Long time followers of this space will be aware that we occasionally update our book of definitions to reflect the real meaning of words and phrases in current usage. Sometimes our definitions are different from the conventional meanings as per the English language dictionaries but be assured that we capture the true essence of all we define.
Hockey Mums: Good looking, white American women who do not read newspapers, and who think Africa is a country. They may run for high national office without once discussing economic issues, foreign, defence or national security or indeed anything of substance.
Cultural Conservatives: Racists. People who are deeply suspicious of any one or any ideas that reflects a background or viewpoint different from theirs.
Socialist: George W Bush! He has nationalised banks, he’s spending unprecedented sums on economic stimulus packages and bail-out packages for failed businesses.
Fiscal Conservatives: Republicans, until they get into the White House! After entering the White House, they reduce taxes for the rich, expend the national budget fighting wars and helping the military-industrial complex, pile up huge fiscal deficits and increase the national debt to unprecedented levels.
Trickle-Down Economics: A principle crafted by Ronald Reagan and faithfully practiced by George W Bush that says that if you make the rich richer, the poor will get inspired to stop being lazy and work harder to get themselves out of their self-imposed poverty.
Primaries: The system by which political parties in the US choose their candidates for general elections. It is a transparent mechanism that allows any interested party member to indicate interest in any office and persuade fellow members to choose him as the party’s candidate. If he succeeds in persuading them, be becomes the candidate and can go on to win (or lose) the election. (Note-the word has a different meaning in Nigeria, where it means a process whereby a few party chieftains select the candidate and impose him or her on the helpless party members. If the members are stubborn, they may simply cancel the primaries and announce the candidate of their choice, who may not even have been a candidate in the primaries.)
Undecided Voters: People who knew they should vote for Obama, but were looking for a reason (other than his race) not to do so. Fortunately Obama gave them no alibi, so they voted for him.
Swing States: The few states that decide who wins the elections in America. Also means states with a lot of undecided voters.
Sarah Palin: A pitbull who wears lipstick and can see Russia from her home in Alaska.
Maverick: One maverick is good, but two? Another word for erratic, tactical and unpredictable. The older you get, the more “mavericky” you become. (Note-if you are a hockey mum, pitbull or Alaskan, it is also a word you can use to explain away any question you don’t understand-just say mavericky, mavericky, mackericky….ad infinitum, until the interviewer gets tired)
George W Bush: The lame-duck Vice-President of the US. He acts as President when Dick Cheney is undergoing another heart by-pass surgery. He was elected to office as a Republican, but before and during the last elections, he became an independent! Notice that John McCain criticised him and the Republicans avoided him like a plague. Having being silently expelled from the Republican Party, he was not allowed to attend a single campaign event for the McCain-Palin ticket.
Cindy McCain: The rich, glass-eyed, ice cold lady who lost to Michelle Obama.
Michelle Obama: She went to Princeton and Harvard, and is now very proud of the United States of America. Who wouldn’t be!
Hillary Clinton: The person who democrats would have nominated for Presidency if they were rational and sensible. But being Democrats, as usual they acted irrationally and chose a single-term, Kenyan-born, black American Senator from Illinois with a strange name, a middle name of Hussein and a very thin CV to Republican glee. Fortunately after eight years of George W Bush, Americans would have voted for even Hosni Mubarak if he was the alternative to the Republican Party! And God sent the ten plagues-stock market collapses, sub-prime mortgage crisis, bank failures, credit crunch, automakers potential bankruptcy, global energy crisis, global food crisis, rising unemployment figures, mortgage foreclosures and global warming to convince Americans to let his people become President.
