step out of line in the course of serving Christ through the nation. That, in my humble opinion is the urgent challenge to church leadership today”.Since then, I have had the opportunity of prayerfully reflecting on this very important issue and I believe that there is an urgent need for Christian leaders through the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) to seize the opportunity offered by the current nadir into which the moral high ground of the faith has plunged - courtesy of some of these so-called Christians in positions of authority - to rethink our approach to governance in our nation.I believe with all my heart that the situation should be seen as beyond a call to prayer, which is understandably our default setting, as it were. I believe it should be recognised also as a call to prayerfully put structures in place to deliberately begin to engage with the “political class” in the area of godliness, ethics and the common good; keep an eagle eye upon those who get into government proclaiming their love for the Lord Jesus; and continuously and directly engage with government at all levels to ensure that godliness is an overriding factor in policy formulation, direction and implementation. Permit me to articlate this a little.Let’s work from the known to the seemingly unknown. Let’s take the case of governors for example. Every Christian governor hopefully has a chapel around Government House manned by a chaplain, who I reckon must have a sort of ringside ticket to what happens in government. When a chaplain begins to catch a whiff of the filthy smell of lucre or the not-so-uncommon recourse to sexual wantonness, what does he do? Does he simply look the other way because he does not want to hurt the boss or; protect his access to comfortable living by steering clear of ministering to the boss on such subjects? Which leads me to the question: how are chaplains recruited? Do they get any kind of protection from the part of the Church family they come from? Where they try and fail to rein in a governor’s propensity to deviate from the Christian path, are they encouraged to alert the church family group so that a kind of early warning system can be put in place? In my view CAN has to consider working along this line.The church’s engagement with the political class, that is, those who are currently actively involved in politics can also be structured. It is my view, for instance, that CAN ought to hold annual retreats for Christian politicians where they all have the opportunity to listen to word-based evaluation of governance; exchange views on anti-Christian pressures and satanic influences and together agree to prayerfully resist those things. For ease of management, it can hold at state level. I am also fully persuaded that CAN should consider establishing structures for monitoring, liaison with and influencing of the activities of the three departments of governments at all levels. By this I wonder if it were possible to appoint a legislative liaison and monitoring group. Such a group may be armed with a Christian legislative agenda and a check-list of the attributes of just laws. With a legislative agenda of say, three laws that Nigeria Christians would love to see passed in a particular legislative year, this group can liaise with Christian legislators and even powerful non-Christians where necessary. With a well thought-out legislative checklist Christian members can be guided to oppose or support or propose amendments to bills. Through proper monitoring of speeches on the floor and voting patterns, it should be possible to identify those who consistently step out of line and work against them at election time. Such a structure, while not exactly appropriate for the judiciary, should also be considered for the Executive Arm too, while something else is worked for the judiciary. All of these bring me to the issue of platform; that is a consistent Christian position on issues of affecting the lives; lifestyle and faith walk of the Nigerian Christian, most of which would have universal application to the Nigerian. For instance there is talk in the air of electoral reform. Is it possible to have a Christian platform? What about the constitution? Is it absolutely impossible to have a position on this? For the avoidance of any doubts, this is not to promote sectarian differences in Nigeria; it is very simply to lift the underlying values, the fundamentals of governance in Nigeria.Where to start? I am aware that the Catholic Church in Nigeria has the very vibrant Justice and Peace Commission, the PFN, has the Social Security Outreach, the other groups sure have equivalent departments or outreaches. These outfits may be used to begin exploratory talks. The new CAN leadership led by Archbishop Onaiyekan, should in the name of Lord, pray about these things before throwing these suggestions out as idealistic, unworkable or inappropriate. Of course, there is the unity question amongst us too! As a kind of Church Unity activist, I know how real this is and how debilitating to the body. But it should not stop us. The fact of sitting together towards formulating and creating the structures will help in the bonding process. Yes the current disunity does recommend caution, so we may need to start small, but start we must. (Watch out for “The Unity Question”).
