Religion was not quite a major divisive issue in the
community in which we lived in the Old Cross River State in my days as a
student there. On Sundays, students felt free to attend church service either
within the campus or outside. I do not recall any major religious upheaval in
the largely Christian community that the old Cross River was.
In those days, there was the Brotherhood of the Cross and
Star (Olumba Olumba), the indigenous Qua Iboe church, the Presbyterian church,
the Anglican Church, the African Church, the Apostolic Church, the Foursquare
Church, the AME Zion and the Methodist. The Pentecostal Churches were beginning
to spread and take root. On campus, there was the formidable, evangelical
Scriptures Union.
So much has changed between then and now. The return to
civilian rule has worsened the political exploitation of religion in Nigeria,
and the old Cross River is not exempted. The politicians who took over from the
soldiers after Nigeria’s second independence in 1999, have made it all the more
tragic, as the lines between religion and politics have become blurred. No part
of the country is exempted and many of our clerics are no better than
government agents and spokespersons.
This is sad because Nigeria’s second independence was a long
battle that was won with the support of the religious establishment. With the
annulment of the June 12, 1993 Presidential election, many clerics became
pro-democracy activists. These clerics found the courage to turn the pulpit and
the prayer ground into platforms for opposing military despotism. The Nigerian
church became the church of the poor, defending the people against their
tormentors. Many religious leaders saw the need to speak the truth to power and
they did. But in the last 18 years, one of the most grievous outcomes of our
democratic experience has been the manner in which religious platforms have
become vehicles for opportunism, alimentary politics and sickening hypocrisy.
The consequence could be as bizarre as the Boko Haram posing a threat to
national sovereignty, and as treacherous as the clerics becoming government
consultants and the churches no better than government parastatals.
I find the most pernicious devaluation of religion in this
manner in the Old Cross River State, especially the part of it now known as
Akwa Ibom State. Akwa Ibom is predominantly Christian and animist, with
Christianity as the popularly advertised face of religion in the state. For
some reason in that state, the churches and the state have closed ranks in the
last 18 years to the clear disadvantage of the people. Churches in Akwa Ibom
operate more like government parastatals. Our investigation reveals that the
best title for anyone to bear in any government establishment in the state is
Elder, or Apostle, or Evangelist, Supreme Leader, Pastor, Deacon…that is – it
is increasingly the norm for government officials to identify with a particular
church and to use their position to mobilize religious support for the
government of the day. The state government also does not joke with the
churches. It is a vicious and cynical mind-control game going on yonder. Akwa
Ibom pastors and religious leaders have learnt to defer to the state government
and they are well-patronized in return for their loyalty.
Our investigation, inspired by a recent scandalous incident,
further shows that we are not generalizing when we say that in Akwa Ibom state,
the biggest business is church business and sycophancy. The church in that
state is distancing itself from the poor and lending itself to the state as an
instrument. In some of the churches, sermons are delivered and dedicated
specially to the state Governor. When pastors begin to behave like
praise-singers, the Church would need to take a second look at its men.
The
Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) may soon find the need to intervene in
Akwa Ibom state to remind the Pastors that their job is to provide leadership
and succor for the people, and not to serve as an extension of the state
government secretariat. In other states where the clerics have become partisan
politicians, and I am sure if the Christian body looks closely enough, it will
find other examples, there should be an internal crusade to rescue the Church
and sanction erring pastors.
I am using Akwa Ibom as an example because of the
aforementioned recent incident: In August, Inibehe Effiong was suspended from
the African Church, St. Paul’s Parish, Uyo Central Diocese, Eket, along with
other members of the church who participated in a protest in Uyo against the
plan by the state Governor to build a second Governor’s lodge in Lagos. In a
letter titled “Suspension of Bar. Inibehe Effiong and other protesters of
government policies” signed and dated 16th August 2017, one Rev. Richard Peter,
“Chairman in Council,” as he describes himself, ex-communicated Inibehe Effiong
and other Christians from the African Church.
He says: “We write with total dissatisfaction over the ugly
incident of protest carried out by Barr. Inibehe Effiong and other indigenes of
Akwa Ibom State of which majority are Christians.” Richard Peter may not be a
lawyer, and he doesn’t have to be one, he only needs to be intelligent enough
to know that the right to protest, differ, associate or express one’s opinions,
is a constitutional right, and that there is nothing dissatisfactory in a group
of citizens whatever be their religious affiliation, expressing an opinion
about government.
But he adds: “No sane individual can wake up and start
protesting against the Government of Akwa Ibom State, owing to the fact that
Akwa Ibom State is one of the Economy recovery/Investment Centre (sic)
Globally.” Richard Peter is obviously bored with his job as a cleric. He should
be advised to pull off his cassock and join the Akwa Ibom State Ministry of
Information.
