As The Church Slept… (5)

Fri, 05/08/2011 - 1:36am | SHARON FALIYA CHAM

Obviously, a well informed believer will find such instruction largely misplaced and not well thought out, for while it’s easy to trust the non-Church goers in this example above the same cannot be said of the Church goers among them, for their style of governance and administration over time has been a disgrace to the Church. That was the position some of us Christians faced over the choice of Gen. Buhari and Goodluck Jonathan, for while the General has proven to be trustworthy, honest and loaded with integrity the same cannot be said of Goodluck Jonathan.

The difference between the two is as clear as day light, which is, for the well informed anyway. Or for example, you are well endowed by God with some wonderful intelligence and brilliance and you are engaged as a political consultant by a Muslim you trust, and whom you believe has what it takes to work well for the people contrary to his Christian opponent whom you know to be a womanizer, a drunk and not compassionate, and you have been promoting the candidature of your man up till voting time and the next worship time before elections your Pastor says, “you must vote in defence of the faith”, it is pretty clear you will be upset.

And if you follow such an instruction it will amount to betrayal, like Goodluck Jonathan did to his agreement on power sharing with his political colleagues, and this is like teaching you to have a seared conscience. So, to paraphrase Bishop Oyedepo’s saying, a partisan Church will lose God’s backing, because of the obvious confusion such partisanship will bring in the body of Christ and we should always remember that “…God is not the author of confusion, but of peace...”

This does not in any way preclude individual Christians from pursuing political offices. But the shepherds of the Church, the Pastors should be able to guide voters on acceptable character and behavior expected of leaders so that they can make informed and not sentimental choices, for a Christian president is not what will multiply the Church, neither will it evangelize or make more people become born again believers, and neither will it also help meet any need in the Church. Rather, insisting on having a Christian president suggests the Church is in a competition and therefore wants to be like others. It amounts to losing focus from God and putting the trust of the Church on earthly kings, which means falling into idolatry.

The nation of Israel fell into this kind of trouble at the time of Prophet Samuel (1st Samuel 8) when they asked him for a king so that they will be “like all nations.” This grieved Prophet Samuel, for he knew this was a clear rejection of God and God told him, “Hearken unto the voice of the people…..they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.” God consented to their desire, for He does not impose Himself on anybody.

But after showing them the corrupt manner in which these earthly kings will rule over them the LORD, through Prophet Samuel made this shocking statement: “And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the LORD will not hear you in that day.” Because they have chosen an alternative, to be like others God said He was shutting His ears against them. This must explain why in spite of the Church’s prayers for Obasanjo’s government it kept getting worse in corrupt practices, to the point that even his son accused him of sleeping with his own wife, for the Church endorsed him and campaigned for him. Unanswered prayers!

It was St. Augustine who said, “Be careful what you ask of God, for more tears are shed over answered prayers than unanswered ones!” In spite of increased prayers by the Church for national peace after they put Goodluck Jonathan in power the rate of violence has increased astronomically! Doesn’t this agree with St. Augustine’s assertion? And since the post election violence in the north till now President Jonathan has not gone to personally assess the damages and commiserate with the victims, most of whom were his much sought 25 per cent. What is his level of compassion and commitments for his supporters, not to talk of the nation?

Emerging facts after the 2011 elections suggest, among other unreasonable reasons, that the endorsement of Goodluck Jonathan by the Church leadership was to spite Gen. Buhari’s running mate, Pastor Tunde Bakare. This much came out on page 14 of The Nation newspaper of Tuesday, April 26, 2011. In a story captioned The preacher as politician reported by Sunday Oguntola, an unnamed prominent preacher said this of Pastor Bakare: “How can somebody who has condemned almost all the leading pastors in town suddenly turn around to ask for our support?

Since he was the only person preaching the right gospel, he should as well bear his own cross alone.” I was shocked. So it was all about vengeance and not about credibility; not about integrity; not about people with the required drive and passion to deliver national service! Then the realization that there is much hate in the Church dawned on me. This runs counter to the LORD’s injunction in Proverbs 24:29; “Say not, I will do so to him as he hath done to me: I will render to the man according to his work.” This applies also to the seething anger and hate in the Church over burning of Churches and killing of Christians over the years, which have culminated in “a Muslim cannot rule us” mentality. To deliberately and mischievously oppose a credible non-Christian who even has on his ticket a credible Christian, just because of vengeance amounts to going against the Word of God.