First published in a Nigerian Daily, the Sunday Independent, published in Lagos Nigeria.
Thursday, 26 July 2007
A WAKE-UP CALL TO CHURCH LEADERS
KINGDOMPerspective July 29, 2007
Inspiration for this piece came from two sources as different and apart as chalk and cheese. The first source is Tony Oganah, a lawyer, publisher and politician. Although, he once ran for office on the platform of one of so-called conservative parties, he is of the Tony Enahoro School of Politics, even if he does not necessarily agree with every detail of the new constitution being spearheaded by the veteran nationalist and politician. Of course, he is a PRONACO activist.
The other source is "my president." By that I mean the man of God who heads the umbrella body of Pentecostal and charismatic churches, the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor. A man I respect so much but do not always agree with, Oritsejafor came out of the "come-as-you-are" generation of pastors who would not have anyone link their faith with their hairstyle. Like my Senior Pastor, he still dons his punk hairstyle, decades of "going-ye" later.
On a visit by my wife and I to the Oganah family, last Sunday, Tony and I got talking about the state of the nation. Everything from the nature of the last charade called elections to the controversial sales of refineries to Obasanjo’s blue-eyed boys whose special-purpose vehicle for the deal was appropriately named Bluestar Petroleum. After all, if you are a powerful potentate’s blue-eyed boy, you cannot be anything but a blue star!
What resonated with me as we drove out of the estate where Tony and his wonderful wife (Nkechi) and their children live was his comment on the role of the Church in the affairs of our nation. He noted that the church has had no influence on governance and felt that this should not be so. I agreed with him but put it down to disunity in the body. I explained to him that I should know, because of the great challenges we have faced trying to publish a non-denominational magazine known as KINGDOMPeople and how we have had to start a One Church Campaign as a project of the magazine. I also sought to let him see the worldwide nature of the disunity citing the recent statement by Pope Benedict XVI to the effect that non-Catholics may be styled "Christian communities", but they do not belong to the one and only one catholic and apostolic church established by the Lord Jesus under the leadership of Apostle Peter (more on this at a later date). Tony did agree that disunity was an issue but he went on to posit that the problem may lie more in the fact that many of those in leadership of the various bodies "have been compromised."
That of course got me thinking and wondering until, back at home, "my president" weighed in on the issue. In an extensive interview with Aramide Oikelome who heads the Faith Desk of this newspaper, Pastor Oritsejafor expressed surprise that the Church was not being involved in finding solutions to that blight on the national conscience, the Niger Delta crisis. He argued that majority of the citizens of that region of Nigeria are Christians and implied therefore that they should be quite responsive to the intervention of their spiritual leaders.
His words: "In my own opinion, one of the mistakes they have always made is that when they call the supposed stakeholders of the Niger Delta, they never bring in the church and it has always baffled me why they don’t do this…the Niger Delta is basically composed of Christian states…Everybody you see there (if they want to be honest with you) is a Christian one way or the other. They may not be committed, but they are Christians; they were baptized in church…"
Rationalising the need to involve the church further, he said: "Not only are we organising prayers at the moment (which is very important), but also we want to be further involved; we want to be involved in negotiations in the sense that some of these boys (militants) do not trust a lot of government officials. On the other hand there are people they believe are credible"
Then, he came to the issue that had been tugging at my heartstring since my discussion with Tony earlier, the issue of credibility. Said "my president": "We can become the bridge. We can talk to these boys and reach a truce with them to stop the fighting and the kidnapping for a year and let the government fulfill its part. If they don’t, then nobody can blame them. Then we can go to the government and tell them that our credibility is at stake and if they don’t perform, we would come out publicly to condemn them. I don’t need any money or anything from the government. No governor has given me any money because, I don’t want it, I don’t need it. So, if they don’t perform we will come out and tell the whole world and when we start talking, people will listen because they know we are not politicians…"
Making the case that credibility is the rock upon which church leadership is (or should be) built, he admitted that "a lot of institutions in the country have been bastardised. Many do not have credibility, but I think to some extent there are still people in the church who have credibility and can stand up against injustice. We know that if we do not do what we say, then we are in trouble because we have nothing to preach to anybody. My members can walk out of the church because truth, justice and equity are directly related to what we preach. So, if I don’t stick to what I say, it goes completely against everything that I am doing. That means that I have no platform again. A politician can divorce his wife and still remain a politician or even become the president, but I can’t do that; I can’t drive my wife away and then open the Bible to preach…"
I wanted to shout: "tell them pastor, tell them my president", but somehow, I didn’t get the release in my spirit. Yes, Pastor Oritsejafor was right, the church should go beyond praying and get involved at least as intermediaries and peace brokers. And possibly there is nowhere needing that kind of intervention now more than the Niger Delta. And yes, he can flaunt his own credentials as a credible man who has not received any money from any governor, but can he really speak for others? The fact that he needed to declare that openly suggests that either there are people out there who have received money from governors or, there are governors willing to give in order to compromise men of God or, both. So there is a credibility challenge that the church must confront and deal with.
