by Adedayo Ogunleye
The church must be reminded that it is neither the master nor the servant of the state, but rather the conscience of the state. It must be the guide and the critic of the state and never its tool. – Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.
Introduction
This paper seeks to examine the prevalent schisms between the ideal leadership role expected of the Church and her leaders, and the actual role she is playing in the contemporary Nigerian society. Making comparisons between the historical antecedents of the Judeo-Christian faith as a force for moral rectitude, equity, social justice and welfare, the sterling example given by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) during the 60s civil rights era in the United States of America and the current Nigerian example, the paper attempts to evaluate how well the church leadership has fared in its role as the moral compass and conscience of the present-day Nigeria.
Identifying the points where the Church has “missed it”, and proffering solutions to the present dilemma the Nigerian Church leadership has found itself in, the paper goes on to evaluate the leadership potential of the Church as a social institution in Nigeria. To achieve this aim, this writer has employed phenomenal observation, analysis of recorded history and anecdotal evidence in the pages that follow.
Christendom as Leading Light
From her inception, the Christian Church has established herself as a formidable moral force and an institutional icon of exemplary living all through human history. Perhaps no other figure has stood out as a shining example for moral rectitude in human history than the personality known as Jesus of Nazareth. Born in Palestine and raised as a Jew, the founder of the Christian religion set conceptualized and established his example with such purity of purpose and tenacity of Will that he revolutionized his generation with just a band of twelve fishermen. He envisioned and established the Church as a sterling example of human character and living as depicted with the saying: ‘let your light so shine forth before men that they may see your good work and glorify your Father in Heaven’ 2.
After him, his band of twelve took the self-same gospel to the “uttermost parts of the earth”. A cursory glance through the Bible, Christendom’s sacred scriptures, will reveal its unrelenting concern and emphasis on morality and the establishment of social justice as a priority amongst humanity. Indeed, all through the pages of scripture, one finds biblical injunctions such ’keep my sheep’.., ‘feed my sheep..’, ‘..plead the cause of the widows and orphans’, etc. There can therefore be no doubt about the fact that the Christian Church was intended by its founder to be the voice of sanity amidst the clamour of the marketplace that humanity is. Paul Maier, writing the forward to the book How Christianity Changed the World by Alan J. Schmidt, opined: ‘No other religion, philosophy, teaching, nation, movement- whatever- has so changed the world for better as Christendom has done. Its shortcomings have been heavily outweighed by its benefit to all mankind’3. The book’s author also stated regarding liberty and justice as seen by today’s culture: ‘ The liberty and justice that are enjoyed by humans in Western societies and some non-Western countries are increasingly seen as the product of a benevolent secular government that is the provider of all things. There seems to be no awareness that the liberties and the rights that are currently operative in the free societies of the West are to a large extent the result of Christendom’s
influence4. Historically relevant documents such as the Magna Carta had important Christian ties as evidenced by its preamble which began, ‘John, by the grace of God…’ and stated in unequivocal terms that the charter was formulated out of ‘reverence for God and for the salvation of our souls and those of all our ancestors and heirs, and for the honour of God and for the exaltation of the Holy Church and the reform of our realm, on the advice of our reverend (church) fathers5.
In essence, the Magna Carta displayed what its formulators, as Christians, expected of the King and his subjects concerning human rights and civil liberties. Likewise, the Constitution of the United States of America was influenced by French philosopher Baron de Montesquieu, a Christian. It is recorded that the argument for the separation of powers as dictated in the Constitution was as a result of the Christian teaching of the fallen nature of man. In the course of human history through all ages, several individuals who have determined the course of their societies and civilizations to positive moral ends are recorded to have often been clergymen, or at the very least men of the Christian faith. Shining examples of such lights within Christendom ( and also predating the Church in the old testament) include the prophets Moses, Isaiah, Nathan, Elijah, Micah, the Apostle Peter, Martin Luther, William Wilberforce, Rev. Martin Luther King Jnr., Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Pastor Martin Niemoller etc.
Christendom as Vehicle for Development in Nigerian History
The role of the Church leadership as regards civilization and development in Nigeria’s history cannot be downplayed either. Worthy of note are the activities of Christian missionaries who brought Western education and healthcare to these shores establishing educational institutions and healthcare facilities of repute for the welfare of Nigerians. From Lagos to Calabar to Enugu, the Christian leaders of that era sought to better the lot of the people by fighting to abolish horrendous practices such as ritual sacrifice of twins and patiently introducing wholesome practices such as vaccinations which helped eradicate raging epidemics such as smallpox. Like popular columnist Leke
Alder questioned in his blog post: ‘Who can forget the work of Mary Slessor, who combated the inhumane culture of killing of twins?’6 Educational institutions such as Christs’ School, in Ekiti State, Baptists Boys High School and Abeokuta Grammar School, both in Ogun State endure as living testaments to the vision of the Christian leaders of that era. Another astounding characteristic of that era is the fact that both health and educational facilities were provided either free or at heavily subsidised rates. Students in the missionary-run schools were often given full or partial scholarships to enable them gain access to the qualitative education being provided within the classrooms. The role of other indigenously established Christian organisations and churches cannot also be ignored. it is not far-fetched to say that Christendom contributed immensely to the processes involved in laying the foundation stones for modern Nigeria. As a matter of fact, it was the church that educated the first set of civil servants and it has been at the vanguard for cultural re-orientation in Nigeria7.
