Rev

Rev. Akinola and War on Corruption

Julius Joel

I read on the Internet a Nigerian newspaper edition of October 3, 2005 in which it was stated that encomiums and hard truths flowed yesterday for President Olusegun Obasanjo and his administration at the 45th Independence anniversary service and dedication of the National Ecumenical Centre, Abuja. The truths which the paper claimed was spoken to Obasanjo by the Rev. Akinola was that the fight against corruption by Obasanjo was superficial and has not gone far enough. My question to Rev. Akinola: Is the fight that of Obasanjo alone?

Nigerians are fond of passing the buck - the fight for corruption is the president's prerogative not that of every Nigerian. And when the president starts, it is turned to tribal or religious issues. I am surprised Akinola did not cover his head in shame and stated that people who claimed to be Christians are the majority of those who have been accused of corruption. So far a Knight of the Catholic Church has come out clearly and confessed. I would have thought that the war should have started in the church - Akinola's or Okogie's churches. Is there no system or guidelines for sanctioning erring members of the church? Those fingered for corruption including the former minister of Education, the former Senate president, and a number of senators all belong to the Christian faith. We must also not forget what is playing itself out in Britain currently. The Nigerian governor in jail in Britain would certainly claim to be a Christian. There is a previous governor by the name Joshua - certainly that name is Christian name. So isn't time that the Church in Nigeria began to do some assessment of itself and confront the corruption carried from the church to political life of its people? If corruption can be stamped out in the Nigerian church corruption will have no place in Nigeria. Nigerian church is corrupt that is why Nigeria is corrupt and it is no use Akinola blaming others, but he together with people like Okogie who likes to criticize government should seat back and think. If the church is not breeding corrupt officials for government Nigeria will not be corrupt. It is the church in Nigeria which is corrupt that makes our nation corrupt. What has Akinola got to say to the revelation by Obasanjo that fake cheques were received from so-called church people?. If Christians send-in fake cheques what does that say about Akinola's preaching?. Akinola made himself popular for his war against gay and lesbian sexual orientation spoken against widely in the bible. Akinola should also take it upon himself and insist that his church and the churches belonging to CAN organization he presides over in Nigeria must spend every Sunday, and indeed every day of the week preaching against corruption. Any of their members accused of corruption should be sanctioned as laid down in the bible - send them out of the Church, to stop putting the church into disrepute. Okogie, a catholic priest has not done anything against the Knight of his church. He is still wearing his Knighthood uniform and behaving as if nothing has happened. When we have such in the church why are we blaming the government? Why has the church not publicly come out against its members caught in corruption?. When will Akinola and Okogie heed Jesus Christ's doctrine that you should remove the log in your own eyes first before removing the peck in another person's eyes? Are Christians leaders especially the bishops , cardinals, etc. (and Nigerians love titles as if that is what can make them make it to heaven) like the religious leaders in Jesus Christ's days who he described as white sepucres full of dead people's rotten bones?

The issue of corruption is both a legal and moral issue. The church is responsible for the moral upbringing of people, why then has the church failed to make people morally fit for government? Why has the church not seen the fight against corruption as church's rather than government's? Any member of the church caught in corruption smears the church and so both Akinola, and Okogie should be ashamed of themselves because they have failed.

One area of corruption which the Church in Nigeria "join them when it could not beat them" is in the issue of pilgrimage. Is it not a sin or morally wrong to use government's money to go for pilgrimage? How fair is it for the church in Nigeria to support such venture when it is clear that not all church members have equal access to the fund to travel on pilgrimage?

Secondly when has the church in Nigeria stopped preferential seats for political office holders? I thought everybody is equal before God? Hasn't Okogie or Akinola been given special attention to political office holders? Has church priest - bishops, cardinals, etc, not been featuring prominently in ceremonies like the one accorded Wabara when he went to his village after been accused of corruption?

The problem Nigerians have put on Obasanjo is that of "if you do it you are damned, if you don't do it you are damned". For the sake of argument lets assume Obasanjo's fight against corruption is superficial as claimed by Akinola, but he has started anyway, can't anybody in Nigeria stop the criticisms and rather position themselves in whichever area possible to carry the fight forward? Shouldn't there be an area where it can be pointed out that the Church in Nigeria as well as the press in Nigeria are also fighting corruption? Is there anything wrong with Nigerian church spear-heading proceedings in court with hard evidence of corruption against its members? Must the Church also be members of the rumour mongering Nigerians who only exist in the grapevine but not bold enough to stand by what they believe? And if it is only Obasanjo fighting corruption and he put his foot down, won't Nigerian press and the so-called human rights organizations in Nigeria (who indeed should be human wrong organizations and lawyers) accuse him of dictatorship?

If Akinola, the so-called president of the Christian Association of Nigeria cannot spearhead the fight against corruption in Nigeria, then he had better shut up his mouth and stop criticizing others. I make bold to say that it is because the church in Nigeria is corrupt that is why Nigeria is corrupt. The Christians are the corrupt Nigerians, and that also means Akinola, Okogie and others are also included. If no Christian in Nigeria can be accused of corruption Nigeria would have won the war on corruption.

Julius Joel is Christian and a Nigerian living in South Africa.

ENCOMIUMS and hard truths flowed yesterday for President Olusegun Obasanjo and his administration at the 45th Independence anniversary service and dedication of the National Ecumenical Centre, Abuja.