Barack Obama: President-elect of the United States!!! The historical product of the dalliance between a Kenyan intellectual (who later returned to Kenya and as you might expect died of depression and alcoholism) and a white American idealist. Against all odds, he went to Columbia and Harvard and has now proven to all that if you have a child with an American passport, better leave him or her in America! Worst case the child will become Tiger Woods, or Shaquille O’Neal. Thank God they did not take him back to Kenya-he may have been shot during a students’ demonstration at University of Nairobi, by a policeman asking for bribe or during the post-election violence involving his Luo tribe. Alternatively he may have died of malaria, AIDS or tuberculosis. Or hunger. If all fails, the witches and wizards who killed his father would have turned their attention to him.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Africa and Barack Obama
Many Africans have high expectations from an Obama Presidency. It is very likely that many of those hopes will be disappointed. Many Kenyans for instance will feel a sense of entitlement when they apply for visas at the US embassy in Nairobi after January 20, 2009! Many African leaders will expect easier access and greater assistance from the US government after Obama is sworn in. African NGOs and civil society leaders will assume they can demand stronger support from the US government and its agencies. On the streets, senates and state houses across Africa, many harbour unrealistic hopes that an Obama Presidency in the US will in some way transform Africa and its relationship with America.
The reality is that the greatest transformation the Obama Presidency will carry out will be within the United States. Barack Obama takes office at a time when America is in the midst of serious financial and economic crisis-struggling to free itself from dependence on foreign (middle eastern) oil, facing the necessity of re-thinking its assumptions about the operation of its free market economic system, trying to save its endangered middle class which is reeling under the weight of a mortgage and housing crisis, growing unemployment, stock market declines, a credit squeeze and a looming recession. America must disentangle itself from the two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan it is currently fighting as well as resolve stand-offs on many other fronts-Iran, Pakistan, Russia, North Korea amongst others.
The US must repair and/or re-define its relationship with its allies in Europe, Asia and the Pacific, try to make peace in the middle-east, deal with global warming and climate change and must try to modernise its education, healthcare, social security and industrial strategy and architecture to deal with the challenges of the twenty-first century. In this myriad, Africa may unfortunately not be a priority for the Obama or any other US administration for that matter. My view is that instead Africa must itself learn the right lessons from the Obama victory and must choose a proactive and effective strategy for engaging with the US government of Barack Obama.
So what are the lessons for Africa from Barack Obama? Africa must create a society that gives opportunity to its own citizens. That requires investments in education, health and social infrastructure. That requires African governments to create a society that does not discriminate against children, women, ethnic or religious minorities and the poor. Africa must deepen its democracy and expand individual freedoms. That requires ideas-based politics, transparent elections and electoral systems, stronger political parties with disciplined and stable membership, internal democracy and popular participation. We must build better societies founded on ethics and a spiritual transformation that rejects wickedness, evil practices and witchcraft.
Our nations must become merit-based societies where people progress on the basis of their character and competence rather than opaque affiliations and nepotism. African societies must become more open allowing dissent and the multiplicity of ideas. The media must be supported to be more effective in its role as guardians of democracy and to become more accountable where they err. And African economies must allow entrepreneurial energies of their people to be released and design economies that are based on free enterprise principles, but with strong regulation, consumer protection and competition. Our economic systems must create jobs for the teeming unemployed and provide social security and public infrastructure (such as public transportation, urban water and rural development) to make things easier for the poor and marginalised. And we must reduce or eliminate corruption and mis-governance.
These are the real lessons for Africa from the success of Barack Obama. It is because of access to education that he and Michelle Obama could attend the best universities in America. It is because the Democratic and Republican parties have strong internal democracy that he could emerge as candidate of his party on the back of young, new voters and raise millions of dollars mostly from average Americans. And it is because of America’s transparent electoral systems that he could prevail in the general election.
So what can Africa realistically expect or demand from an Obama Presidency. I would argue that civil society should not leave African governments to decide our “terms of engagement” with Obama. We should help Obama define his Africa strategy-essentially his objective should be assisting Africa become more democratic, less-corrupt, more accountable to the people, and to offer better economic opportunity and social integration to its people. In effect the US government under Obama should be strongly encouraged to engage directly not just with government but with non-governmental institutions in Africa-the media, educational and religious institutions, civil society organisations, businesses, women groups and labour.
