I AM AFRAID

I AM AFRAID

If the content of the Manual of year 2020 Catholic Laity Council of Nigeria Laity Week is a reflection of the insecurity situation in Nigeria,and the commentaries therein the perceived solutions to the glaring security problems in Nigeria, then I am afraid. I am afraid, not because of the enormity of the problems, but because a major part of the commentaries in the said Manual is at variance with the teachings of Christ, whereas same is said to represent the position of the Catholic Laity Council of Nigeria; the mouthpiece of the Catholic lay faithful of Nigeria.

I am afraid because, though the Catholic Church has been given the secrets of the Kingdom of God by Jesus Himself, and thus, could be said to be representing Christendom by virtue of her grace and authority, the commentaries in the said Manual are, at best, a betrayal and a disservice to the Master, the Body of Christ, and the faith we profess as Christians.

I am more afraid because the contributions and recommendations in the said Manual are from eminent personalities of the Catholic Church in Nigeria such as the Episcopal Chairman for the Laity/Bishop of Kano, the Bishop of Sokoto, the National Chaplain of Catholic Laity Council of Nigeria, the Director, Pastoral Agents Department, Catholic Secretariat and others. These are high ranking officials of the Catholic Church in Nigeria that the President of Catholic Laity Council of Nigeria, Mr. Thomas Adekoyo, in his Message therein aptly referred to them as ‘our erudite scholars’. 

I am worried and sorrowful because, if the contents of the Manual really represent the faith of the Catholic Church; the light of the world and the salt of the earth, then, I regret to say that we are very far from our Eldorado and on the instead closer to our waterloo, except Grace intervene. This is so because, just as in the time of Jesus the Pharisees and Elders refused to acknowledge Jesus for who He is simply because He is a carpenter and the carpenter`s son, we also, the acclaimed bearers of the light of Christ have chosen to be deaf to the voice of God and blind to the ways of Christ in all our human affairs because we are Catholics and erudite scholars.Then I dare say, with fear and trembling, that our woes are just beginning, because, like the Israelis, and as prophesied by Isaiah, we are Christians by name as our hearts are far from God.

In the words of the Episcopal Chairman for The Laity and Bishop of Kano Diocese, Most Rev. John Niyiring, ‘it is the belief of Bishops, as it is well known, that the bane of violence and insecurity is attributed to leadership, bad governance and poor service delivery. The governments have the obligation of providing the common good for her citizenry including the protection of life and property and unless this is done, the peace promised by our Lord Jesus Christ may elude us for where there is no justice, there can be no peace. As pastors of souls, we are committed to fervent prayers and contributing our quota to complement Government’s effort through intervention in health care delivery, education, among others.’ He continued that ‘the Lay faithful have an important role to play in changing this scenario through the ballot exercise for genuine leaders, who are sincere, well cultured and have the fear of God’. He ended by saying that ‘it is our prayer and hope that the good Lord who brought us into one country will intervene in our situation and bring lasting peace and joy to our country’.

In his own contribution, the Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, the popular Most Rev. Dr. Matthew Hassan Kukah attributed our weakness and security challenges to the fact that ‘we as citizens have surrendered our rights to security and protection to the State’. He believes that ‘things would have been better if we all have the right to bear arms and defend ourselves’. It is also his opinion that we Catholics must rise up to assert ourselves in the choice of those who govern us and in Nigerian politics with the Catholics Vote. That though we are the largest Community within the Christian Church, yet we wield the least influence in politics, and this to him is a tragedy. 

To him, a nation that does not provide its citizens with an aggregate of the issues that constitute our rights as human beings such as education, health and welfare threatens the security of its people. He recommends that since there is no Christian army that we can call up, fighting insecurity for us will have to depend on our readiness to take to the streets in protests, using the judicial process to secure our rights. He concluded strongly by saying that we have outsourced our duties and obligations to false gods by assuming that somehow, security will come by way of miracle or long prayers while we do nothing concrete.

