…How do you speak truth to people that are deaf – Archbishop Ojo
…Many in govt lack leadership training – Pastor Ilesanmi
…The Church is not an opposition – Pastor Ayopo
It has been observed that religious leaders of today shy away from speaking truth to power.
They would rather keep quiet than speak out against misgovernance by politicians.
For many observers, Christian clerics in the country are not saying the right things to the government even when it appears there is a failure of governance.
Many have accused Church leaders and pastors of not following in the footsteps of prophets and religious leaders of yesteryear who stoutly stood against oppression and impunity of the governments of their days.
Prophet Nathan confronted King David and said to him, “Thou Art the Man.” John the Baptist confronted King Herod, which eventually cost him his life.
Concerned about the growing level of silence against political oppression and bad governance, many Nigerians pointed out that Jesus took leaders of his time to task, and never shied away from saying the truth even at the risk of his life.
Today, those who should tell the government the truth are courting the politicians and collecting appointments and other freebies, which are said to be responsible for the growing level of silence across the country even as the present administration is set to mark its second anniversary.
Some observers have also pointed out that the current silence of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) as an institution is as a result of the ‘Muslim-Muslim’ ticket of the Tinubu-led administration.
It is believed that the leadership of the Christian body has chosen to sit back and watch as events unfold – either the government got it right or wrong, the PFN official/unofficial position is to stay indifferent to governance in the country.
The PFN is one of the five blocs of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), and many Nigerians have expected the leadership of the Church in Nigeria to take a stand on bad governance whenever it appears politicians are getting it wrong.
“When you are speaking in front of a deaf man, you are wasting your time. You can’t say anything when somebody is deaf and dumb,” Joseph Ojo, presiding Archbishop, Calvary Kingdom Church, said.
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According to him, those saying pastors are not speaking to power lack the understanding of Nigeria’s political ecosystem, because pastors are sometimes most affected by government actions and inaction.
“You can’t talk to politicians. Those who are saying that are anti-Christ people, they hate the church, they hate pastors, and they hate the well-being or the growth of the church,” Ojo said, highlighting the fact that pastors or Church leadership do not operate a different economy from the rest of the country. “So, the Church doesn’t have a separate market we buy from? We don’t have a PFN or CAN petrol station.”
Ayodeji Ayopo, a Lagos-based Baptist pastor, told BusinessDay that the Church cannot constitute itself to an opposition, but would rather engage the government proactively. According to him, speaking truth to power is a relative term that could be misconstrued by observers.
“The church has done this well and she continues to do so. The Church should not be viewed as opposition as people utilize such a position to use the Church as a weapon to settle political scores,” Ayopo said.
According to him, the President of the Nigerian Baptist Convention, Israel Akanji has been speaking truth to power at any given opportunity. “When Nigeria hosted Baptist World Alliance last year, he spoke about the deadly kidnap gangs in the country and urged the government to protect the lives of the citizens amongst other suggestions,” Ayopo disclosed.
On the second year anniversary of the Tinubu-led administration, Ayopo said that it is not in the place of the church to celebrate any administration in power. “However, the truth is that the government can be commended on some efforts being made to restore the economy. A case in point is the payment of all the debt to the IMF.”
According to him, the government is making efforts to revamp the economy, but there are major measures to embark upon to cushion economic hardship. “Insecurity is also a major issue that needs attention.”
Babatope Ilesanmi, founder and senior pastor, Revival Summit, said governance actually started from the church. According to him, it was when the Church failed in its responsibility, that politicians assumed leadership role.
According to him, it is however not fair for the Church to give up governance to the politicians alone. He said this is so because no government can be better than the governance of God.
“So, for that reason, if the people are going to take up political appointments with the motive or with the mandate of God to represent God, then it is worthwhile.”
Ilesanmi, a former chairman of Ikeja province of the PFN, said that many of the people in government today are opportunities, who are not well grounded or trained in governance. “Most of them were opportunities.”
According to him, Nehemiah had no direct calling into ministry in the Bible, but only received a report that bothered him so much, which made him take it upon himself to rebuild the broken walls of Jerusalem.
“And Nehemiah didn’t betray God, he didn’t also betray the poor people he was representing. So, those who are taking up a position should not be discouraged, rather they should be challenged, and rebuked for being there and not representing God,” Ilesanmi said.
Chidi Anthony, founder, Kings in Christ Ministries International, said it was not true that pastors are not speaking truth to power. According to him, many often use their pulpit to speak against bad governance and other happenings in the country.
He told BusinessDay that people sometimes accuse the Church, especially pastors of not speaking truth to power because they wanted the Church or pastors to adopt a confrontational approach in addressing issues of bad governance.
On the second anniversary of the current administration, Anthony said that there was nothing to celebrate as more Nigerians have been made poorer since this administration started about two years ago. “Let’s tell ourselves the truth. The truth remains that there is nothing to celebrate.”
Anthony, who is also the president of the Pentecostal Ministers Forum (PMF) said many Nigerians now celebrate hunger, insecurity, and unemployment. Admittedly, he said the president is doing his best but his best has not been enough to address the socioeconomic challenges of the country. “The only problem this administration has is that a lot of sycophants surround the presidency.”
He however, urged the presidency to do more in addressing the growing inequality in the country. According to him, it is difficult to highlight the achievements of the current administration because of the growing number of poverty among Nigerians.
