Text of Public Lecture delivered by Chief Olusola Alexander Oke (SAN) at the Dinner, Lecture Award Night and Endowment Launch of Owo Anglican Diocese, on Saturday April, 29th, 2023 at the Event Hall of Mydas Hotel & Resort Centre, Owo, Ondo State, on the Occasion of the 40th Anniversary of the Diocese of Owo
Protocols
1. Let me start by congratulating the entire members of the Owo Anglican Diocese in particular and the Church of God on the anniversary of its forty years of service to God and mankind. Regarding the roles of the church and the myriad of challenges that beset it, one can safely conclude that it has been the grace of God that has taken the church through the last forty years of its existence. I am therefore delighted to be part of the celebration of the four decades of God’s abundant grace and mercy on the Anglican Diocese of Owo. It is evident that the light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ has shone through the church, with notable contributions made by great, diligent and purposeful clergies who are too numerous to mention. Their indelible marks are not merely attestations of the good efforts they made in the past, but a compass that has continued to point at direction of a better present and greater future.
2. When I was contacted by the organisers of this event to present this paper, I recognised from the theme of the lecture the need to speak to our recent realities concerning the roles of the church in politics, the challenges therefrom and to promote a discuss that will help the Christian faith to chart a new course in the development of our nation. Arising from my perception of the requirements and with respect to my involvement in the vocation of politics, I thinker with the idea of modifying the topic to reflect the toxin of the weapons of ethnicity and religion in our politics but for the time allocated. I have therefore resolved to circumscribed my thoughts and interventions within the theme of the lecture.
3. Religion, Politics and the Church
Religion, as a concept, has been variously defined, and one could not but agree that the variegation in the definitions do not take away the potency of the central argument. For instance, Wiktionary simply describes religion as “the belief in and worship of a supernatural controlling power…a particular system of faith and worship”. Scholars such as M.O Adeniyi (1993:100) and C’ I Ejizu that engaged the interface between religion and politics see religion as consisting of a belief in God or gods and the activities that are connected with such belief and worship and man’s intuition of the sacred and ultimate reality and his expression of that awareness in concrete life.
4. Notwithstanding the differences in the opinions of scholars, religion is basically an expression of the personal belief of individuals, which must be made private, as much as possible, and it provides and sanctions “moral guidelines for individuals and societies. Therefore, religion is a notable instrument used by humans to achieve a better person and engage with celestial beings that are also considered to be part of human community, based on their transcendental nature, influence and power.
5. Political analysts have conceptualised politics as an instrument of governance, and suggested that it has to do with the working of government, the impact government makes on the people, the operational pattern of government, and the processes through which leaders of government attain and retain authority, with the conclusion that politics borders on the “allocation of values”.[i] In a nutshell, it is convenient to conclude that politics has to do with the contest for political or governmental rein, for the purpose of attaining effective control over the people and their resources, with the empowering of a few to take decisions on behalf of the larger majority which would be binding on everybody. It is, however, imperative that the assumption of control must be legitimate, being a product of the decision of the majority, as found in democracy. It is to this end that military rules have been variously configured as illegitimate governments, even though such regimes have played vital roles in democratisation processes, as exampled by Nigeria’s return to democracy in 1999.
6. The church, conceptually and contextually speaking, is not just a Christian house or place of worship but a collective aggregation of Christians to a single spiritual community. Eliazar Daila Baba (2022:163), reviewing the positions of O’Donovan and the Evangelical Church in Germany, submits that “the church refers to a group of people…who have trusted in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, regardless of their race, nationality, denomination or position in life”. It will be safe therefore to conclude that for any organization (registered or not) to be so defined and qualified as a church, its philosophy and founding principles must be as pronounced by Jesus Christ our Lord.
7. Religion, Politics and Inseparability
Given the centrality of humans in the practice of both religion and politics, it has been difficult to separate the two ideals. This unique relationship between religion and politics has attracted the attentions of scholars. For instance, E. T. Akinyode (1993:75), while reviewing the opinions of some people that politics and religion (any type) are incompatible strange bed-fellows that only the heretic could join together, argues that separating the two concepts is myopic, and concludes that they are not antipodal but complementary. He sums up by reinforcing the thought of Mahatma Gadhi to the effect that “politics divorced from religion has absolutely no meaning”, and “absolute dirt ever to be shunned”. In a similar effort, it has been posited that “although politics and religion are obviously not the same, their realms overlap”, and to this end, it is submitted that “religion and politics each provide a point of reference by which the other can be judged, and the two may become intertwined as people engage in this evaluative behavior”.[ii] While stating that religion and politics are closely and inextricably related, J. S. Eades (1991) avers that “they both involve systems of values and beliefs, and system of action which are justified in terms of these values and beliefs”.[iii] Eliazar Daila Baba (2022:162) re-echoes the opinion of Okullu (2003:53) that “politics and religion are inseparable”, and that “to suggest that politics should be left to the politicians and religion to the clergy, is a terrible intellectual arrogance”.