Rev. Fr. Isaac Dugu, the Director of Pastoral Agents Department of Catholic Secretariat, Abuja in his contribution postulated that if we must stay together, there is need to practice true federalism, respect fundamental rights of every citizen, practice true democracy, provide and guarantee basic amenities and infrastructures for the citizens. He concluded by reminding us of the devastating impact of insecurity in our religious life, economic development, social-political life, healthcare and education. According to him, combating insecurity goes beyond guns and drones, but rather spreading good education because weapons can only kill terrorists, but the idea of terrorism and insecurity can be solved with education. 

The National Chaplain, Catholic Laity Council of Nigeria, Rev. Fr. James Adamu recommended that the way out of this disturbing situation is that there must be a collective effort. Government, the Church, individuals and organizations must all put their hands on the desk to fight insecurities in the nation. According to him, in doing this we must be honest. That the hierarchy of the church has promulgated some prayers to help free the country from the manipulation of evil men and women, we must keep to these prayers and wait for God’s time. 

My brothers and sisters, above are the brilliant ideas, postulations and conclusions from our erudite scholars, priests and shepherds of the flock of Jesus, doctors of souls and the continuators of Christ in our search for peace and security in our land and nation Nigeria, and by extension, all over the whole wide world, and for this, I am very much afraid for poor humanity. 

I am afraid and sorrowful that in the matter of life, death and judgement, the above are the sermons from our shepherds and high-ranking officials of the Holy Roman Apostolic Catholic Church. And the reason for my fear and worry is that I cannot hear an echo of the words of the Master in the sermons of these apostles. Or are servants not supposed to always echo the words of their master in the affairs of the Master? Or do these erudite scholars now pretend to have a better gospel for humanity than the Good News of Christ? But I remember St. Paul in his letter to the Galatians saying that there is no other gospel, but that there are some people trying to change the gospel of Christ. Is that what is happening here? If so, then we all have reasons to be afraid.

Over the years, we watched and participated, directly and indirectly, in the gradual desecration of Nigeria by Nigerians, and now that the chicken has come home to roost, we play the blame game in the name of God and of His Holy Church. We blame God for our woes, and the flock of Christ is being fed with poisonous leaves and laced water by lazy shepherds despite the efforts and sacrifices of the Master. And for this, I am afraid. Jesus gave us everything, including His life so that through grace, we all may know the Father, love Him, and strive to do His will on earth as revealed by the Son. But what have we become? At the instigation of the evil one, we have stubbornly refused to follow the Ways of Christ, and instead chosen to become Christians by name but with our own religion called Humanism.

Because we have eaten so much of the things of the world and of the flesh, we are now so concerned with our human life and how to protect and preserve it by all means that we have lost focus on God. We have forgotten that God is the source of life, and that human life has become, nothing more than a means to conquer eternal life on account of the sin of Adam. Did Christ not tell us that whoever wants to save his life but not in accordance with His will, shall lose it and that whoever loses his life for the sake of Christ will find it? Was this not why St. Paul warned that we should let the Spirit direct our lives so that we will not satisfy the desires of our human nature and lose eternity, for what our human nature wants is opposed to what the Spirit wants. But for many, and as reflected in the commentaries in the Manual, life is or has become an aim in itself, and here lies the problem-we have given reign to our human nature instead of the Spirit.

Again and again, we have chosen to ignore and disregard God’s command in our human efforts to preserve life, and like Adam after the sin, we have refused to acknowledge our misdeeds, look up to God in our guilt and ask for mercy and instead, we blame everybody but ourselves for the woes and wickedness in our homes, families and nation. We have chosen to forget the appeals of the Saints that we should not conform to the standard of this world, but to offer ourselves as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to His service and pleasing to Him at all time so that we may have life in Him as offered and guaranteed in Christ. And I dare ask, was Jesus` time, perhaps different from the perils of our time and free of all forms of insecurity? Are we forgetting that Rome was in-charge of Palestine in the days of Jesus, and the strained relationship between the Jews and the Romans? Even before the coming of Jesus, was there peace on earth, or we just want to pretend that all has been well with humanity and Nigeria until yesterday. 