It should also be stated that Christendom has stood in good stead of the government in the area of the glaring absence of a functional social security system. Church leaders have been found to involve themselves in developmental programmes corporate social responsibility plans such as youth-empowerment seminars, drug rehabilitation programmes, orphanages, sex-worker rehabilitation programmes. Rev. Sam Adeyemi, a Christian leader based in Lagos State is reported to have renovated five State-owned
secondary schools in his community impact programmes 8. Hospitals, schools, old peoples’ homes are a few of other social amenities that some church leaders have expended resources on for the upliftment and betterment of Nigerian society in the absence of government due to corruption and mis-governance.
It is therefore safe to say that the positive impact of Christendom has no doubt been felt in modern Nigeria.
The Decline of Christendom: The Rise of a New Gospel?
It is however unfortunate that in spite of the hitherto mentioned positive contributions of the Church in Nigeria to the development of the nation, recent trends in Christendom here in present-day Nigeria also simultaneously reveal a marked departure from the positive leadership role in social responsibility and national development. It is no longer news that the Church which is expected to be a shining light for the larger society in matters of morality, decorum, upright social character has fallen into disrepute in some quarters. A curious slant has crept into the theology of Christendom in Nigeria- one that emphasizes materialism above the sanctity of its original teachings and the ways of its founder. It is a twist that soiled the pristine garments of Christendom.
Ngozi Iheanacho, in her academic paper titled: A Critical Look at Contemporary Nigerian Christianity bluntly stated that: ‘The contemporary Nigerian Church has been engulfed by the quest for materialism which is already prevalent in the (larger) society. All across the land, signs of total submission to capitalistic tendencies, especially in insatiable material acquisitions looms large in Nigerian churches. Material craving is seen as the new idea of fulfilment of life and ultimate reality’9.
It is indeed no exaggeration to say that the level of material quest in Christendom, especially by Christian leaders is radically in deviance, and inimical to the core values and philosophy of the early Church. Recently, the media was rife with reports of the acquisition of a private jet as a birthday gift by Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, a Christian leader in Nigeria through the ‘contributions of church members’10. Sermons and homilies in many churches now place undue emphasis on worldly wealth while the church leaders consciously or unconsciously measure success in life in terms of wealth, prestige and power; the three key principles of stratification and social mobility in secular society9. Emphasis is also placed on ‘tithing’, ‘sowing and reaping’, with cunningly crafted clichés such as
‘name it and claim it’, ‘a thousand times more offering’, ‘prophet’s offering’, and ‘Isaac seed’, which are, in actual sense, nothing more than another way to fleece the befuddled laity.
Another alarming trend in contemporary Nigerian Christian is the total lack of concern about the sources of funds or properties brought to the church as offering or tithe. Nigerian dailies reported in 2009 the case of a hotel cleaner who brought the humongous sum of ten million naira to church on a Sunday morning11. Needless to say, both clergy and laity shouted ‘Glory’, ‘Hallelujah’ without giving thought to the issue of how on earth a hotel cleaner could have a tithe of ten million naira.
An unfortunate consequence of this unhealthy slant and emphasis on material acquisitions, wealth, prestige and power by leaders in Christendom is the fact that other weightier matters of social justice, equality and social welfare are left ignored in flagrant disregard of the rebuke that Jesus gave to the Pharisees, when he said: ‘Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, and anise and cumin and have neglected the weightier matters of the law- justice, mercy and faith’12. Profit appears to have become the all-consuming concern of some Christian leaders.
Hence, we find the distasteful and grossly unpalatable scenario in which churches set up educational institutions and charge tuition fees that are way beyond the financial reaches of majority of their church members.
Sunday Adelaja, a Nigerian Church leader who reportedly owns and pastors the largest church in Ukraine was reported to have been indicted for the crime of defrauding his church members of funds through an elaborate Ponzi scheme13.