President Obama must nudge African nations towards greater investment in education, health care and disease prevention systems, water, public transportation and infrastructure and generally to raise the standard of living on the continent. He must focus strongly on ensuring free and fair elections and multi-party democracy in Africa and use the strong arm where necessary to compel compliance. Obama must reject the notion of an un-progressive black solidarity in which for instance African leaders refuse to criticise Robert Mugabe’s excesses in Zimbabwe even as he destroys his nation and makes the whole continent look foolish. Obama and the US administration under him must tell African leaders the truth and hold them to the same standards as developed world leaders. The best Obama can do for Africa is to help us improve our capacity to manage ourselves.
The reality is that the greatest transformation the Obama Presidency will carry out will be within the United States. Barack Obama takes office at a time when America is in the midst of serious financial and economic crisis-struggling to free itself from dependence on foreign (middle eastern) oil, facing the necessity of re-thinking its assumptions about the operation of its free market economic system, trying to save its endangered middle class which is reeling under the weight of a mortgage and housing crisis, growing unemployment, stock market declines, a credit squeeze and a looming recession. America must disentangle itself from the two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan it is currently fighting as well as resolve stand-offs on many other fronts-Iran, Pakistan, Russia, North Korea amongst others.
The US must repair and/or re-define its relationship with its allies in Europe, Asia and the Pacific, try to make peace in the middle-east, deal with global warming and climate change and must try to modernise its education, healthcare, social security and industrial strategy and architecture to deal with the challenges of the twenty-first century. In this myriad, Africa may unfortunately not be a priority for the Obama or any other US administration for that matter. My view is that instead Africa must itself learn the right lessons from the Obama victory and must choose a proactive and effective strategy for engaging with the US government of Barack Obama.
So what are the lessons for Africa from Barack Obama? Africa must create a society that gives opportunity to its own citizens. That requires investments in education, health and social infrastructure. That requires African governments to create a society that does not discriminate against children, women, ethnic or religious minorities and the poor. Africa must deepen its democracy and expand individual freedoms. That requires ideas-based politics, transparent elections and electoral systems, stronger political parties with disciplined and stable membership, internal democracy and popular participation. We must build better societies founded on ethics and a spiritual transformation that rejects wickedness, evil practices and witchcraft.
Our nations must become merit-based societies where people progress on the basis of their character and competence rather than opaque affiliations and nepotism. African societies must become more open allowing dissent and the multiplicity of ideas. The media must be supported to be more effective in its role as guardians of democracy and to become more accountable where they err. And African economies must allow entrepreneurial energies of their people to be released and design economies that are based on free enterprise principles, but with strong regulation, consumer protection and competition. Our economic systems must create jobs for the teeming unemployed and provide social security and public infrastructure (such as public transportation, urban water and rural development) to make things easier for the poor and marginalised. And we must reduce or eliminate corruption and mis-governance.
These are the real lessons for Africa from the success of Barack Obama. It is because of access to education that he and Michelle Obama could attend the best universities in America. It is because the Democratic and Republican parties have strong internal democracy that he could emerge as candidate of his party on the back of young, new voters and raise millions of dollars mostly from average Americans. And it is because of America’s transparent electoral systems that he could prevail in the general election.
So what can Africa realistically expect or demand from an Obama Presidency. I would argue that civil society should not leave African governments to decide our “terms of engagement” with Obama. We should help Obama define his Africa strategy-essentially his objective should be assisting Africa become more democratic, less-corrupt, more accountable to the people, and to offer better economic opportunity and social integration to its people. In effect the US government under Obama should be strongly encouraged to engage directly not just with government but with non-governmental institutions in Africa-the media, educational and religious institutions, civil society organisations, businesses, women groups and labour.
President Obama must nudge African nations towards greater investment in education, health care and disease prevention systems, water, public transportation and infrastructure and generally to raise the standard of living on the continent. He must focus strongly on ensuring free and fair elections and multi-party democracy in Africa and use the strong arm where necessary to compel compliance. Obama must reject the notion of an un-progressive black solidarity in which for instance African leaders refuse to criticise Robert Mugabe’s excesses in Zimbabwe even as he destroys his nation and makes the whole continent look foolish. Obama and the US administration under him must tell African leaders the truth and hold them to the same standards as developed world leaders. The best Obama can do for Africa is to help us improve our capacity to manage ourselves.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
We are all Americans!!!