The Good Book is replete with accounts of the struggles between light and darkness since the sin of our father Adam, and of the faith and steadfastness of our fathers in faith. Did St. Paul not warn us that we are not fighting against flesh and blood, but against the wicked spiritual forces in the heavenly places? Yet, we act as men, controlled by our human nature, instead of as children of God and controlled by the Spirit, and for this we suffer and shall continue to suffer. Please, in which of the Four Gospels are the above postulations and recommendations of the erudite scholars of the Catholic Church as in the mentioned Manual flowing from, or is my Bible different from theirs?

What was Jesus` attitude to the social, economic and political problems of His era? Oh, what have we done to ourselves, and what are we doing to the Body of Christ?  Is this how we repay the Lord for all His goodness and mercy? Is this the proof of your love for the Master and His flock? He gave you His Testament, but what have you done to His flock. He called you friends, and gave you everything, but what are you giving Him in return. He laid down His life as a foundation for our salvation, and told you to follow His footsteps as you care for His flock. But by your sermons as above, you have become another Judas Iscariot, another crown of thorns, another nail on His already bleeding hands, another betrayal from His very own.

Why are we neglecting the teachings of the Master while professing his Name? He gave us a Religion; to love and live in love, and He gave you a Mission: to save souls. Are you sure you are taking proper care of the souls in your care so that they can make heaven, or you have something better than souls to offer the Master when He calls you to account? Or do you have another Master apart from Christ to whom you will give an account of your stewardship. Have you not heard that those who lead consciences astray will be judged severely by the one who suffered and died for the salvation of souls? Oh, what have you done to yourselves, and what are you doing to the flock of Christ? He has given you so much, and all He asks is that you feed His lamb with the bread of life so that they might persevere in doing good while on earth and so bear many fruits for eternity. But what have you become, Apostles of Christ but deniers of the doctrine of Christ?

You abuse your office and dignity as a priest when you feed the flock of Christ with human incentives and poisons instead of with heavenly food as provided by the Master. How could you say that the peace promised by our Lord Jesus Christ is dependent on poor human‘good governance’. Really? That the practice of true federalism and respect of fundamental human right of citizens is the solution to the insecurity in our Nation.  How could you as an Apostle of Christ put the sublime on mundane things, or is peace perhaps of man and not from God?

But I remember the beautiful prophecy of Isaiah and the song of the angels at the birth of Jesus; the Prince of Peace. They announced the coming of the long-awaited peace, but to men of good will, and this has always been your Sermon at Christmas. So, what went wrong? What collective human effort have you now come to know that is capable of defeating evil in nations and to restore peace instead of the good will of men who live as children of God?  If it is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation, always and everywhere to give God thanks through His Son Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Redeemer, for through Him all things were made, why are we ignoring Him. 

If we are God’s children and so, in Him, we live and move and have our being, why are we pretending that we do can without Him. If we believe in God, as we profess in our liturgy, why are we stubbornly refusing to follow the ways of our Father who is in heaven, so that His will may be done on earth as in heaven so that we may have peace? If we believe in the Communion of Saints, why are we not imitating and living the lives of the Saints who are our brothers and sisters and lived among us yesterday. Or did Christ not build His Church on apostolic foundations and to offer all humanity His heavenly teaching? Why are we professing Jesus but not accepting His doctrine?

Faith teaches, and I believe, that peace is of Christ. It is not a product of any good or bad government. Peace is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit, and available to men of goodwill. It is not, and cannot be obtained through ballot exercise, but through obedience to the will of God. That is, to love God above all things and neighbor as self. Furthermore, your prescription of human justice to have peace is an attempt at the impossible, because man is not just. Human justice, being imperfect and blind can never meet the standards of God as to deserve peace for only God is just. And knowing our weaknesses, God did not call us to be just, but to love and live in love, for it is only in an atmosphere of love, as commanded by God, that we can find peace, for peace is of the Spirit. 

Similarly, the quality of leadership we get is not tied to the ballot choices we make, for a people deserve the leadership they have. So, stop blaming the leaders, for they are products of the people they serve. For, as from the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks, so also, if the majority is good, a people will produce a good leader. And as a good leader will be ensnared by a bad majority, so also if a bad leader should emerge from a good majority, he will be overwhelmed with the goodness of the many. And most importantly, God, who is just will definitely harken to the request of His good children that if the wicked leader refuses to change his ways, God will remove him from office or from life itself. But I do know that a people deserve the leadership they have for an orange tree cannot produce coconut fruits, it is an abnormality.