Then where is the love Jesus Christ admonished us to exhibit to our neighbours and enemies alike? In these closing moments of the world we must always remember what the Lord Jesus gave as signs of the end of the world: “And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another….And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.” Matthew 24: 10 & 12. You see it all there: politicians betray one another and cash in on religious sentiments (hate and anger) and get into office, not for service but to become very wealthy.

I heard Pastor Joel Osteen, senior pastor, Lakewood Church say, “If we are gonna be the light of the world we must turn on the switch by being friendly.” When the love of many in the Church wax cold it means many in the Church will be full of hate and bitterness, such that they will be making judgments and decisions emotionally which could be irrational and full of errors, which also means such judgments and decisions will be out of the realm of the Word of God. This is why I assert that the Church or C.A.N leadership erred in endorsing Goodluck Jonathan for the elections, for it is apparent they never summoned the facts of how he governed Bayelsa State when he was governor, how he sojourned in his one year presidency before the elections and the available evidences published in the media on the power sharing agreements he was party to and which he violated.

Time Magazine’s Alex Perry, in their April 25, 2011 edition (page 29) said, “Always in Obasanjo’s shadow, Jonathan’s first year has been unimpressive.” Decisions not made based on information and knowledge are destructive. I believe this must be the reason the great man of God, the late Pastor Charles Spurgeon said, “I pray with the Bible on one hand and a newspaper on the other.”

That is why if the Church had bothered to critically examine the record of the PDP 12 years rule she would have shunned the party and her presidential material. The Church would have seen that the party corrupted our social values by turning our youth into thugs and cultists and prostitutes; they armed young men in the Niger Delta to massively and murderously rig the 2003 general elections, a group which has now become an albatross to the nation. The party’s regime earned, in close to 12 years, almost eight times the total income Nigeria earned since her founding from 1914 to 1999. 85 years!

Yet, the evidence of such 12 years huge earnings are seen in the megawatts of darkness the power company supplies Nigerians, the roads that erroneously suggest Nigeria was the theater of the World Wars I and II, dirty and drugless hospitals leaving many healthless, tree shade primary schools, roofless and paintless secondary schools, broken cabinets filled school laboratories, ethicsless and fundless tertiary institutions of learning, waterless villages and cities, a ticking time bomb of huge unemployed and unemployable youth, happyless people, jobless and wealthless populace, homeless plenty, mansionfull corrupt elite, carless and trainsless populace but limousinefull corrupt elite, truthless judiciary with very wealthy judges and yet, very wealthy local government chairmen, state commissioners, state and federal legislators, federal ministers, governors and presidents.

This is the testimony of the party. It is a party that practices democracy in the breach, and if you want to reform her you will become an outcast, and if you are fortuneless you will just become one of the so many unsolved murders that littered their 12 years rule.

One time, Prof. Wole Soyinka, a Nobel Laureate called them “a nest of killers.” She is a party that if you are asked to name one good person in their elite class you will have to think for 24 hours to come up with a name, and at the end of the 24 hours you will still be scratching your head thinking of the answer! It is hard and almost futile trying to distinguish between the devil and the PDP. This is a party that begins her meetings with prayers to God but end up discussing how there should be no service and benefits to the public. O’ yes, the minutes of their meetings are the story of Nigeria in their years in power! They certainly know how to mock God very well.

They kill and rig elections and beat their chests and say to us without a hint of remorse that “God gives power to whomsoever He wishes.” Such impudence! Now they have gone a step further by co-opting the Church to be her annex, because they have fielded a Janus-faced presidential candidate that could not be marketed unless high scale deception was added as a marketing strategy.

AS THE (WESTERN) WORLD SLEPT

On saturday, 6th August 2011,while browsing on the internet to read the newspapers, an article by Sharon Faliya Cham in The Leadership newspapers caught my attention.Curiously, I clicked on the article titled ''As The Church Slept'' (5).

After reading through, all I could say to myself was ''thank you Sharon for a well written article'', as she brought out the hypocrisy of our ''religious leaders'' and followers during the last general elections.