We are all Americans now! America has demonstrated why it is the greatest democracy on earth. US voters have once again proven to the rest of the world that indeed America is the land of the possible. America has shown like Barack Obama set out to establish that there is no black, white, red, blue or purple America, but one United States of America. America has “sent a powerful signal to the rest of the world about racial and ethnic integration and the futility of racial, ethnic and other stereotypes and prejudices” as I wrote in “Miscellaneous Updates” on July 16, 2008.
This column has written nine times about the Obama phenomenon dating back to February 6, 2008 during the party primaries. Readers will recall that my initial preference was for a Clinton-Obama democratic ticket (A vote for Clinton-Obama) in which I sought to have “two for the price of one…Can’t we have a President Hillary Clinton and Vice-President Barack Obama and make it an event of multiple historical proportions-a first female president, who will also be a first former first lady to be elected Senator and then President, and who will be elected on a ticket that produces the first African-American Vice-President who can then go ahead to become President subsequently!...… ”
In May 28, I wrote “A Vote for Clinton-Obama Part 2” pushing the same argument. I noted that Obama’s election “would be a truly revolutionary event in American politics, and not just as some argue for the symbolism. It would indicate, just like J.F Kennedy’s election in the 1960s another generational shift in US politics but more importantly signal a major shift in mind-sets as well in America that may lead to perhaps some change in global perceptions on race and ideology…” I noted then that it appeared the Republicans preferred an Obama nomination to Hillary Clinton in the erroneous belief that he would be easier to defeat. How wrong! As I had noted in “Miscellaneous Updates” the democrats chose “a riskier strategy, but then nothing ventured, nothing gained”.
By July 23, 2008, I was sufficiently enthralled by the prospect of Barack Obama being elected US President that I issued an early endorsement of Obama. In “Endorsing Barack Obama”, I predicted, “Well bad news for the republicans! This column feels confident at this point in time to offer an unconditional endorsement of Illinois Senator Barack Obama as the next president of the United States. And we fully expect that come January 20, 2009, Barack Obama will step into the White House as President of the United States of America.” That great epoch is now with us. A rearguard conservative backlash is possible and Obama and his supporters must be vigilant and prepared, but nothing can detract from the immensity of this development.
As I wrote in that article, Obama’s election offers "hope to all African-Americans and indeed all minorities in the US that race, colour, class, sex (thanks to Hillary) and personal disadvantages of any hue can not limit one in reaching any heights we seek. It would be a moment of restoration for the African-Americans after slavery, segregation and discrimination and I hope should help create a new stereotype of the African-American male which generations to follow can aspire to.” It would be good if not just America, but indeed the whole world, particularly Nigeria and Africa learnt the right lessons from Barack Obama’s election.
I was happy to endorse Obama after reading his book, “The Audacity of Hope”. In the article of same title on July 30, 2008 I noted that “Reading the book, you get the sense of the hand of God steering this young, brilliant, idealistic, intelligent and yet pragmatic lawyer to a great destiny…” That great destiny is here with us. If anyone doubts the presence of a divine direction, ask why the global financial crisis happened at the critical stage in the campaigns? Why did job losses, mortgage foreclosures, bank failures, stock market collapses all happen at the worst time for McCain and propel the Obama campaign to a landslide victory? That is not to deny the vision, commitment, organisational acumen, communication skills, sharpness of mind and unbelievable audacity that Obama brought into the race. He is completely deserving of his success.
In “Nigerian and American Scenarios Part 2” published on September 10, 2008, I examined the implication of Obama for Nigeria and Africa asking the questions, “Is the Obama phenomenon possible in Nigeria? If Barack had been born in Nigeria, would the system have given him the opportunity to project himself to his present position? Would he have been able to retain his principles while doing so? If Obama’s father had taken him back to Kenya, where would he be today?” I will only restate the conclusion I reached in that article-“Nigeria and Africa must rise to the real lesson of the Obama revolution and begin to create a new, truly democratic society that gives opportunity through education and other social infrastructure to all their citizens, and allows the best of our society, and not the most venal, sycophantic, base and unprincipled to rise to positions of leadership.” On November 4, 2008, Americans voted to renew the idea of the American dream. They voted for renewal, revival, and re-invigoration. What will Nigeria and Africa do? opeyemiagbaje.blogspot.com
Agbaje is CEO of Resources and Trust Company Ltd-a strategy, consultancy and business advisory firm. RTC POLICY is the policy, government and political consultancy division while RTC Strategy and Advisory offers private sector advisory services.