9. As a Lawyer with over three decades of active participation in the vocation of politics, I believe politics and religion have intricate relationship that any distortion of one affects the other element adversely. For those who are opposed to the asymmetric relationship between religion and politics, they must have been miffed by the abstract emotional propensity in the former and the opaque intriguing volatility of the latter. This is more so when religious people see the practice of politics in Nigeria as ‘dirty’, whereas religion is linked to sacredness, piety and sobriety. However, quoting the view of David West, E. T. Akinyode (1993:79) argues that the dirtiness adduced to politics is unfounded because the problem is not either about politics or religion, but that in Nigeria everything, apart from the above but including national institutions, is prostituted and corrupted. It has been advised that what religion should do is to produce good adherents that would go into politics and use their good values to clean the mess in the political space, and enrich governance as positive catalysts.[iv]
9. The implication of the foregoing is that all religions, Islam, Christianity and traditional worship, as obtainable in Nigeria, cannot be severed from politics, as pre-and post-colonial Nigerian experiences are replete with interface between religion and politics. Various cult group-heads played one role or the other in pre-western Nigerian traditional society, allowing the sacred and profane to go hand-in-hand. The arrival of Christian Missionaries in the coastal town of Badagry, Nigeria, at about 1842, set the stage for the participation of the church in Nigeria politics, with the British political system introducing a new filial of societal engineering into the landscape. Islam had spread in the country rapidly in the early nineteenth century through jihad,[v] with the existence of a structured spiritual leadership based on Islam in northern Nigeria interfacing with the British variant of politics and governance, and blurring whatever line that was in place. With political hegemony entrenched in northern Nigeria through Emirate structure, controlled by Emirs, and reinforced through Islamic relevance and leadership, the western education and politics that were in place in the south were bimodal. This is so as confirmed by Isa Kaita that “when politics came, in view of what was happening in the whole country, we did not have the choice, we were all conscripted into politics to fight for the North and defend her interests against southern domination”.
10. While the formation of JNI (Jamaatu Nasril Islam) by Sardauna was considered a phenomenal all-purpose platform for the propagation of Islam, it was also believed that it enhanced the political interests of Muslims, with people like Abubakar Gummi frontal about the political advantage of people of the Islamic faith as against Christians. While H. Kukah (1993:48-51) says that “by 1956, Christians had become a strong and fairly united bloc” he, nonetheless, decried the fact that they were “divided by doctrinal differences” and “faced an uphill task in seeking to forge an identity that could serve as a platform for political negotiation”.[vi] The inauguration of Northern Christian Association (NCA) took place in 1964. This was later followed by the formation of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN[vii]) in 1976, and Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) in 1985.
11. These latter two Christian bodies have been speaking for their members, while others also within or outside their folds do intervene on national issues and politics. The most worrisome is the tradition of both directly or tactically endorsing political candidates and parties on the pulpits, while others give combustive prophecies that end up usually as mere flukes.
12. Nigeria post-independence political experiences have been turbulent, tormenting and annihilating. With mistrust defining the relationships between political leaders across the various divides, ethnicity and religion became redundant but profitable instruments used by political charlatans and merchants to exploit the unwary people. The different military coups that saw killings taking place along ethno-religious lines predictably led to avoidable Civil War whose memories continue to hunt and hurt contemporary political dynamics and the sensibilities of Nigerians. To add salt to injury, the insecurity plaguing the country has been politicised, leaving citizens to profile one another along ethno-religious lines, and suspecting each other. The past few years have witnessed the fanning of embers of ethno-religious discords by political profiteers and exploitation of fault lines for selfish political interests. Helpless citizens have become the greatest victims, as religious places, mostly the church, have been turned to slaughtering slabs, as part of the devilish strategies by external aggressors and internal enemies to sustain the suspicion among citizens, and the fulguration of their conscience. We still remember with trepidation the atrocious attack on St. Francis Catholic Church here in Owo, that left our dear citizens dead, and others physically and emotionally lame. I use this opportunity to once again identify with the personal and collective grieves that stimulated us towards courageous living, while our detractors meant it to precipitate a climate of fear and incapacitation.