The insecurity in our land is not the fault of government, but a reflection of the evil in all of us. This is so because the fall of a people is always as a result of the congregation of the collective faults of the people themselves. And this fall must take place as a consequence of their stubbornness and refusal to amend their ways despite the patience and goodness of God. So, our refusal to love and obey God in His commands is the reason for the strife in our land and all over the world and nothing else. But unfortunately, our erudite scholars are singing a different tune. But then again, what do you expect when the servants have abandoned the ways of the Master, they become blind guards. So, stop pointing fingers, and as the Master rightly said, remove the log from your eyes that you may see well and lead us aright.

We all know that there are Catholics in every aspect of our nationality, and that they are no saints. So, Your Excellency, the Catholic Vote is not and will never be the solution to our national woes. Or do you perhaps think that by virtue of the Catholic Vote you could be the good leader to take Nigeria out of the quagmire she has found herself? You will fail woefully, and bring disgrace to the Church. In the same vein, your recommendations that government should invest heavily on education, health and welfare, that we should have the right to bear arms and take to the streets in protests is, with all due respect, most unfortunate because you misrepresent the Good News of Jesus, and you jeopardize the faith of the flock He suffered and died for. 

I ask again, was the Palestine of Jesus heaven on earth or as messed up as our Nigeria of today? What was the attitude of Jesus, and the Saints to the social, economic and political problems of their time? Did they perhaps conform themselves to the standards of this world or they lived and died in the service and will of God for mankind? Was their response to the difficulties of their times as you prescribed above? Do you remember what Jesus said of John the Baptist in Luke 7:28, and His response to the killing of the same John who incidentally is His cousin? Did He carry placards or encourage His followers to take up arms in protest? Oh, you say times are different, but you lie, for I do know that God is the same yesterday, today and forever, and His commands remain the same.

As God, Jesus could have done anything and everything to the court of Herod and all who raised their hands against Him, but He did not. He walked away, continuing the will of His father on earth until the Cross. He told us to do the same, and with His power and holiness, He encouraged His flock to keep the faith, to remain focused on the heavenly race, and not to fear those who can only kill the body, but to fear only what can kill both body and soul, which is sin and sinfulness. He walked away, and urged us to follow His footsteps, to turn the other cheek, and to give to those who forcefully take from us. But now, you are teaching us to take to the streets in protests and bear arms. And I ask you, as children of God or ‘soldiers’ of Christ.What would be our victory and reward?

I do believe that peace and security will come to man by way of miracle and or long prayers if my priests will lead and guide the flock in and along the ways of God as revealed by Jesus. But this will only happen if they concern themselves with their mission to save souls and leave politics to politicians. I once heard that the joy of a priest is in the priesthood, but unfortunately, many have abandoned the flock and the Gospel to become human right activists and political alleluia boys. Instead of with the virtues of faith, hope and charity, they have adorned themselves with the riches of the world and turned their back on the Cross, they have become the modern-day high priests and motivational speakers. And having allowed themselves to be distracted by the very things that Jesus warned against, they lose focus, and they drag souls to perdition.

But I do know that if my pastors remain in persona Christi as they ought, they shall remain the Continuators of Christ, and by His grace will lead us aright as our good shepherds. We all shall then love and live in love as Christ taught us, and God will concern Himself with our affairs, and as a people, we shall have peace through the merits of Jesus Christ. For as the cassock does not make the priest, so also Christians by name does not make us children of God to deserve true peace except we first live in holy obedience, and reconcile with our father who is in heaven. 

Obedience to God by all in all things is the only panacea to the ills of our nation and the whole world at large, except we want to continue to call God a liar. But I thank my lay brother Rtd. SP. Christopher Effiong who was generous and bold enough to mention in his contribution that Neglect of God and His Ordinances is one of the root causes of insecurity in Nigeria. Though same is number 9 instead of being number 1 of his nine causes of security challenges in Nigeria in his write up, I cannot help but commend him for his courage and faith. 