I did not try to read the comments that accompanied the articles, as I was conviniced most fanatical followers of our ''religious leaders'' will lambast and castigate Sharon for calling a spade a spade and not by any other name.

I was tempted to search for the previous articles (1) - (4) by Sharon on the same issue but was only able to find articles (3) and (4). What happened to (1) and (2)? Anyway, articles (3), (4) and (5) delivered the messages aptly and appropriately.

I was then tempted to forward the articles to friends, other Nigerians that would have missed out on reading the articles, both at home and in diaspora.But restrained myself from so doing, so as not to start any controversy and condemnation, as most of them, knowing my political affiliation and my stand on the last general elections will brand me a GMB ''bull dog'', a ''terrorist'' and end up letting me know that ''you belong to the wrong party''.

The purpose of this write-up is, not to to give credence to the post election violence that followed the last general elections and the media hype of the killings of some Youth Corpers on national assignment. I have expressed my views on the issues at any given opportunity and even at a media interview,condemned the killings, sympathised and condoled family members of those who lost their lives and loved ones in the process.

The leadership of my Party (CPC), including GMB, condemned the kilings and violence unequivocally.

Inspite of my stand and explanations, Nigerians are gullible and will believe whatever they want to believe because of what they were instructed to do based on their ''faith'' by their ''religious leaders''. Exactly the point Sharon would want Nigerians to note.

I recommend, therefore.the articles to all ''religious leaders'' (true or false).

Therefore, taking a cue from Sharon's articles, I will title this write-up ''As the (Western) World Slept''.

On the same day (saturday), that I read Sharon's articles, the International electronic and print media informed the World of the break out of riot in Tottenham (North London) by mostly youths, in reaction to the killing of a ''local youth'' by a Police man in that community.

As I write, three or four days after, the riot has turned violent in Tottenham spreading to other cities - Birmingham, Liverpool, Croydon, Bristol Hampton, Leeds, Manchester etc and other London communities in Hackney, Camden, Ealing etc,The extent of violence and the magnitude of destruction, have never been witnessed/experienced in British history - politically or otherwise.

A certain Mr. Howe (media personality), a grandfather in Tottenham that was interviewed by the BBC TV, told the World that his grandson and son had told him long before this violence broke  out, that violence was bound to break out in the area, as a result of inhuman treatment to the black youths in their community by the Police and vicariously by the British Government.

A shop owner, Mr.Duncan Reeves,probably in his 70s, whose shop was destroyed and looted, told the BBC that ''there must be something terribly wrong in the system to have allowed this to happen''.

But no one is blaming political opponents, religious sects or fundamentalism for this violence, as Nigerians are wont to do!!

However, if you watch events unfolding in Britain right now, the violence all over is spontaneous and those involved cut across British youths of all races. This tells us that, youths in Britain have seized the opportunity to vent and express their anger on the system they believe does not adequately provide for them in terms of improved economy (employment), basic needs and security.Ditto the the Tunisian revolution, which has spread through out most Arab countries.

In April 2011 in Nigeria, following the Presidential elections, northern youths, in a spontaneous reaction, took to the streets in frustration, as they believed that their mandates were subverted and stolen in the elections. They saw their hopes for a government and candidates acceptable to them, vanished before their very eyes.

At the time, the (Western) World slept, did not listen and proclaimed the elections ''free and fair''

The northern youths,rightly or wrongly,told the World that, they have been short changed.

But the (Western) World slept.

Yesterday, it was the Tunisian,Arab and Nigerian youths. Today, it is the British youths and tommorow, it can be anywhere in the World.

The Youth Revolution!!

The British Prime Minister, David Cameron has condemned the violence as criminal/criminality. Every right thinking person should condemn the violence.

However, objectively we should look at the root cause leading to the violence and establish if the cause was promptly handled. We await however, the Investigative Commission  to be set up to look at all issues leading to the violence.

The governments in the Western World are always quick at lip-service, to condemn third World governments for injustice,dictatorship,corruption and underdevelopment etc., without actually holding these governments responsible for the acts. This is double standard.

The Western World governments should note that, ''an injustice anywhere (in the World) is a threat to justice everywhere ( in the World)''

Nigeria and indeed Western Countries are no exception.

Let the World beware!!