This column has written nine times about the Obama phenomenon dating back to February 6, 2008 during the party primaries. Readers will recall that my initial preference was for a Clinton-Obama democratic ticket (A vote for Clinton-Obama) in which I sought to have “two for the price of one…Can’t we have a President Hillary Clinton and Vice-President Barack Obama and make it an event of multiple historical proportions-a first female president, who will also be a first former first lady to be elected Senator and then President, and who will be elected on a ticket that produces the first African-American Vice-President who can then go ahead to become President subsequently!...… ”
In May 28, I wrote “A Vote for Clinton-Obama Part 2” pushing the same argument. I noted that Obama’s election “would be a truly revolutionary event in American politics, and not just as some argue for the symbolism. It would indicate, just like J.F Kennedy’s election in the 1960s another generational shift in US politics but more importantly signal a major shift in mind-sets as well in America that may lead to perhaps some change in global perceptions on race and ideology…” I noted then that it appeared the Republicans preferred an Obama nomination to Hillary Clinton in the erroneous belief that he would be easier to defeat. How wrong! As I had noted in “Miscellaneous Updates” the democrats chose “a riskier strategy, but then nothing ventured, nothing gained”.
By July 23, 2008, I was sufficiently enthralled by the prospect of Barack Obama being elected US President that I issued an early endorsement of Obama. In “Endorsing Barack Obama”, I predicted, “Well bad news for the republicans! This column feels confident at this point in time to offer an unconditional endorsement of Illinois Senator Barack Obama as the next president of the United States. And we fully expect that come January 20, 2009, Barack Obama will step into the White House as President of the United States of America.” That great epoch is now with us. A rearguard conservative backlash is possible and Obama and his supporters must be vigilant and prepared, but nothing can detract from the immensity of this development.
As I wrote in that article, Obama’s election offers "hope to all African-Americans and indeed all minorities in the US that race, colour, class, sex (thanks to Hillary) and personal disadvantages of any hue can not limit one in reaching any heights we seek. It would be a moment of restoration for the African-Americans after slavery, segregation and discrimination and I hope should help create a new stereotype of the African-American male which generations to follow can aspire to.” It would be good if not just America, but indeed the whole world, particularly Nigeria and Africa learnt the right lessons from Barack Obama’s election.
I was happy to endorse Obama after reading his book, “The Audacity of Hope”. In the article of same title on July 30, 2008 I noted that “Reading the book, you get the sense of the hand of God steering this young, brilliant, idealistic, intelligent and yet pragmatic lawyer to a great destiny…” That great destiny is here with us. If anyone doubts the presence of a divine direction, ask why the global financial crisis happened at the critical stage in the campaigns? Why did job losses, mortgage foreclosures, bank failures, stock market collapses all happen at the worst time for McCain and propel the Obama campaign to a landslide victory? That is not to deny the vision, commitment, organisational acumen, communication skills, sharpness of mind and unbelievable audacity that Obama brought into the race. He is completely deserving of his success.
