You have expressed strong opposition to the FRC code which the Federal Government recently suspended. What are your reservations?
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The issue of an edict that rocked Nigeria last week will not be quickly forgotten by those who love this nation and who want it to thrive and be peaceful.
The code had some features and among them is dictating the tenure of religious leaders. We commend President Buhari for moving quickly to quench the fire. Otherwise, it would have engulfed the whole nation.
The man behind the code has been sacked from office. This is a move in the right direction but the government has not done enough. The edict should not be suspended; it should be repealed and annulled. Such a code should not exist at all.
Do you agree with the school of thought that believes that the so-called exploitative activities of some religious leaders should be checked?
There is a clear separation between the government and religious bodies. The government can regulate funds and finances of organisations under it but it has no business regulating the tenure of spiritual headship of any organisation.
In the first instance, the government does not know the covenant that spiritual leaders have with God who ordained them. Religion is not a creation of government, so it should not venture into a terrain where it does not have authority.
The authority of spiritual headship is spiritual and not political. There is no place in the free world where it is the norm for government to dabble into religion or attempt to regulate tenure and spiritual activities of religious leaders. In the United Kingdom and the United States of America, governments support the church through an established programme. In the United Kingdom, it is called the gift aid.
What is the best way that government can check financial impropriety in religious institutions?
The church regulates its finances and there is financial return to the government, but the government has never meddled in the affairs of spiritual leadership by dictating their tenure. This should be left to the dictates of the constitution of the organisations and their internal governance.
The constitution of each organisation is submitted at the Corporate Affairs Commission. The CAC approves the constitution for each of the spiritual organisations and allows them to govern themselves through the constitution. Government, therefore, has no right to dabble into religious matters beyond a certain point that is clearly stated.
The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria guarantees the separation of state from religious affairs. If this will not be respected because of a code or edict, then it should be applied to Islam too. The first person it will affect is the Sultan of Sokoto that is seen as the spiritual head of all Muslims in Nigeria.
His tenure should also be regulated but if you cannot do this, let sleeping dogs lie. If you are trying to do it for the church, then you must do it for Muslims too. That is to show how volatile the matter is. But we do not want that edict. It should not only be suspended but should be repealed. It is an error.
Let the government face its duty. Power supply in Nigeria is epileptic. We run the cathedral on power generators every day. Our budget for fuel is N0.8m every month. Let the government do something about that. Our roads and infrastructures are in bad shape. These are the jobs of the government. That is why we voted them in.
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The hospitals are glorified mortuaries, while our politicians travel abroad to receive medical attention because they can afford it with taxpayers’ money. They do all these while poor citizens die in our badly funded hospitals. Unemployment rate is unacceptably high. Our youths go to school but they do not have jobs to do. There is corruption in government and everywhere. Let government address the situation instead of dabbling in spiritual matters.
Spiritual leaders are not politicians. They are faithfully serving God and giving hope to masses where the government has failed them.
Apart from the church’s rejection of the code, what other action are you taking to ensure such code does not come up again?
With what the government attempted to do, we have made up our minds to mobilise our people to be involved in grass-roots politics. We will all cherish our voter cards because these people are surely coming back to beg us for votes. We will show them the strength of our numbers because we have seen what they can do. They are trying to cross the line to our lives. We are not troubling their governance and policies, why are they trying to create trouble for us?
Like I said, the edict or code should not only be suspended but should be completely scrapped if it still exists. Let me, however, call on all Christians to be calm and go about their lawful businesses without any fear. The church is not a creation of government so it cannot control its leadership. Government cannot weaken the church with a policy.
Our lord Jesus Christ says, “Upon this rock, I will build my church and the gate of hell shall not prevail over it.” What I will advise Christians to do is to rise up to pray and fast and stand on the word of God. There is the urgent need to evangelise now so that our numbers will increase. No government can oppose the church and succeed. Believers should not oppose their spiritual leaders and support them (government). We have been able to let the government know that we are sad about the development because it took so long to act on the code.
What is your reaction to the argument that influential religious leaders arm-twisted the government into suspending the code?
We thank President Buhari because he moved quickly to suspend it but he must do better to repeal it. Otherwise, the fire of religious conflict could engulf this nation.
A particular church whose leadership was targeted is a church that is both apostolic and universal. It exists in 192 nations of the world. The current leadership took it from 40 parishes and multiplied it to thousands of folds.
That church has an internal organ of governance. Let it use its structure and constitution to govern itself. The government did not interfere or contribute statutorily to its development, why meddling in its affairs now? No church should be subjected to any government edict in Nigeria.
Don’t you think opposition of religious leaders to the code passes the wrong message, especially in a democratic setting such as Nigeria?
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No! But if you feel it does, then it is your duty to educate the masses. I have said it before and I will repeat it again. There is a separation between religious bodies and Government. Men of God were called by God and put there by God. When they entered into covenant with God, the government was not there. There is nowhere such is done. Even in Europe, Asia, all over the world. Each church has its constitution that is guiding it. So the code should not just be suspended, it should be repealed.
The Church is not a creation of the Government, it is the creation of God. And nobody usurps the duties of the church or the Man of God and goes scot – free. This was the sin King Saul committed in the book of 1 Samuel 13: 8 -14 that made God tear the kingdom from his hands because he usurped the duties of Samuel; the man of God (1Samuel15:24 -28).This is not a joking matter. The Spiritual controls the physical, that is how God ordains it.
The argument has been made that there should be no interference by government in religious affairs and yet politicians campaign at churches/mosques during election. What is your response to those who believe this view is hypocritical?
Well, it is not hypocritical in the sense that politicians are also members of the community with full constitutional rights to religion. When they come to church or mosque, they come to fellowship as individual members of the society, as private citizens of the country and not as government officials or representatives. And the church does not dictate to its members who and who not to vote for. So in this wise, you can’t be alluding politicians coming to religious worship centres as interference in politics.
Would you advise Pastor Adeboye to reclaim his former title of General Overseer, given the suspension of the code?
Pastor Enoch Adeboye is a seasoned man of God, a man imbued with tremendous wisdom, a man of great grace. He and members of his council would have thought it through before taking such a decision. It is not a whimsical or impromptu decision. Like I pointed out to you earlier, it was a decision that had been in motion long before the FRC regulation came into force. R.C.C.G is in over 190 countries of the world.
The decision was therefore taken to overhaul the administration of the church and position it for greater productivity. So advising Adeboye to reclaim his title is not relevant, because he remains the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God Worldwide.
Let me reiterate for point of emphasis that Adeboye has not resigned, he has not stepped aside, he has not appointed a successor, he has only appointed an overseer for Nigeria.
Punch
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