13. The Church in Contemporary Nigeria Politics
By Section 10 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), Nigeria is a secular state. However, there have been practical instances of religious valorisation, evidenced in Arabic inscriptions in some national assets, sponsorship of pilgrims to Israel and Mecca, saying prayers at public functions, using protocols of established religions, pairing candidates in elections along religious lines, etc. It is to this end that the inseparability of religion and politics again receives a boost, as the claims to secularity, in my view, smacks of hypocrisy. The Nigeria political atmosphere got sensationalised nationally in 1993 when two Nigerians of Muslim extraction, M. K. O. Abiola and Babagana Kingibe, ran as presidential and vice-presidential candidates of the SDP. The inevitability of such a pairing was witnessed in 2023 when Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, a Muslim, picked Senator Kashim Shettima as his running mate. Not unexpected, hell broke loose, and politicians across party lines turned the nomination to political instrument with which they heat up the polity, and ruptured nerves. While not dismissing the religious suspicions and mistrust in the country, fueled by rapacious killings, particularly Christians, it was condemnable that some political profiteers went to the political market to popularise the Muslim-Muslim ticket of the ruling APC as the furthering of an agenda to introduce Jihad and convert everyone to Islam ignoring ability, truthfulness, fear of God and moderation as prescribed in Exodus 18:22.
14. Beyond the understandable agitation for religious balance, there is the need for the church to chart a productive course for the championing of the interests of Nigerians, nay its members, and stay afloat in the ‘murky’ water of Nigeria politics to be able to play its reformative and enhancing roles in the polity.
15. As the church in Nigeria remains a victim in the volatile political firmament, the church must also note that there is need to step up internal regulations to forestall further dwindling of its credibility, given the negative effect of the actions of pulpit politicians and uncontrolled politically-induced lapses that characterised activities in the hallowed places. The politicisation and commercialisation of the altar, which should ordinarily be the place for God, as well as the deliberate laundering and deployment of the church by politicians as an instrument of political negotiation, have done incalculable damage to the reputation of the church, and exposed its ranks to acerbic buffeting by generation of Pilates. The various scandalous gaffes linked to church leaders may appear to be injurious to their personal credibility on the surface, but are nonetheless more corrosive to the reputation of the church at the micro and macro levels.
16. The place of prophets in the Bible, as people that speak the mind of God about the future, has been undermined in Nigeria. Political prophecies have been made part of Nigeria political engineering such that the religious sentiments of the people are exploited. Apart from these prophecies often times giving wrong impressions and fortuitous hopes, they are used either directly or indirectly for popularity and material advantageous placing. D. T. Ejenobo (1993:23) states that “it appears that this over-emphasis on the role of the prophet as a visioner in Nigeria has led to the excessive negative commercialization of religion”. There is no gainsaying that the possibility of God engaging humans in conversations, being His children, but it would be presumptuous to give the impression that God gives different opinions on a specific issue, just because of the greed of someone who seeks to play God for personal aggrandisement.
17. It is noteworthy, however, that church leaders have played major roles in national lives, as they vigorously spoke at different times against obnoxious military rules, bad policies, insensitivity as in government slow response to agitations by and challenges of citizens, etc. Homilies during conventional services, sermons to mark special days and events, particularly when political office holders are present, etc. have reflected the angst of Nigerians, and set direction at very critical moments. This is not to say, as found in the Bible, that such blatant naked vociferous truths pushed on the pulpit would not engender recrimination. It is, however, desirable that only the truth devoid of political identification and colouration, should find expression on the altar of God, held in trust by the priest. This is more so as such a message requires the decency of intention, soundness of mind, and sincerity of purpose, so as not to challenge the constitutional authority that sets the order in the nation; God being an orderly God with structured layers of power, authority, influence and distribution of representation.
Should Christian Participate In Politics?
