Why Church in Nigeria must speak with one voice, by CAN Official

Rt. Rev. Stafford Nwaogu is the presiding bishop of Praise Centre Ministries Inc. Owerri, Imo State and the outgoing chairman, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Imo State Chapter. In this interview with SEYI JOHN SALAU, Bishop Nwaogu spoke on the dissenting voices in CAN, how to unite the church in Nigeria, among other issues. Excerpts:

CAN is structured in blocs, but within the blocs there seems to be dissenting voices; a case in point is the last Imo State CAN election and the event that followed; what is your position on this?

Let me use this opportunity to thank those Christian fathers who allowed themselves to be used by God to start the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN). The idea of having a body like CAN is one of the best things that have brought blessings to the Christian faith in Nigeria.

However, the dissenting voices heard within blocs are there because of denominational interests over-riding the interest of CAN. In addition, the voices are heard because of some denominations that make up the blocs being neglected or marginalised by those who feel they are superior and others are inferior.

The election of Imo State CAN was put off many times due to lack of conducive atmosphere for election, mainly because some blocs felt that the blocs whose turn it is to present the candidate for the office of the State Chairman was not qualified to do so. What made him not to be qualified according to the accusers was that they do not like their mode of worship. You have allowed them to be part of CAN for these years and you have collected yearly dues and some levies from them. I wondered why this allegation should come now when it is their turn to lead. Of course, others and I who believe in equity and fair play insisted that OAICE bloc should be given their right to present the next state chairman. Eventually, the election was held and OAICE won the chairmanship position. Blocs in CAN should see themselves as equals and partners in progress. Let team spirit be developed, as the objectives of CAN become the target for all to achieve. Let the blocs judiciously take up their financial responsibilities so as not to hinder progressive ventures for the good of Christians.

Christians today appear to place more emphasis on denomination, which is creating division in the body of Christ; what is your take?

It will be difficult for the Church in Nigeria to speak with one voice because Christ Jesus is no more the sole interest of many of the Churches. Denomination is now the interest to be defended, promoted and emphasised by Christians. In any system where there is no common interest, unity and progress becomes difficult. When people or bodies in a system have their own interests different from that of the system, it breeds disunity, suspicion, intrigue, conspiracy, betrayal, corruption and even threat to life and property.

That is why you see unhealthy and unfortunate display of attacks and counter attacks against one another over national issues. As a result, there is no respect for the elected or appointed leaders. Not allowing the Holy Spirit to be resident in many Christians has resulted in divergent views contrary to the truth of the gospel. Many things are done carnally that should be done spiritually; thereby many walk in the flesh and not in the spirit. CAN should avoid things that blind it from the realisation that it is the last resort to the oppressed in a nation like ours.

Christ prayed for the unity of the church, and the motto of CAN says ‘That they all may be one,’ how can we unite the church in Nigeria in view of what was witnessed in CAN, Imo State?

Fragmentation or balkanisation of the Christian denominations is a clear indicator that the oneness of the body of Christ is still elusive. I would like to mention some of the factors that are fiercely militating against oneness in Christ Jesus. Greed and inordinate ambition send cruel discordant tunes that give rise to disagreement and misunderstanding among believers in Christ Jesus.

As a result, Ecclesiastical office filling has made Christians to draw swords against one another, thereby registering ugly reports of shame. Poverty used as a political strategy became an effective weapon of manipulating the masses. In order to beat this obnoxious strategy, which has helped to inject corruption into the nation, doctrines and strange practices rose up and created divisive issues. So the ungodly belief that the end justifies the means gained foothold in the lives of many.

The body of Christ to a reasonable extent can unite to become a force to reckon with in Nigeria. Going back to the Bible sincerely through its basics will help lay a solid foundation of unity. This move will enable Christians discover the evils of relativity of the truth and reject it out-right. There is an absolute truth and that is what Jesus Christ is. Unity will come when relativity of the truth is discarded and the absolute truth accepted as the ultimate.

The admittance of the Holy Spirit in our hearts and the grace to keep Him resident is another major antidote for disunity. The Apostles who God used to write the New Testament wrote from different locations with different past levels of knowledge and exposure. But they never contradicted one another because they had the Holy Spirit resident in them and also they allowed Him to lead them.

The love for Christ should supersede the love for denominations of the Christian faith. If our focus and emphasis are on Christ, lasting unity will be achieved and Christ will be glorified.

The fathers and the elders in the body of Christ should begin to speak out and not watch things go wrong under their noses. When fathers and elders in the body speak, let it be the truth of an unbiased umpire who fears God.

There should be disciplinary actions taken against defaulters. Let the new constitution of CAN accommodate ways and manners defaulters should be handled in order to achieve unity and decency, thereby not giving some people the opportunity of hiding under the freedom of religion and association to cause trouble.

Oneness in Christ will be achieved if, among other things, CAN leadership at various levels will avoid the temptation of becoming a subsidiary of government of the day. The body of Christ as CAN or as blocs of CAN should be a father to all political parties without being partisan. They should collaborate with the government and people with laudable programmes that will make for peace, progress and security. Christian leaders should have periodic consultations with their members that are political office holders to foster good governance.

Let’s talk a bit about politics. Few weeks back, this administration marked its 2nd year in office; how would you rate the performance of the Muhammadu Buhari administration?

There are areas the administration has done well but things to be done are far more than things already done. There are key areas people expected the administration to have as priority, like improving the economy, provision of adequate and uninterrupted power supply, security and tackling unemployment challenges in the country.

If the above-mentioned areas are not given adequate attention, people will feel that the administration has done only little or nothing. Frantic efforts should be made to tackle these primary tasks, one after the other. The EFCC has been doing good works but the administration should not put their eggs in one basket by focusing only on EFCC. Diversification of the economy, particularly as it affects agriculture, should be courageously and vigorously pursued.

Security should be beefed up at our borders. People from North African countries are almost everywhere in this nation and that is not healthy security-wise. The administration should, with urgency, correct the imbalance in appointments, award of contracts, recruitments and distribution of the nation’s wealth. These will help to silence dissenting voices, chains of protests and wanton destructions of lives and property.

Finally, what is your view on the President’s state of health and do you think the people around him are managing the information properly?

President Buhari is not faking sick. He is sick and should be given opportunity to have the best medical attention for his healing. We as Nigerians should wish him well and earnestly pray to God for his healing.

The Presidency should let the nation know what the President is suffering from and how fatal it is. If the sickness has gone bad and there is no hope of surviving, he should then resign and power handed over to his Vice.

We have heard so much about the Aso Rock Cabal that has taken delight in trying to truncate our dear democratic system. Have they become untouchable and above the law for the DSS and the National Assembly to keep quiet over the ugly situation?