In “Nigerian and American Scenarios Part 2” published on September 10, 2008, I examined the implication of Obama for Nigeria and Africa asking the questions, “Is the Obama phenomenon possible in Nigeria? If Barack had been born in Nigeria, would the system have given him the opportunity to project himself to his present position? Would he have been able to retain his principles while doing so? If Obama’s father had taken him back to Kenya, where would he be today?” I will only restate the conclusion I reached in that article-“Nigeria and Africa must rise to the real lesson of the Obama revolution and begin to create a new, truly democratic society that gives opportunity through education and other social infrastructure to all their citizens, and allows the best of our society, and not the most venal, sycophantic, base and unprincipled to rise to positions of leadership.” On November 4, 2008, Americans voted to renew the idea of the American dream. They voted for renewal, revival, and re-invigoration. What will Nigeria and Africa do? opeyemiagbaje.blogspot.com
Agbaje is CEO of Resources and Trust Company Ltd-a strategy, consultancy and business advisory firm. RTC POLICY is the policy, government and political consultancy division while RTC Strategy and Advisory offers private sector advisory services.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
The Infiltration of the Church Part 2
Last Christmas, I wrote Part 1 of this article in which I reviewed church history and postulated a tentative hypothesis-that the enemies of the church appeared to have changed their erstwhile strategy of persecution but are now fighting from inside, in effect suggesting that the devil and his agents may have infiltrated the church. Some days ago, some friends and I were gathered discussing sundry matters, and the discussion turned to matters of faith.
Many of those gathered had horror stories to tell. These people were having serious challenges in their walk with God, amazingly coming not from outside the church, but from within. Kayode had the first horror experience to share. Apparently he was a member of a respectable Pentecostal church-he had been for over 10 years. He had never gotten involved in inner workings of the church however, as in popular parlance, he had not become a ‘worker’. He considered himself a child of God, but he had been susceptible to the occasional sin, so he didn’t quite consider himself a candidate. As Kayode advanced in age and career however he recognised a need to get closer to God. He attended Bible School and thoroughly enjoyed the experience, but he still chose not to join the church workforce. On the other hand, his growing profile meant he could no longer be anonymous in church, or any other context for that matter.
Kayode usually worshipped in the branch of the church closest to wherever he lived, and went about his business quietly. After moving to the island, he moved to a proximate branch as usual. In this new church his wife became a worker. Surprisingly, within weeks she was made a head of department, above more qualified, longstanding members. Kayode had his reservations as he wondered in what way she had earned the promotion. He felt the appointment was somehow linked to him. But he felt it was inappropriate to stop her from serving God in any capacity so he kept quiet. A few weeks afterwards, the local pastor approached Kayode with a loan request to buy a property in a choice part of Lagos Island. Kayode obliged. Weeks later, Kayode had cause to mention his plans for a change of career to his local pastor.
The pastor who at that point in time was also in career transition requested to see Kayode’s business plan! Kayode did not feel obliged to share such proprietary business information with someone in a similar career line, so he diplomatically denied the request thinking that was the end of the matter, but was he mistaken? A few weeks later, the local pastor declared to a workers retreat that the calling of the Lord was upon Kayode and appointed him a Minister. Kayode had not become a worker and was not present at the retreat! The stage was set for blackmail-if Kayode declined he would be accused of shirking the call of God; if he accepted he would come under the direct spiritual authority of an individual he now had cause to be wary of! Kayode hoped for the best and decided to honour the ministerial appointment. Well he wasn’t so lucky. Not more than a few days afterwards, the gentleman who proclaimed the call of God on his life began spreading malicious gossip about Kayode. He was careful to keep the gossip ‘below the radar’ so Kayode had no opportunity to respond.
Moji a teacher shared another horror tale. Her colleague, had been considering returning to her profession which she had not had the opportunity of practicing since graduation. Moji’s friend was not so sure she could cope with some of the things she heard happened in the industry. She then met an apparently fervent minister who ran a firm in that profession. Surely this was God answering her prayer? She arranged to spend her next vacation in the minister’s firm to test her interest in her original profession. The practices in the minister’s firm were worse than all she had heard about. And the minister personally gave her instructions to carry out those activities (knowing her previous reservations about such) without any compunction.
Olu also shared his story. Olu’s pastor and his wife ran the church like a closely-held corporation, with the pastor as CEO, the wife as Chief Operating Officer, and their children as members of the Board of Directors. A few carefully selected cronies were permitted into the Board. Apparently a “third world war” had started when the church leaders transferred a new minister to preside over the territory. The “CEO” thoroughly isolated the poor fellow, tormenting him spiritually, physically, socially and otherwise, and boasted that he would show the hapless newcomer who owned the church! Soon petitions began to fly. Members of the congregation watched in confusion as the warfare began to manifest publicly.