Christendom in an Unholy Romance with Nigeria’s Political Class
Conventional wisdom and history teaches that religion and politics often make strange bedfellows. Hence, the strict injunctions for the separation of the Church and the State embedded in the American Constitution. A plausible reason for this is the strong influence that religion wields over the reason and the emotions of men. Strange then is it that in Nigeria today, we find venerable Christian
leaders dallying with the corrupt political class. Little wonder, that Rev. Matthew Kukah, a Christian leader of the Catholic Diocese in Sokoto State accused several other Christian leaders of muzzling themselves up with their unguarded and compromising dalliances with political office holders and focusing on material acquisitions14. The recently reported suspension of relationship in the Christian Association of Nigeria by the Catholic Church is another case in point. The Catholic Church said its decision to “pull out” of CAN was informed by the national Christian body’s alleged undue romance with the Federal Government. The church added that it was suspending its relations with CAN because the body, under the leadership of Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, was moving in a different direction from CAN’s laid down objectives15.
Speak the Truth to Power: A Call for Elijahs, Moses’ and Isiahs
Jesus, the founder of Christendom, metaphorically described his followers as the ‘salt of the earth’16. By virtue of its chemical composition, salt was, in earlier times, used as a preservative as it acted powerfully to stem putrefaction or rot in meat or fish; it was also used sometimes to treat bodily wounds. This use of imagery reveals that he understood the civic function of his lieutenants and his entire army to be stemming the tide of all forms of rot and corruption in human society. Such were the roles played by the prophets such as Nathan, Elijah and Jeremiah in the days of yore. Such also was the role played by Rev. Martin Luther King who argued for the moral correctness of non-violent civil disobedience to an unjust government. Rev. King’s life is particularly inspiring in this regard. He confronted tyranny, segregation and poverty on the streets of America (in the slums of the South and in the glittering streets of the North). The civil rights movement he led awakened the conscience of America and today his life, struggle, writings and speeches inspire still. Bishop Eivind Berggrav of Norway, a Lutheran Bishop known as the primate of the Church of Norway and remembered for his unyielding resistance against the Nazi occupation of Norway during World War II even though he was under isolated house arrest during most of the war, battled the evils of Nazism
while remaining loyal to God and his beliefs. The renowned Bishop wrote “when a Government becomes lawless and acts with arbitrary despotism, the result is a demonic condition, that is to say, the Government is Godless. To obey such a satanic government would be nothing short of sinful…In circumstances of this kind, we have as a matter of principle the right to rebel in one form or another’’17.
Irish Carmelite Bishop, Donal Raymond Larmont, the Catholic Emeritus Bishop of Umtali (now Mutare), Zimbabwe opposed the racist policies of the then Rhodesian Government of Ian D. Smith and its efforts to establish a racially segregated State on the South African model. He s
imilarly wrote on the duty of the Church and Christians to actively seek the good of Society by works and action thus: “Have not those who honestly believe that they fight for the basic human rights of their people a justifiable claim on the Church for the Spiritual administration of the Clergy. How can one counsel loyalty and obedience to your ordinances when to do so is tantamount to giving approval to the manifold injustices you inflict? To keep silence about one reign of oppression in order the better to combat what you alone consider to be another, is wholly unacceptable’’18.
Other models of exemplary Christian leadership in secular society include Archbishop Desmond Tutu during the South African Apartheid era and Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German Lutheran christian leader in 1930s Nazi Germany who was executed by the Adolf Hitler-led junta for anti-Nazi dissent.
In view of the dilapidated state to which Nigeria has regressed, it has become imperative to reawaken the leadership in Christendom to their role as the soul of the nation in these turbulent times. It is particularly disheartening however to observe that some citizens among the citizenry argue thoughtlessly for the neutral or even negatively biased posture of the Christendom’s leadership with regard to governance in secular society and church finances. This appears to be in accordance with the Stockholm Syndrome phenomenon in which hostages and victims express and exhibit sympathy and empathy, characterized by positive feelings for their captors, sometimes to the point of defending the said captors19.
Conclusion
The present state of affairs in Nigerian national life calls for similar acts of courage and integrity to stem the rot of corruption that is ravaging the fabric of the Nigerian society. Whilst compromised church leadership throng the halls of power to jaw-jaw with the high and mighty in a bid to grab a chunk of the rapidly disappearing national cake, who will stand like the prophets, reformers and dreamers of old and speak the truth to Power? The fuel subsidy protest of January 2012 provide a beacon of hope as few Christian leaders such as Pastor Sarah Omakwu and Pastor Tunde Bakare, both of the civil society organisation Save Nigeria Group (SNG), and Bishop A. Ajakaiye, a Catholic Church leader in Ekiti State took to the streets in non-violent protest against a hostile, needless and thoughtless government policy. At this critical juncture in the nation’s history, the potential for Christendom to determine the course of the nation’s evolution for good or evil cannot be over-emphasized. It is only right that Christian leaders, if they are indeed men of good conscience, rise up to their role as the light of the nation, Nigeria.
*Adedayo Yemi Ogunleye is a researcher and freelance journalist. His interests are human rights reporting and education, peace and conflict resolution research and reporting amongst others.