More important than the credibility problem in the leadership cadre of the church implied in all of these, is the issue of the credibility of politicians, many of whom fly the Christianity flag and are therefore products of the church led by Pastor Oritsejafor and his other revered colleagues in Christian Association of Nigeria.
When the PFN president made the distinction between those in the church and politicians, he sounded like politicians dropped from some unknown planet. Yet we know better, don’t we? When the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), after smartly selling the public and our erstwhile immunity-protected governors the dummy of unwillingness to carry out its threat to prosecute them after their tenure, finally got cracking recently a discernible trend seem to have begun. The profile of the five already arraigned, at the time of writing this, should be food for thought to all Christians and in particular, the leadership. Four of them, are to use Pastor Oritsejafor’s words quoted above are, "…christian(s) one way or the other. They may not be committed, but they are Christians; they were baptized in church."
Although, these men are innocent until proven guilty, it is still instructive that they could be accused of that much evil! Plateau State’s Joshua Dariye never tired of thanking God for his many court victories each time EFCC’s exuberance pitched them against due process. Yet he has never really denied wrong-doing, at least, that he is a fugitive from justice in the United Kingdom. Orji Uzor Kalu presided over "God’s Own State" and his presidential campaigns in the run-down to the last "elections" were like crusades for the amount of praise and worship that featured in many of them. There is fine-boy, and seemingly cerebral Chimaroke Nnamani, the "Ebeano" governor whose catch phrase was "Enugu is working…to God be the glory." And horror of horrors there is Governor Jolly Nyame who still carries the title of reverend and who, if media reports are to be believed, has offered to return "part of his loot."
My dear President, I suggest that the church’s involvement in the Niger Delta and everywhere else must transcend prayers and direct intervention as peace brokers; it must extend to, if not primarily be, ensuring that those who go to government naming the name of the Lord, must have the rest of Christ’s family to contend with each time they step out of line in the course of serving Christ through the nation. That, in my humble opinion is the urgent challenge to church leadership today.
First published in a Nigerian Daily, the Sunday Independent, published in Lagos Nigeria.
Inspiration for this piece came from two sources as different and apart as chalk and cheese. The first source is Tony Oganah, a lawyer, publisher and politician. Although, he once ran for office on the platform of one of so-called conservative parties, he is of the Tony Enahoro School of Politics, even if he does not necessarily agree with every detail of the new constitution being spearheaded by the veteran nationalist and politician. Of course, he is a PRONACO activist.
The other source is "my president." By that I mean the man of God who heads the umbrella body of Pentecostal and charismatic churches, the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor. A man I respect so much but do not always agree with, Oritsejafor came out of the "come-as-you-are" generation of pastors who would not have anyone link their faith with their hairstyle. Like my Senior Pastor, he still dons his punk hairstyle, decades of "going-ye" later.
