This piece was written by Collins Uma. I stumbled on it
here. I found it interesting enough to share. Enjoy.
It
has often been said that the average Nigerian can live, work/do business and
succeed in any part of the world irrespective of how deplorable the conditions
are in that place. This is because he believes he has seen and heard it all,no
matter what. Every Nigerian you see on the street is proof of the fact that no
force – social, economic, political, cultural or even supernatural – can stop a
man who is determined to live. Recent
events, however, have hit us in such rapid succession that we are all gasping
for breath while staggering on our feet as we wonder if the gods have not hit
us too hard this time as they test our resolve to run the gauntlet, at the end
of which we might find national prosperity and greatness. We
lost our ability to be shocked long ago. Like water poured on a duck,we have
shaken off some scandals and crises which would have brought other countries to
their knees if not to the point of extinction or annihilation.
While
we were still trying to understand how a President could budget N1billion for
his feeding in a year,the Capital Market Probe Committee revealed to us how the
Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) illegally and
criminally spent N30million out of our common wealth for her hotel
accommodation. Then came the Pension Scam. Few greedy thieves feeding fat off
the toils of millions of Nigerians. Before we could comment on that,news
filtered in of how our dear King Ebele of Otuoke broke his own record of lows
by using the office of the President of the most populous black nation in the
world to solicit and get a church built in his village by an Italian firm
looking for contracts from his government,in blatant contravention of the code
of conduct for public officers. We were still gathering ourselves to respond to
that embarrassment and disgrace when we got distracted by Mr James Onanefe
Ibori,the big thief from The Big Heart.
The
facts of Ibori’s prosecution,conviction and subsequent incarceration are all
there for public consumption. When the pictures surfaced on the net recently of
him and a man of the cloth(a highly respected ‘Daddy’ I must say),I pondered in
my heart what must have transpired between them. Being an ordained minister and
a certified member of the clergy myself,I know that such meetings hardly take
place without the transfer of some ‘Prophet Offerings’. It didn’t start here.
In the Bible,Naaman,the Syrian government official in the Old Testament(2Kings
chapter 5) took some with him when he went to visit Prophet Elisha. Whether our
‘Papa’ in that picture rejected the offering, as Elisha did, is another matter.
Nigerians
are deeply religious people,which leaves you wondering how come people like
Ibori still exist within the top echelons of our society. The answer is simple.
Our prophets have become much more interested in the pecuniary profits they
derive from their interactions with these men than in the permanent gains of
practicing their profession before these men.
Let’s
go to church.
King
Jehoshaphat, in the Bible(1Kings chapter 22), before going out to war against
an enemy king, looked around and asked a question. He wanted to win the war and
he knew there was a role ONLY a true prophet could play so he looked around and
asked,”Is there no prophet in this land?” The country was at war and the
prophets acted as if it was none of their business. Those who were called could
not look the king in the face and tell him the truth.
The
importance of religious leaders in a society like Israel’s in the Old Testament
and Nigeria’s now can never be over emphasized. That was why the king in
Prophet Elisha’s time wondered why there would be a prophet in the land and the
people and the people would still be in such socio-economic quagmire,and he
threatened to have the prophet decapitated unless the situation changed. That
same day the prophet spoke and within 24 hours there was a turn-around(2Kings
chapter 6,verses 24-33 and chapter 7).
I
stand today and I ask:Is there no prophet in this land?
Our
productive workforce is being decimated daily by a confederation of
terrorists,bad roads,police brutality and unspeakable fraud and corruption in
government.
Is
there no prophet in the land?
A
mind-boggling N1.1TRILLION has been criminally siphoned from government coffers
under guise of subsidy payment mostly to government contractors who imported no
petrol.
Is
there no prophet in the land?
Within
24 hours,the Accountant-General of the federation crazily signs 128 cheques
each worth N999MILLION for subsidy payment to looters and our Pastors and Imams
keep quiet forgetting that this is money that could greatly improve the living
conditions of the worshipers in their churches and mosques!
Where
are the Pastors in Delta state?
Governor
Uduaghan was the Secretary to the State Government and Deputy Gov.Utuama was
the Attorney-General during Ibori’s reign. They were part of the corrupt
administration. How come nobody is asking any questions?
Do
not speak to me about prosperity if you cannot speak against the instrument the
devil is using to deny me that prosperity.
Where
are the Imams in Abuja and Niger State?
Have
they asked why Kabiru Sokoto who masterminded the Christmas Day bomb blast in
Madalla,Niger State,close to Abuja has not been arraigned?
The
success of a religious leader is not measured by his ownership of a private jet
or fleet of exotic cars or by the calibre of government officials who pay
courtesy calls on him but by what positive change he is able to bring by his
words and actions within the society in which he finds himself. This is why
America will never forget the Rev. Martin Luther King Jnr, a Baptist Minister
and Malcolm X, one of the founding leaders of the Nation of Islam, and founder
of the Muslim Mosque Inc.
As
a religious leader, when your name appears in the news media, it should be for
something better than the defence of masturbation. It should not be because you
slapped a female member of your congregation or because there is a debate
whether or not a former bank chief who is on the run for fraud contributed to
the funds for your private jet. Your prophecies should also be about something
of more significance than the scoreline of a Super Eagles match or which
Nollywood actor will be alive at the end of the year.
As
we trudge along on our journey to recapture our greatness as a nation, it is
time for the true men of God to stand up and be counted. Yes, God is watching.
As
Rev.Martin Luther King Jnr said, “In the end, we will remember,not the words
of our enemies but the silence of our friends”.
Follow
Collins Uma on Twitter: @collinsmaestro
