As this piece is being read, it is most probable that the eight-man Commission of Enquiry led by Justice Umoekeyo Essang is dotting the “I”s and crossing “T”s of its report for onward submission to Governor Udom Emmanuel-led administration in Akwa Ibom State. The panel was set up five days after auditorium of Reigners Bible Church International collapsed on December 10, 2016 killing more than a score of humans and injuring several others. With six-point terms of reference, the commission was tasked by the government to, within three weeks, investigate causes of the incident, make recommendation on those found culpable, suggest how to compensate victims of the incident and advise on measures to stop reoccurrence.
Before the incident, nothing known to the public has brought Emmanuel’s guts to the fore. As one of those that attended the disaster-disrupted Bishopric enthronement of Akan Weeksn – the General Overseer of the church, he was one those that witnessed how able bodied men, women and children turned to dead bodies within a twinkle of eyes. His survival by the skin of his teeth was not a function of the prestige and the shield of security inherent in his office but unseen hands; like other survivors he must had been traumatized. His beating the resultant trauma to personally lead in rescuing the victims speaks volume loudly and clearly of his strength of character as a leader.
The governor’s immediate action of setting the probe panel substantially enhances in disabusing notion of spiritual angle prevalent in Akwa Ibom and which was about creeping into the consciousness of the larger society through those that lay claim to seeing things beyond what the human eyes see. It was another avowal detachment on the part of the governor from vestige of voodoo belief still looming large in our localities in Africa. The government’s action was a testament that the collapsed church was human glitch and not “beyond human comprehension” as advanced by the church in its memorandum to the commission.
Emmanuel’s jettisoning of local reasoning was, of course, agreeable with the surname of the church, “International”. The General Overseer, who change his Ibibio surname from Urua to Weeks, must have, beyond discarding with traces of his localities, been driven presumptuously or clairvoyantly on a vision of making Reigners Bible Chiurch International and its faithful to reign in the international arena. With global attention as filtered through local and international media following the collapse of the church, the name of the church has certainly been heard across the world, albeit unpleasantly.
The governor has reaped the attendant sympathy across many corners of the world, including the camp of his political adversaries in Nigeria. It is doubtful whether the governor would enjoy such gargantuan goodwill in the remaining days of his stewardship lasts in the state. His handling of report of the commission when it is eventually submitted may factor into his popularity rating.
Considering Christendom affiliation of the people of Akwa Ibom and the public expectation and responses that trailed the setting up of the commission, it would have taken rocket sciences for the panel to do appreciable job from December 15, 2016 to January 5, the thick of Christmas and New Year festivities. Forty memoranda were submitted by individuals, professional bodies, human right movement, governmental agencies, among others to the commission. 19 witnesses, including two commissioners, the General Overseer of the church and others that handled different aspects of works at the collapsed site gave oral testimonies while the public hearing lasted.
As it is common with enquiry of that nature in Nigeria, the public hearing was not without what it takes to go in for soap opera just as it opens Pandora’s Box: lawyers’ arguments were thrilling and grilling; testimonies of witnesses were laced with revelations, counter accusations, just as truths and lies had free flow, tasking the panelists for a thorough sifting. There was hardly dull moments as they were also packed with humour. Gratifyingly, the septuagenarian chairman of the commission was adjudged by concerned parties and members of the public as demonstrating qualities of an exemplary arbiter.
However, without prejudice to the commission findings, it is easy to glean that the glitch that caused the gloom, grief and inglorious global attention has its roots in religiosity. Religiosity is deeply ingrained in Nigeria and Nigerians but Akwa Ibom and Akwa Ibomites are better placed to go home with trophies in event of competition for a prize. Prayers as personal affair in closets gain no acceptance by authority and the people that matter but prayers in the circuits beautifully packaged with glamour of officialdom do. From the Government House, where the governor’s office is, to ministries, departments and agencies, sizeable hours within official hours on daily or weekly basis are allocated for devotion. Christmas Carol in whatever name gulps billions of naira every year.
Religiosity is antithesis of righteousness; it connotes and denotes hypocrisy. That could account for why Reigners Bible Church International was built at the Akwa Ibom State government’s Forest Reserved Area. That could be the reason behind the church not obeying the “Stop Work Notices” given by an agency of the government for five different times. That might have informed the choice of the venue of the event at a site where construction works were ongoing. That might have been the factor behind the government’s “incapacitation” to stop works or demolish a structure it described as “illegal”. That could also be the rationale behind the governor leading top government functionaries to a function in a structure marked for demolition by the same government.
Religiosity must be held accountable for the December 10, 2016 hellish doom in a gathering supposedly meant for heavenly deeds and glory. But in a society such as Akwa Ibom where religiosity rule, the dilemma before the people and the government lies in who would rue in the reign of religiosity and its resultant ruins.