On a visit by my wife and I to the Oganah family, last Sunday, Tony and I got talking about the state of the nation. Everything from the nature of the last charade called elections to the controversial sales of refineries to Obasanjo’s blue-eyed boys whose special-purpose vehicle for the deal was appropriately named Bluestar Petroleum. After all, if you are a powerful potentate’s blue-eyed boy, you cannot be anything but a blue star!
What resonated with me as we drove out of the estate where Tony and his wonderful wife (Nkechi) and their children live was his comment on the role of the Church in the affairs of our nation. He noted that the church has had no influence on governance and felt that this should not be so. I agreed with him but put it down to disunity in the body. I explained to him that I should know, because of the great challenges we have faced trying to publish a non-denominational magazine known as KINGDOMPeople and how we have had to start a One Church Campaign as a project of the magazine. I also sought to let him see the worldwide nature of the disunity citing the recent statement by Pope Benedict XVI to the effect that non-Catholics may be styled "Christian communities", but they do not belong to the one and only one catholic and apostolic church established by the Lord Jesus under the leadership of Apostle Peter (more on this at a later date). Tony did agree that disunity was an issue but he went on to posit that the problem may lie more in the fact that many of those in leadership of the various bodies "have been compromised."
That of course got me thinking and wondering until, back at home, "my president" weighed in on the issue. In an extensive interview with Aramide Oikelome who heads the Faith Desk of this newspaper, Pastor Oritsejafor expressed surprise that the Church was not being involved in finding solutions to that blight on the national conscience, the Niger Delta crisis. He argued that majority of the citizens of that region of Nigeria are Christians and implied therefore that they should be quite responsive to the intervention of their spiritual leaders.
His words: "In my own opinion, one of the mistakes they have always made is that when they call the supposed stakeholders of the Niger Delta, they never bring in the church and it has always baffled me why they don’t do this…the Niger Delta is basically composed of Christian states…Everybody you see there (if they want to be honest with you) is a Christian one way or the other. They may not be committed, but they are Christians; they were baptized in church…"
Rationalising the need to involve the church further, he said: "Not only are we organising prayers at the moment (which is very important), but also we want to be further involved; we want to be involved in negotiations in the sense that some of these boys (militants) do not trust a lot of government officials. On the other hand there are people they believe are credible"
Then, he came to the issue that had been tugging at my heartstring since my discussion with Tony earlier, the issue of credibility. Said "my president": "We can become the bridge. We can talk to these boys and reach a truce with them to stop the fighting and the kidnapping for a year and let the government fulfill its part. If they don’t, then nobody can blame them. Then we can go to the government and tell them that our credibility is at stake and if they don’t perform, we would come out publicly to condemn them. I don’t need any money or anything from the government. No governor has given me any money because, I don’t want it, I don’t need it. So, if they don’t perform we will come out and tell the whole world and when we start talking, people will listen because they know we are not politicians…"
Making the case that credibility is the rock upon which church leadership is (or should be) built, he admitted that "a lot of institutions in the country have been bastardised. Many do not have credibility, but I think to some extent there are still people in the church who have credibility and can stand up against injustice. We know that if we do not do what we say, then we are in trouble because we have nothing to preach to anybody. My members can walk out of the church because truth, justice and equity are directly related to what we preach. So, if I don’t stick to what I say, it goes completely against everything that I am doing. That means that I have no platform again. A politician can divorce his wife and still remain a politician or even become the president, but I can’t do that; I can’t drive my wife away and then open the Bible to preach…"
I wanted to shout: "tell them pastor, tell them my president", but somehow, I didn’t get the release in my spirit. Yes, Pastor Oritsejafor was right, the church should go beyond praying and get involved at least as intermediaries and peace brokers. And possibly there is nowhere needing that kind of intervention now more than the Niger Delta. And yes, he can flaunt his own credentials as a credible man who has not received any money from any governor, but can he really speak for others? The fact that he needed to declare that openly suggests that either there are people out there who have received money from governors or, there are governors willing to give in order to compromise men of God or, both. So there is a credibility challenge that the church must confront and deal with.