Hear him: “Our Governor deserves respect, appreciation and
maximum support, instead some evil minded/demonic sponsored persons disguise
themselves in the name of protest to destroy the hard earned
reputation/achievement of His Excellency the Governor. The relocation of Akwa
Ibom State Governor’s Lodge at Lagos is not only timely but is also what the
entire citizens are yearning for and our Dear Governor hearkened to the
yearnings of his people. We commend the amiable Governor for his efforts so far
in making our dear state the desire of many and we endorse him for 2019 and
beyond."
On the basis of this gibberish, Richard Peter urges the
Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) to set up a panel to investigate all the
Christians who took part in the protest and suspend them, write to the law
enforcement agencies and ask for the arrest of the protesters (Je-su-s
Chri-st!), direct Inibehe Effiong and co to apologise to the
Governor/Government of Akwa Ibom state, and that the pastors of the said
protesters be suspended if they fail to “educate them on the dangers of
standing against the “Divine Rule”. Please, in what way is the Udom Emmanuel
government divine?
Richard Peter further accuses Inibehe Effiong of “fraudulent
activities” and concludes: “We urge all Akwa Ibom sons and daughters to DAKKADA
and resist any attempt to bring down peace, progress and development in our
loving state”. DAKKADA is a campaign slogan of the Udom Emmanuel administration
in Akwa Ibom state, and obviously Reverend Richard Peter is already positioning
himself as a campaign manager for the Governor’s second term ambition.
Inibehe Effiong whose interventions in the public arena are
usually informed, incisive and learned should sue Rev. Peter for his malicious
and defamatory allegations. The only problem is that this Rev. Peter is not
alone. He speaks the mind of a growing crowd of pastors in Akwa Ibom and
elsewhere, and draws attention to the crisis within the Christian body in
Nigeria. The church in Nigeria must beware of the creeping triumphalism of the
politics of stomach infrastructure in the House of God. What else could ever
motivate a man of the cloth to refer to a Governor’s rule as “Divine Rule”?
This Peter, like the Biblical Peter, obviously denied his calling, the moment
the cock crowed.
In an unsigned letter, the Management of the African Church,
St. Paul’s Parish Eket, purportedly dismissed the letter by Richard Peter and
promised to set up a disciplinary and investigative panel.
Three weeks later,
we have not heard anything. Peter is Chairman in Council of the same church
management that is pretending to investigate him. I think the disclaimer is
ineffectual and is probably of no consequence. The African Church Incorporated
and the Christian Association of Nigeria to which the Rev. Peter letter was
addressed should respond to the incident and publicly state their position.
Rev. Peter wants CAN not only to ex-communicate Effiong but also Christians of
other faiths who may have queried Udom Emmanuel’s “divine mandate” in Akwa Ibom
State. He is wrong.
It is a stinging shame that a Reverend of the African
Church, founded in 1901 as a protest movement, with the motto: “heaven’s light
our guide” and a Reverend Richard Peter, whose two names speak to courage and
strength, is now the one championing the politics of cowardice and acquiescence
in Akwa Ibom state.
The decision by the Akwa Ibom State Government to build a
new Governor’s Lodge in Lagos, worth N9. 1 billion or N2.1 billion, in order to
have a befitting, presentational house for receiving foreign investors and
diplomats at the country’s commercial capital is of course wrong-headed and
even if it can be justified, the public has a right to comment on it. Akwa Ibom
has a liaison office in Lagos and other buildings. Why not renovate one of
those buildings? And why erect a special edifice in Lagos for meetings with
foreign dignitaries when the embassies have their main offices in Abuja? If the
Akwa Ibom state Governor needs to meet with investors, why should he meet them
in Lagos? Akwa Ibom state has an airport and dignified places where important
meetings can also be held. Is it not better to take potential investors to Akwa
Ibom instead of giving them a treat in Lagos?
The problem with many of the Governors across Nigeria is the
Lagos syndrome. They have lived in Lagos and worked all their lives in Lagos;
when they go back home to become Governors or whatever, Lagos never leaves
their system. They recruit their closest aides from Lagos, take Lagos ideas to
the hinterland, and struggle to connect the future of their states to Lagos. In
the process they create contradictions. It is a fact for example that many Akwa
Ibomites want the headquarters of Mobil, a major oil and gas explorer in their
state, relocated from Lagos to Eket. Why should Mobil go to Eket, if as
Reverend Peter and the Udom Emmanuel administration tell us, Lagos is a better
meeting venue than either Uyo or Eket? Since Lagos has become the front desk
for Akwa Ibom state, all international companies doing business in Akwa Ibom
should also have their front desks in Lagos.
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