These are real life experiences. Reflecting on these stories, I was reminded of my hypothesis about the infiltration of the church. Surely these are not the doings of people who know anything about Christ? My worry is how many people are being driven from the faith daily by these ministers from hell. My co-discussants were already settled in their relationship with God-no one could drive them away, but how about younger Christians and unbelievers? How do we explain to them that these people do not represent the reality of the Christian faith?
Many of those gathered had horror stories to tell. These people were having serious challenges in their walk with God, amazingly coming not from outside the church, but from within. Kayode had the first horror experience to share. Apparently he was a member of a respectable Pentecostal church-he had been for over 10 years. He had never gotten involved in inner workings of the church however, as in popular parlance, he had not become a ‘worker’. He considered himself a child of God, but he had been susceptible to the occasional sin, so he didn’t quite consider himself a candidate. As Kayode advanced in age and career however he recognised a need to get closer to God. He attended Bible School and thoroughly enjoyed the experience, but he still chose not to join the church workforce. On the other hand, his growing profile meant he could no longer be anonymous in church, or any other context for that matter.
Kayode usually worshipped in the branch of the church closest to wherever he lived, and went about his business quietly. After moving to the island, he moved to a proximate branch as usual. In this new church his wife became a worker. Surprisingly, within weeks she was made a head of department, above more qualified, longstanding members. Kayode had his reservations as he wondered in what way she had earned the promotion. He felt the appointment was somehow linked to him. But he felt it was inappropriate to stop her from serving God in any capacity so he kept quiet. A few weeks afterwards, the local pastor approached Kayode with a loan request to buy a property in a choice part of Lagos Island. Kayode obliged. Weeks later, Kayode had cause to mention his plans for a change of career to his local pastor.
The pastor who at that point in time was also in career transition requested to see Kayode’s business plan! Kayode did not feel obliged to share such proprietary business information with someone in a similar career line, so he diplomatically denied the request thinking that was the end of the matter, but was he mistaken? A few weeks later, the local pastor declared to a workers retreat that the calling of the Lord was upon Kayode and appointed him a Minister. Kayode had not become a worker and was not present at the retreat! The stage was set for blackmail-if Kayode declined he would be accused of shirking the call of God; if he accepted he would come under the direct spiritual authority of an individual he now had cause to be wary of! Kayode hoped for the best and decided to honour the ministerial appointment. Well he wasn’t so lucky. Not more than a few days afterwards, the gentleman who proclaimed the call of God on his life began spreading malicious gossip about Kayode. He was careful to keep the gossip ‘below the radar’ so Kayode had no opportunity to respond.
Moji a teacher shared another horror tale. Her colleague, had been considering returning to her profession which she had not had the opportunity of practicing since graduation. Moji’s friend was not so sure she could cope with some of the things she heard happened in the industry. She then met an apparently fervent minister who ran a firm in that profession. Surely this was God answering her prayer? She arranged to spend her next vacation in the minister’s firm to test her interest in her original profession. The practices in the minister’s firm were worse than all she had heard about. And the minister personally gave her instructions to carry out those activities (knowing her previous reservations about such) without any compunction.
Olu also shared his story. Olu’s pastor and his wife ran the church like a closely-held corporation, with the pastor as CEO, the wife as Chief Operating Officer, and their children as members of the Board of Directors. A few carefully selected cronies were permitted into the Board. Apparently a “third world war” had started when the church leaders transferred a new minister to preside over the territory. The “CEO” thoroughly isolated the poor fellow, tormenting him spiritually, physically, socially and otherwise, and boasted that he would show the hapless newcomer who owned the church! Soon petitions began to fly. Members of the congregation watched in confusion as the warfare began to manifest publicly.
These are real life experiences. Reflecting on these stories, I was reminded of my hypothesis about the infiltration of the church. Surely these are not the doings of people who know anything about Christ? My worry is how many people are being driven from the faith daily by these ministers from hell. My co-discussants were already settled in their relationship with God-no one could drive them away, but how about younger Christians and unbelievers? How do we explain to them that these people do not represent the reality of the Christian faith?
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