More important than the credibility problem in the leadership cadre of the church implied in all of these, is the issue of the credibility of politicians, many of whom fly the Christianity flag and are therefore products of the church led by Pastor Oritsejafor and his other revered colleagues in Christian Association of Nigeria.
When the PFN president made the distinction between those in the church and politicians, he sounded like politicians dropped from some unknown planet. Yet we know better, don’t we? When the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), after smartly selling the public and our erstwhile immunity-protected governors the dummy of unwillingness to carry out its threat to prosecute them after their tenure, finally got cracking recently a discernible trend seem to have begun. The profile of the five already arraigned, at the time of writing this, should be food for thought to all Christians and in particular, the leadership. Four of them, are to use Pastor Oritsejafor’s words quoted above are, "…christian(s) one way or the other. They may not be committed, but they are Christians; they were baptized in church."
Although, these men are innocent until proven guilty, it is still instructive that they could be accused of that much evil! Plateau State’s Joshua Dariye never tired of thanking God for his many court victories each time EFCC’s exuberance pitched them against due process. Yet he has never really denied wrong-doing, at least, that he is a fugitive from justice in the United Kingdom. Orji Uzor Kalu presided over "God’s Own State" and his presidential campaigns in the run-down to the last "elections" were like crusades for the amount of praise and worship that featured in many of them. There is fine-boy, and seemingly cerebral Chimaroke Nnamani, the "Ebeano" governor whose catch phrase was "Enugu is working…to God be the glory." And horror of horrors there is Governor Jolly Nyame who still carries the title of reverend and who, if media reports are to be believed, has offered to return "part of his loot."
My dear President, I suggest that the church’s involvement in the Niger Delta and everywhere else must transcend prayers and direct intervention as peace brokers; it must extend to, if not primarily be, ensuring that those who go to government naming the name of the Lord, must have the rest of Christ’s family to contend with each time they step out of line in the course of serving Christ through the nation. That, in my humble opinion is the urgent challenge to church leadership today.
First published in a Nigerian Daily, the Sunday Independent, published in Lagos Nigeria.
Wednesday, 18 July 2007
OF SURROGATES, FLOODS AND FOUNDATIONS
It would be laughable, if it were not such a serious governance issue. I mean the current debate on who is in charge in Nigeria today. Newspaper editorials, informed commentaries and punchy letters to the editor are all asking the same questions: Who is in charge, Yar’Adua or Obasanjo? Do we have two presidents? Is Obasanjo a kind of senior president? And I ask: Are you kidding me? Or are we all a pack of Rip Van Winkles, just waking up from a long slumber (with apologies to Angryman Michael John)?
Please replay the drama of the last one year or so in your mind. One man loves Nigeria so much he couldn’t see a future for her without him. So, he decided to throw away his own future; a guaranteed future of international respect and world statesmanship status. You call it the third-term agenda, I call it mindless self-immolation. When that agenda failed, he decided to find Nigeria another lover created in his own image and his own likeness. In order to ensure that this disinterested new lover wins Nigeria’s heart, he put together a boxing contest, recruited a loyal referee and malleable judges and handed them instructions to ensure victory for his preferred suitor. He declared the contest a matter of life and death; joined the man on the scale at the pre-match weigh-in to leave no one in doubt that his massive weight was not just behind the surrogate lover-boy but the weight was in him as in “Christ in you”.
Of course, the fight degenerated into a mess, featuring so many below-the-belt punches, head butts and even ear-chewing. The original lover-boy occasionally went into the roped square to hold the hands and legs of one of the more determined opponents of his protégé. The referee lent his hands too. Fela Anikulapo-Kuti would have called it “roforofo” fight. All these happened in the full view of the spectators; some of them officially certified ring-siders who know a good boxing match when they see one. They were so disgusted they left damning reports before huffing away to their various homes, to await invitation to the next fisticuff festival somewhere else in the world.