18. Before the 2023 general election, the attitude of Christians to politics is comparable to that of many Nigerian elites; their attitude to politics is that politics at the grassroots is dirty, corrupt and sinful, therefore, they dread it like a plaque. I am aware there are some Christian denominations that believe voting during election is a sin. Many religious leaders have come out in the open to express neutrality in elections where leaders who will make policies that affect them and their members will be elected. All these and other reasons have made those who are nominal Christians with questionable character to take front role as Christians in the matter of election and politics in Nigeria. This also may not be unconnected with the reason the acclaimed “men” of God dished out conflicting political prophecies that made me and many concerned Nigerians to ask where they were all coming from during the last general elections.
19. The choice of candidates for the 2023 general elections, the presidential election in perspective, by the All Progressive Congress was therefore perceived by Christians as a challenge to their very existence as a body and an attempt to further marginalize them despite all the reasons advanced by the APC and the prevailing political reality at the time. That in my opinion was the reason the response of Christians to Muslim/Muslim ticket was not only frontal, it elicited an atmosphere that promoted religious contest above political contest. The results of the presidential election provided sufficient evidence of varying responses. For example, in the Nothern communities where Christians have dominant population, Christians voted along religious line, largely. Manifestoes or the personality of the candidates for the election may have little or no compelling influence on the voters. When religious preference takes front seat in an election, bitterness, hate and primordial considerations may influence the choice of leadership. This is unhealthy for Nigeria, a pluralistic nation that has not fully recovered from the discord of hate and suspicion which are by-products of the nation’s civil war. Nigerians need to choose leaders that will man our affairs with fear of God, integrity and fairness. We cannot accomplish this without active participation in the process even at the grassroots.
20. Permit me to state very unequivocally therefore that the church must encourage its members to participate in politics at the grassroots rather than as a response to a sudden retreat against an action perceived as capable of marginalizing Christians in the governance system. Christians should not be satisfied with fasting and praying for good governance when at the end of the day the non-participation of the church through Christians would leave politics to charlatans, misfits and depraved individuals. The church must note that it cannot attain God’s kingdom on earth if it continues to discourage its members from going into the political space to apply the virtues and values the church has imbued them with, and thereby concede politics to people with limited knowledge and questionable character. The Bible is very clear about the idea that “when the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked rule, the people mourn” (Proverbs 29:2).
21. Christians’ participation in politics is implicitly underpinned by many biblical instances. Moses’ leadership of the Israelites brought to bear the notions of representation, participatory leadership and devolution of power when God asked him to select the Council of Seventy Elders to share the burden of ruling the people of Israel. The qualities God stressed for the selection, which are still relevant in contemporary Nigeria, are ability, truthfulness, fear of God, and moderation (Exodus 18:21). Joseph’s exemplary performance in Egypt was a function of the grace of God upon him, and the excellent spirit from God on Daniel informed the exploits he did in Babylon. God is the giver of authority, and He enthrones and dethrones leaders (Romans 13:1; Daniel 4:7; Daniel 2:21), and promotes submission to authorities (Romans 13: 1-7; 1 Peter 2:13). The Bible similarly admonishes that prayers be said for people in authority (1 Timothy 2:1-2).
22. As a Lawyer with over three decades of active participation in the vocation of politics, I hold a fervent belief that politics and religion have potentially intricate relationship that any distortion of one affects the other element adversely. As I stand before you this moment, I remember, quite fondly, the unqualified sacrifices of First Civilian Governor of Ondo State and model Christian leader, Chief Michael Adekunle, whose remains lay peaceably within the sacred premises of the Cathedral Church of St. Andrew, Owo, where he worshiped and served in his lifetime.
23. Pa Ajasin, against all daunting odds, distinguished himself as a Christian leader in politics. Grounded in his Christian faith, the legendary South-African Anglican Archbishop, Desmond Tutu, left indelible legacy as a peace builder through his anti-Apartheid activism and promotion of peace and justice. Tutu’s great influence on the field of peacebuilding and his mark on peace and reconciliation efforts rippled globally.
24. First African Anglican bishop of West Africa, Samuel Crowther, laid enduring examples in this regard. Foremost Nationalist and first Bishop of Akure Anglican Diocese, Rt Rev. Dr. Emmanuel Bolanle Gbonigi, remains an undisputed hero of the faith whose political offerings to nation building continue to reverberate. And, of course, one of Nigeria’s foremost public intellectuals is the current Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, the Right Reverend Matthew Hassan Kukah.