I also commend my brother Mr. Joseph Nashakyaa of Kaduna Archdiocese who in his contributions was bold to say that when we maintain a relationship with God, our common language of expression and altar of service becomes commitment to quality service delivery for scripture admonishes us to serve wholeheartedly as if working for the Lord and not men.He went further to say that the Catholic Church abhors all forms of violence and must sustain its proclamation against violence as evil and an unacceptable option to resolving problems. He mentioned Our Mother, The Rosary, The Fatima message and Saint Francis of Assisi. May God bless both of you for you are signs that God will always provide for His own.

The insecurity in our land is not the fault of President Buhari. We are only reaping the fruits of our labour, and if we are not careful, we shall self-destruct. Yesterday we blamed PDP and today we blame APC.Whom shall we blame tomorrow? Already we blame God for putting us together as a nation, andregrettably, the Church, who is supposed to be the light of the world and salt of the earth has abandoned the footpaths of the Master and taken to the highways of human civilization, and humanism has become her new bride. The shepherds have become politicians and motivational speakers, businessmen and statesmen, despite the warnings of the Master against the flesh, the world and the evil one.This is why they have lost their angelic wings and have settled for poor human fame and glory.This is why they can tell us that our future peace and happiness depends on our vote for a poor man like us. That sound education is the solution to insecurity, andthat true federalism and popular democracy is the solution to all our problems. Really?If the shepherds and doctors of souls are saying these, what should the politicians be doing.

Is this perhaps a true reflection of the weakness in our faith or a deliberate effort to deny the existence of God by His own.Oh, my good Jesus, forgive us our sins for we know not what we are doing. For like Israel in the time of Prophet Samuel, we have also rejected you, becoming man in all things despite your efforts and sacrifices at making us children of God. You gave us everything necessary, including your life andthe Sacraments for our strength, guide and grace as we sojourn in our exile on earth, but we have abandoned it all, and turned our back on you. Your mercy oh Lord, your mercy.  

I know that peace is of God, and that because we have wandered far from Him in our disobedience, we lack the peace promised by Jesus, and there is much insecurity around us as in a storm. And whereas I know that God is aware of the insecurity in our land, I also know that He is not the cause, for man is always the architect of his fortunes. Our insecurity is not of God, but the consequence of our romance with the evil one. 

In our sinfulness, we have entered into an unholy alliance with Lucifer, and for this, we suffer lack and disorder. In his wickedness, Lucifer prompts us to live in disobedience of God so that we may remain his prey, and our own enemy, and in our sinfulness, he incites us with his poisonous breath to create fear and disorder by ourselves for one purpose; that in our despair, we may question the existence of God. This is the end game of Lucifer, but we are too blind in our erudite holiness to appreciate this, and for this, we get more separated from God to the ruin of our souls. 

Oh, men of the collar, this is the simple reason for the strife and disorder in our land and everywhere; the destruction of souls by Lucifer, and you ought to know this. Thus, the battle to save souls from the clutches of Lucifer, in imitation of your Master should be your one and only concern, and learn to walk in His ways in this your endeavour, so that the Master may bless your efforts with the peace which the world cannot take from us. Please, leave politics to politicians, and the economy to businessmen and public/civil servants. And when they call on you or come to you, remember the Master, and teach them as He would. 

I remind you of the appeal of St. Peter to be good shepherds of the flock that God has given you, to take care of them as God would want you to. To be alert and on the watch, for your enemy, Lucifer, roams around day and night, like a roaring lion looking for souls to devour, and this is what is happening. But sadly, we seem to be in support of this evil enterprise of Lucifer with our public denial of God, and our disobedience to the will of God for mankind.

God told us to love Him above all things and our neighbour as ourselves, so that we may have peace, but we have stubbornly refused, and instead, we are playing the blame game. We seek solutions from darkness, solutions that are problems in themselves, because we want to deny God, or pretend that we can do without Him. I repeat that there is no form or type of government that can guaranty peace to a people except they first and foremost align with God, and walk in His ways. This is the teaching of the Master, and the Religion He gave to us. But if as a shepherd you have chosen not to, are afraid of, or ashamed to echo the words of the Master in the affairs of man, then you are a bad steward, and I am afraid of you.

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