Anyway, the referee, in exercise of the powers conferred on him, proceeded to raise the hands and legs of the winner and decorated him with the championship belt. Of course when everybody else had gone home, the new lover who styled himself servant-lover promptly handed the belt over to original lover-boy who proudly placed it where everybody who visits his famous farm-house would see it. Of course he is magnanimous enough to allow servant-lover to wear it each time he has to make a public appearance; but with a stern warning to return it in good shape immediately thereafter.
Now some spectators are crying foul. Some are yelling, green-white-green (not blue) murder. Some are shouting themselves hoarse that the new lover should be left alone to consummate his illicit affair with the bride. And again, I ask: are you kidding me? Does anybody really expect differently? Not me! All is said to be fair in love and in war and this was both! Obasanjo fought for and won the presidency with everything that he had, including his future and even his peace of mind. He did it for himself, not for Yar’Adua. So anyone expecting him to go home quietly and leave Yar’Adua to live with the bride and be happy forever after cannot be realistic.
Smart man, he took many steps to ensure that that does not happen. And while he was taking those steps, many were cheering him lustily on. He fixed “Mr Fix-It” long before he re-stepped in by proxy, and it only took the reverberating effect of that to give “Surgeon, the educated Ali” a few months of grace in the grass. The legislators have him to contend with. Whosoever steps out of the legislative agenda being drawn up at Ota would be promptly whipped into line. And the governors also have to answer to him or else. Welcome to OBJ’s Nigeria!
These days Obasanjo must be singing merrily in his bathroom every morning, or afternoon, or evening, or whenever it is that retired but not tired generals and presidents find time to do such un-presidential things: “I did it my way.” Frank Sinatra would be pleased. He might add a chorus, “In my pocket, in my pocket, I have them all in my pocket”. The melody may not be too soothing, the rhythm may be jerky, but the lyrics would be correct. It would reflect the status quo in today’s Nigeria. And I am laughing.
I am laughing, because I know this is only correct for a season. I am laughing because of the sheer folly of men wanting to play God. I am laughing because I am fully persuaded that ONLY God the Almighty is God and he would not share his glory with any man. I am laughing because I know that the dominion God gave man over the works of his hands does not include dominion over his kind. I am laughing because our nation’s political history is replete with examples of the surrogate gone smart.
Let me give one example that still rankles with me till today. At the commencement of political activities in 1978 preparatory to the return of civil rule the following year, Chief Obafemi Awolowo put in place a very efficient political machine that I know ranks favourably with any one of its kind anywhere else in the world. Now, Awolowo was nothing if not a consummate planner and competent administrator. He was a leader per excellence whose heart was with his people. He called that machine, Unity Party of Nigeria, UPN, with the party slogan as “UP NIGERIA”. The party had a winning platform built around four cardinal programmes including free education at all levels free medical services and integrated rural development. UPN was the party to beat nationally but particularly in the south-western part of Nigeria. As a result, even if a goat got the ticket of UPN, it was bound to win fair and square in that region. Note that please: win, fair and square. And win virtually all that got the ticket did.
In the event, people who contributed next-to-nothing to their own victories and who were certainly truly beholden unto the party and its leader found themselves in the legislatures across what was then known as the LOOBO states; that being acronym for Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Bendel and Ondo. They were loyal party men until their personal interests clashed with that of the party and the nation!
I recall how the UPN Parliamentary Council consisting of all legislators on the party’s platform met with the leadership and agreed on what was considered as a reasonable level of salaries and allowances for legislators at all levels. They were directed to present those figures at the various assemblies and resist anything higher. It just so happened that the National Party of Nigeria came up with higher figures which were generally considered as scandalous at the National Assembly and before you could say “UP ME”, UPN parliamentarians had broken ranks with their party and its leadership. The party kicked. The UPN Director of Organisation had responsibility to move in and get the men to tow the line. He almost paid for it with his life! Thankfully, Ebino Topsy, Chief Ebenezer Babatope, is alive to tell the story.