25. May I sincerely add that the Christian community in Owo must be proud of the efforts and accomplishments of my dear brother, distinguished colleague and leader, the governor of Ondo State, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Odunayo Akeredolu, SAN, CON, that sets him apart as a fearless, truthful and accountable Christian and leader who speaks truth to powers. He is indeed a pride to us, Christendom and this illustrious Diocese. The list is long and virtually endless. These are testimonies of what Christian upbringing can bring to bear in public life.
26. Going Forward: The Nigerian Church in a New Democratic Order
No doubt, the church has a veritable place in Nigeria’s socio-political engineering. As we continue to ensure that the Nigerian constitution responds to the yearnings and aspirations of Nigerians, particularly in terms of peaceful co-existence of citizens, fairness, justice and equity, the nation must come clean in the matter of religion, and assume full secularism, while shedding religious togas in state matters. Religion must be seen as a private experience that should not be foisted on anybody, not to talk of the nation belonging to religious Associations that could create suspicions among citizens. In volunteering an opinion on the way forward for us as a nation, one may align with the position of religion in American politics which Michael Corbett, Julia Corbett-Hemeyer, and J. Matthew Wilson (2014:1) say “has always been complex, reflecting a delicate balance between respecting religious pluralism and acknowledging religion’s significant role in public life”. This is more so as Ali Mazrui has warned that “when religion is held very seriously by a society, it affects the state and the polity” (Kukah, 1993:242). The seriousness in Mazrui’s opinion is to the extent of fanaticism.
27. There is the urgent need for the church to re-invent itself, after taking stock and making a critical appraisal of its activities in the recent past. This is more so as most of its members, just as found in the other forms of religion, are nominally drifting in-between multiple orientations in a globalised environment. To be part of national engagements, the church must form a central formidable command of interest and commitment, by unifying into a coherent whole in opinion, as against the sharp edges of Paul and Apollo that have fluttered its interests and opinions in the past. The Nigeria church needs to rise above artificial and palpable suspicions and mistrusts that have blurred the vision of others in making informed holistic evaluations of national matters, and ensure it insulates itself from pursuing personalised group agenda, even when pushed to the wall, but must endeavour to speak at all times for the good of the generality of the people.
28. Having discussed the misconception about the exclusive relationship between religion and politics, particularly the demystification of the old myth about the ‘dirtiness’ of politics, the church must sustain the concerted efforts it has begun, to fire the interests of its members in political participation, by deliberate teaching and training on leadership virtues.
29. The church should also encourage its interested members and leaders to join politics by vying for political offices, just that the church should insist that such members must remain good representatives of the people, and worthy ambassadors of the church, as they play the game in more acceptable ways that would diminish the old order of bitterness and desperation. Any church leader willing to be involved in active politics must be made to relinquish the pulpit, hand-in the collar, and surrender the reins of authority to avoid dragging the church into the bumptious political path. D. T. Ejenebo (1993:21) has made a pertinent suggestion about how religious leaders could participate in partisan politics to the effect that since politics is practised with bitterness in Nigeria, and when the religious leader joins politics, “he should bring along with him the noble ideals of his office, and should be able to achieve a moderating influence on the actors in his political camp”. The above notion is akin to the biblical imperative of being the light and salt of the world.
30. Given the scandalous attitudes of church leaders, including those that are merely wolves in sheep’s clothing, the church must be committed to regulating itself, and must be transparently open to public scrutiny. Appropriate feedbacks got thereby should be creatively ploughed into making the church, through its members and leaders, better people in socio-political and economic lives. To attain the foregoing, the church must openly, fairly and effectively inform, educate and counsel its members at all times, mostly when things are convoluted, on national issues. While not abridging the constitutional rights of freedom of speech of his members, the church should learn to develop a coordinated united voice on critical national issues, aired and championed by its accredited credible representatives, rather than allow disjointed opinions that are mostly self-serving. This will empower the group to be able to push what should ordinarily be in the interest of its members from a larger perspective, to avoid receding to tokenism and bigotry.[viii]
31. Furthermore, the church must be ready to form alliances across religious lines, secure concessions and grant understanding in the interest of the nation, rather than going solo, or allowing some selfish individuals to overheat the polity, and exacerbate national fault lines. As traditionally traceable to the church, it must remain the conscience of the nation, as it ceaselessly uses the pulpit to push national developmental initiatives, subtly lampoon socio-political idiocies, and set productive agenda for the government, while mobilising citizens for the needed support to governmental developmental ideas. The leaderships of the various churches in Nigeria must insulate themselves from corruptive activities of public officials who like to reach out to them for a warm embrace while adorned in soiled clothes.
