Perhaps, one of the greatest misfortunes that have befallen this nation is the lip service that we pay to issues concerning the welfare of the people and the nation. Nigeria is cursed with bad leadership, selfish, greedy, and inept with no fear of God. For them, Christianity or Islam or whatever faith they profess does not have any link whatsoever with their conduct in public office.
I do not have any problem with that because I have come to accept that as our fate and that that will be our lot until we fix the problem of leadership in the country.
However, I am pained when those who should know and call our politicians to order when they misbehave in office, are the ones giving them excuses for failing in office. These clerics, going by whatever name, be they priests, pastors, Imams, etc, who should call out these politicians for poor performance in office; for their unconscionable looting of our common patrimony, are the same ones tolerating and providing them excuses for their abysmal conducts in office.
How do you tell an elected political office holder like the president or a governor that Nigeria’s backwardness is spiritual? How can you tell them that they have been trying their best and doing all that is humanly possible to improve the situation of the people? How? That was exactly what respected cleric and General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye, has been doing.
Last week, Adeboye drew the flak of, I must add deservedly too, lots of Nigerians for his comments during his visit to the Kaduna State Governor, Senator Uba Sani.
Pastor Adeboye was reported to have said that the challenges facing Nigeria require spiritual solutions.
He said Nigeria urgently needs the help of God to overcome the challenges facing it, adding that he was in Kaduna to pray for the people and give them hope. He noted that though the problems seemed to have persisted and in some areas, getting worse, they will not last forever as they will be over sooner than later.
Adeboye said, “I am delighted to be here again. I was here about two or so years ago with the former governor (Nasir El-Rufai). At that time I came to pray for some of my members who were kidnapped and they were miraculously rescued.
“I have come again this time around because it has become clearer to us that the problem our nation is facing is more than political. And it is not as if people in authority are not trying their best; they are doing as much as humanly possible. And then we found out that when you have problems that are beyond human ability to solve them, then, you call on the Almighty.
“So, we have been going around in our own little ways to support the efforts of all the various governments and parastatals to call on the Almighty to come to our aid, because we need help. We need help and we need it urgently.”
Pa Adeboye simply misfired. He missed the point and threw away an opportunity to prick the conscience of the Kaduna State governor. Does Adeboye know that the reason Nigerians and Nigeria have remained the butt of jokes by many today is a result of successive poor leadership?
If anything Adeboye and his fellow clerics are the main reason we have remained in our comatose situation because they have abdicated their role of being the conscience of the nation. Rather than situate and place the blame appropriately, they attribute them all to the spiritual. Which of those countries, be they in Europe, Asia, the Americas, even Africa that our leaders run to seek comfort and the best in life, were built through prayers and the large-scale hypocrisy which we display rather shamelessly in Nigeria?
Our spiritual leaders owe us a duty to challenge our leaders. This role for the clerics is becoming increasingly difficult because they have been compromised by the politicians, and other political office holders who are often ‘pastoring’ in some of their churches. It is difficult to tell a politician from a religious leader. They shuttle between the political rostrum and the altar of God with ease.
The best we have had so far as a people was when clerics stayed away from politics or when they were more preoccupied with their primary assignment. Today, the new generation of churches has made it very convenient for pastors to become politicians and are still at liberty to mount the pulpits to preach the gospel. Today, every politician who is a Christian is most likely a pastor in one of these churches. Do we still wonder why the chase or pursuit for mammon has been given priority over the spreading of the gospel of salvation? Are we still wondering why the desire to build massive auditoria and acquisition of stupendous wealth have remained the goals of church leaders?
The reason Nigeria is failing is because we have simply failed to provide leadership devoid of corruption, greed, and selfishness. How can any nation prosper with the level of recklessness prevalent in Nigeria? No amount of prayer without good work can save Nigeria. Since God did not come down from heaven to provide roads and other infrastructure for the people of China, America, Germany, Rwanda, and some other African countries, He will not do it for us either. It must take the good work of our elected leaders to do that.
When next Adeboye and his colleagues meet with the president, the governors, and other elected public office holders, they should speak this truth to them. They should tell them to work for the betterment of the people because God is not in the business of providing electricity, building hospitals and schools.
Adeboye and his constituency should limit the access of politicians to the altar of God. They should stop giving microphones to politicians whenever they attend church services. The altar of God cannot be a political platform for them to celebrate their appointments.
Nigerians today are suffering. They are suffering many years of poor leadership. They cannot be suffering for their sins. No amount of prayers can change this reality. Does Adeboye know that many of our prayer points in Nigeria have been provided for by men in other countries? They have been provided for by men whose only desire for public office is to better the living conditions of their people, not men driven by greed, avarice, and inordinate ambitions.
Any man of God who is afraid to die for speaking truth to power should quit the job. As we say in local lingo, Adeboye don fall my hand.