This is not nearly like today’s situation, but it tells the story all the same. One very perceptive columnist put it this way: when will Yar’Adua and Obasanjo fight? And the answer is simple: when Yar’Adua’s interests truly clash with those of Obasanjo.
But as I said earlier, the peace that I have in all of these is I know both sides are acting the pawn on God’s own giant chess board. At the risk of sounding like a broken record – scratched compact disc, if you like – a flood is coming. The tide of evil in our nation will be stemmed; a flood of righteousness will take its place. The question is, are you prepared for the flood?
The Lord Jesus, always right on the mark, had this description of the wise man, the one who is ready for the flood: “He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock” (Luke 6: 48).
And you ask, what is the rock? How do I build on the rock? The rock is truth; it is righteousness; it is playing by the rules, not manipulating it. The bible describes the man who will stand “when the come comes to become”, as the late Ozumba Mbadiwe would have put it: “He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil”
(Isaiah 33:15). The actors in this national tragic-comedy must check if they fit.
No I do not judge Obasanjo or Yar’Adua. Who am I to judge another’s servant! But the prophet Isaiah said in a not-so-dissimilar context: “And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left” (Isaiah 30:21). Perhaps Kingdom Perspective is echoing that voice.
Please replay the drama of the last one year or so in your mind. One man loves Nigeria so much he couldn’t see a future for her without him. So, he decided to throw away his own future; a guaranteed future of international respect and world statesmanship status. You call it the third-term agenda, I call it mindless self-immolation. When that agenda failed, he decided to find Nigeria another lover created in his own image and his own likeness. In order to ensure that this disinterested new lover wins Nigeria’s heart, he put together a boxing contest, recruited a loyal referee and malleable judges and handed them instructions to ensure victory for his preferred suitor. He declared the contest a matter of life and death; joined the man on the scale at the pre-match weigh-in to leave no one in doubt that his massive weight was not just behind the surrogate lover-boy but the weight was in him as in “Christ in you”.
Of course, the fight degenerated into a mess, featuring so many below-the-belt punches, head butts and even ear-chewing. The original lover-boy occasionally went into the roped square to hold the hands and legs of one of the more determined opponents of his protégé. The referee lent his hands too. Fela Anikulapo-Kuti would have called it “roforofo” fight. All these happened in the full view of the spectators; some of them officially certified ring-siders who know a good boxing match when they see one. They were so disgusted they left damning reports before huffing away to their various homes, to await invitation to the next fisticuff festival somewhere else in the world.
Anyway, the referee, in exercise of the powers conferred on him, proceeded to raise the hands and legs of the winner and decorated him with the championship belt. Of course when everybody else had gone home, the new lover who styled himself servant-lover promptly handed the belt over to original lover-boy who proudly placed it where everybody who visits his famous farm-house would see it. Of course he is magnanimous enough to allow servant-lover to wear it each time he has to make a public appearance; but with a stern warning to return it in good shape immediately thereafter.
Now some spectators are crying foul. Some are yelling, green-white-green (not blue) murder. Some are shouting themselves hoarse that the new lover should be left alone to consummate his illicit affair with the bride. And again, I ask: are you kidding me? Does anybody really expect differently? Not me! All is said to be fair in love and in war and this was both! Obasanjo fought for and won the presidency with everything that he had, including his future and even his peace of mind. He did it for himself, not for Yar’Adua. So anyone expecting him to go home quietly and leave Yar’Adua to live with the bride and be happy forever after cannot be realistic.
Smart man, he took many steps to ensure that that does not happen. And while he was taking those steps, many were cheering him lustily on. He fixed “Mr Fix-It” long before he re-stepped in by proxy, and it only took the reverberating effect of that to give “Surgeon, the educated Ali” a few months of grace in the grass. The legislators have him to contend with. Whosoever steps out of the legislative agenda being drawn up at Ota would be promptly whipped into line. And the governors also have to answer to him or else. Welcome to OBJ’s Nigeria!