32. The giant stride recorded by, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, a Catholic priest who had been suspended from priesthood by his church yet emerged as the governor-elect in Benue State, is very instructive. This being the first example of switching the pulpit for politics, he would go down in history as a practical example that would help us understand the fluid, touchy, tenuous and chattering relationship between two concepts that appear so remarkably dislocated but yet stubbornly symmetrical; religion and politics. Rev. Fr. Alia’s decision is analogous to that of Rev. Jesse Jackson in America, who also swapped the pulpit for political podium, leaving behind remarkable imprints that continue to reshape the American political sphere.
33. The handling of the case of Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia should have been done with more circumspection, given the fact that his foray into politics is also about the wellbeing of the people, just as religion. Rather than the suspension the Catholic Church slammed on him, a more seamless transitional template should have been emplaced to allow people like him go into politics, and return to the pulpit after their tenure, provided they represented the church well, and devoid of any post-governance scandal. To this end, it is recommended that the church should evolve the policy of leave of absence, akin to what is found in the academics, which would allow free exit and re-entry, subject to certain laid-down evaluation. Added to this is the need to prepare code of practice for such category of priests, to avail them the opportunity to prove their Christian ideals as the salt and light of the world in politics. As a way forward, Nigeria needs more Rev Fr. Hyacinth Alia. You can only give what you have and not otherwise.
34. Nigeria of today is bedeviled by multiple security challenges ranging from kidnapping, ritual killing, robbery, arson, terrorism etc. The church is not immune from these satanic vices. The time now calls for vigilance on the part of the church. Just as state governments and even communities have contrived different devices to curtail the menace, the church must rise to the occasion by putting in place standing machinery for protection of the church and its members at all times, especially during church service. Fasting and prayers help no doubt, but Heavens help those who help themselves.
Conclusions
35. Politics and religion are siamese twins, and a rude detachment of one from the other would be unwise, even as individuals regrettably continue to use them cataclysmically. Toyin Falola is right after all, whose opinion M. H. Kukah (1993:228) reiterated that “no one can aspire to, or hold political office in Nigeria without pretending to be religious”. It is too bad that a people would live in self-deception, rather than frontally centralising competence in choosing their political representatives and leaders. Why the recriminations shown by some Christians about the selection of Senator Shettima by Asiwaju Bola Tinubu as running mate is understandable given the prevailing situation in the country, same should not be elevated to trauma and viewed as a contest between religions; it should rather be understood as a calculation made by political party to win election. The sharing of power based on ethno-religious considerations would not always be in the interest of the nation, if competence is sacrificed. Nonetheless, equity and fairness are also very important to produce the needed belongingness for national cohesion and development.
36. The church has reformative and supportive responsibilities to the people that it cannot shirk. Therefore, both church leaders and members are part of the products manufactured for possible participation in inscribing nationhood and emplacing development. In line with the sacrificial and vicarious commitment of Jesus Christ to humanity, the church must continue to seek a better life for all, beyond the interests of its members. Similarly, to remain a sacrosanct sacred politically-conscious entity, the church should define its involvement in partisan politics, which has the proclivity for divisiveness, but should be nationalistic in its conception, eclectic in its approach, and sacrificial in its commitment to national discourse. The church, just like politics, is about the wellbeing of the people, and must not fail in this regard.
37. To conclude this conversation, and centralising national cohesion in the face of gapping gulfs among ethno-religious groups, one could not but leave us with the thoughts of M. H. Kukah (1993:244), quoting Obed Mailafia, that “the main political challenge of religious and culturally pluralistic societies is to be able to preserve the identities of the various cultural communities while evolving a sense of nationhood and shifting ultimate loyalties to the wider national community within the context of the secular demand for development and liberation, for social justice and liberty”. It is, therefore, desirable that we must be deliberate about managing our pluralism, shaking off minor fixations on ethnicity and religion, as we concertedly mobilise towards attaining acceptable democratisation, emplacing good governance, building sustainable nationhood, and meeting the basic needs of Nigerians.
38. All it takes evil to succeed is for men of good conscience to be mute in the face of tyranny. Let the church wake up.
39. Once again please accept my congratulations and felicitations to the leaders and members of the Diocese of Owo on this 40th anniversary.
40. Thank you for your time to be part of this conversation.