These days Obasanjo must be singing merrily in his bathroom every morning, or afternoon, or evening, or whenever it is that retired but not tired generals and presidents find time to do such un-presidential things: “I did it my way.” Frank Sinatra would be pleased. He might add a chorus, “In my pocket, in my pocket, I have them all in my pocket”. The melody may not be too soothing, the rhythm may be jerky, but the lyrics would be correct. It would reflect the status quo in today’s Nigeria. And I am laughing.
I am laughing, because I know this is only correct for a season. I am laughing because of the sheer folly of men wanting to play God. I am laughing because I am fully persuaded that ONLY God the Almighty is God and he would not share his glory with any man. I am laughing because I know that the dominion God gave man over the works of his hands does not include dominion over his kind. I am laughing because our nation’s political history is replete with examples of the surrogate gone smart.
Let me give one example that still rankles with me till today. At the commencement of political activities in 1978 preparatory to the return of civil rule the following year, Chief Obafemi Awolowo put in place a very efficient political machine that I know ranks favourably with any one of its kind anywhere else in the world. Now, Awolowo was nothing if not a consummate planner and competent administrator. He was a leader per excellence whose heart was with his people. He called that machine, Unity Party of Nigeria, UPN, with the party slogan as “UP NIGERIA”. The party had a winning platform built around four cardinal programmes including free education at all levels free medical services and integrated rural development. UPN was the party to beat nationally but particularly in the south-western part of Nigeria. As a result, even if a goat got the ticket of UPN, it was bound to win fair and square in that region. Note that please: win, fair and square. And win virtually all that got the ticket did.
In the event, people who contributed next-to-nothing to their own victories and who were certainly truly beholden unto the party and its leader found themselves in the legislatures across what was then known as the LOOBO states; that being acronym for Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Bendel and Ondo. They were loyal party men until their personal interests clashed with that of the party and the nation!
I recall how the UPN Parliamentary Council consisting of all legislators on the party’s platform met with the leadership and agreed on what was considered as a reasonable level of salaries and allowances for legislators at all levels. They were directed to present those figures at the various assemblies and resist anything higher. It just so happened that the National Party of Nigeria came up with higher figures which were generally considered as scandalous at the National Assembly and before you could say “UP ME”, UPN parliamentarians had broken ranks with their party and its leadership. The party kicked. The UPN Director of Organisation had responsibility to move in and get the men to tow the line. He almost paid for it with his life! Thankfully, Ebino Topsy, Chief Ebenezer Babatope, is alive to tell the story.
This is not nearly like today’s situation, but it tells the story all the same. One very perceptive columnist put it this way: when will Yar’Adua and Obasanjo fight? And the answer is simple: when Yar’Adua’s interests truly clash with those of Obasanjo.
But as I said earlier, the peace that I have in all of these is I know both sides are acting the pawn on God’s own giant chess board. At the risk of sounding like a broken record – scratched compact disc, if you like – a flood is coming. The tide of evil in our nation will be stemmed; a flood of righteousness will take its place. The question is, are you prepared for the flood?
The Lord Jesus, always right on the mark, had this description of the wise man, the one who is ready for the flood: “He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock” (Luke 6: 48).
And you ask, what is the rock? How do I build on the rock? The rock is truth; it is righteousness; it is playing by the rules, not manipulating it. The bible describes the man who will stand “when the come comes to become”, as the late Ozumba Mbadiwe would have put it: “He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil”
(Isaiah 33:15). The actors in this national tragic-comedy must check if they fit.
No I do not judge Obasanjo or Yar’Adua. Who am I to judge another’s servant! But the prophet Isaiah said in a not-so-dissimilar context: “And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left” (Isaiah 30:21). Perhaps Kingdom Perspective is echoing that voice.
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