The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Oritsejafor

  • Oritsejafor: Why the ‘General’ retreats

    About this time in 2014, as political campaigns gathered momentum, activities of many church leaders became a subject of daily debate in the media. Regardless of how noble or well-meaning their motives were, insults, tirades and jibes were hauled at the pulpit officers for showing interest in the affairs of their nation. Depending on which side of the political divide the critics belonged to, barely all vocal clergymen in the country suffered one form of vitriolic attack or the other.

    When the much-touted “Change” government eventually took over the reins of power mid-2015, every church leader identified to have aligned with former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan’s failed re-election bid became a subject of odium and invectives in the media. At the mention of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP’s) failure or its alleged looting spree while in power, these cassock-wearing venerable clerics were tagged into random condemnation either as accomplices or as direct beneficiaries of the malfeasance.

    When President Mohammadu Buhari’s dragnet for alleged or perceived looters and their accomplices was launched early in his administration, not a few times had the president resisted the pressure or instigation by baleful critics and cynics for the arrest and prosecution of some pastors believed to have been enmeshed in the corrupt latitude of Jonathan administration. Investigation in deed took place but none of the church leaders was found culpable as anticipated by the “wailers” who were waiting to see men of God in jail.

    An informed source revealed that President Buhari believed that spiritual fathers and religious leaders are entitled to show interest and possibly take a stand in the political affairs of their nation. “This is democracy. Everywhere in the world, even in advance democracies, religious leaders are entitled to have preferences and Nigeria can’t be an exception. It is the right thing to do. It is preposterous to lambast, intimidate or blackmail our religious fathers, especially church leaders for showing interest in who and how Nigeria is governed. However, we don’t expect them to be partisan or be meddlesome in the electoral process.”

    It is a known fact that Christian faith adherents, especially from the south, were a catalyst to Buhari’s victory in 2015. He has consistently been amassing millions of votes from the north since 2003 when he first threw his hat into the ring but those tons of electoral support were a waste until he built a political fraternity with the south as midwifed by Senator Bola Tinubu. Firmly coordinated by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, then a PDP member, who aided mass defection to weaken the ruling party to prove a point to his estranged “political son”, the water-tight political conspiracy ultimately ousted Jonathan out of power. In all of this, Southern Christians who will ordinarily not have anything to do with a conservative Fulani Muslim like Buhari became his campaigners and mobilisers. Many a pulpit became desecrated with political sermons in favour of the then coming “Messiah of Change” (Buhari).

    Those who received underserved bashing for their leadership roles in the polity prior to 2015 polls have since joined other believers to intercede for the nation and its leadership every day. One of such Christian faith leaders is Pastor Ayodele Oritsejafor, the immediate past President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN.

    Every November 10 is Oritsejafor’s birthday. He has a unique style of marking his day wherever he’s in Nigeria or abroad. One of the events he inculcated into his birthday celebration is to “deeply reflect on the state of our nation. I owe it a duty, not to any man or government in power but to God that called and ordained me to His service, to hold a special communion with God in thanksgiving through which I pray for peace, stability and prosperity of Nigeria on my birthday. In addition, I also reach out to my people, this has been my usual practice for years.”

    In a private chat with the outspoken founder of Word of Life Bible Church in his Warri office, Oritsejafor said he’s not speaking frequently these days for two major reasons: “One, there’s a leader in place; Rev. (Dr.) Olasupo Ayokunle is the sitting President of our umbrella body, C.A.N. He is the official mouthpiece of the Church as well as the one that interfaces with governments or non-governmental bodies in Nigeria and across the world. We are cooperating with him. Two drivers can’t control a car simultaneously. During my time, nobody was sharing the space with me. It is sheer lack of respect for constituted authorities to compete with your leader in a group you willingly subscribed to.

    “Two, I do share my opinions with the leadership bodies I belong to: The C.A.N and the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, PFN. Let me correct one wrong notion out there, I still speak. The fact that I decided to stay away from the media for now for the reason I stated earlier doesn’t mean I have kept silent. Let me tell you, if I have a public function or interdenominational engagement, I will surely speak. My silence in the media has nothing to do with politics or with the people in power. I’m not a politician. I have no animosity towards anyone. I pray every day for the success of President Buhari’s administration as mandated by the Bible. If we fail to uphold those in authority in prayers, we will all be victims of their collective failure.”

    Considering all he had endured, sacrificed and done in service to the body of Christ and the nation at large, Oritsejafor deserves appreciation as a church father, commendation as a nationalist and reverence as a priestly ‘General’ who, without combatant soldiers, defended the people of God courageously even in the face of threats to his life.

  • Oritsejafor: Why the ‘General’ retreats

    About this time in 2014, as political campaigns gathered momentum, activities of many church leaders became a subject of daily debate in the media. Regardless of how noble or well-meaning their motives were, insults, tirades and jibes were hauled at the pulpit officers for showing interest in the affairs of their nation. Depending on which side of the political divide the critics belonged to, barely all vocal clergymen in the country suffered one form of vitriolic attack or the other.

    When the much-touted “Change” government eventually took over the reins of power mid-2015, every church leader identified to have aligned with former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan’s failed re-election bid became a subject of odium and invectives in the media. At the mention of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP’s) failure or its alleged looting spree while in power, these cassock-wearing venerable clerics were tagged into random condemnation either as accomplices or as direct beneficiaries of the malfeasance.

    When President Mohammadu Buhari’s dragnet for alleged or perceived looters and their accomplices was launched early in his administration, not a few times had the president resisted the pressure or instigation by baleful critics and cynics for the arrest and prosecution of some pastors believed to have been enmeshed in the corrupt latitude of Jonathan administration. Investigation in deed took place but none of the church leaders was found culpable as anticipated by the “wailers” who were waiting to see men of God in jail.

    An informed source revealed that President Buhari believed that spiritual fathers and religious leaders are entitled to show interest and possibly take a stand in the political affairs of their nation. “This is democracy. Everywhere in the world, even in advance democracies, religious leaders are entitled to have preferences and Nigeria can’t be an exception. It is the right thing to do. It is preposterous to lambast, intimidate or blackmail our religious fathers, especially church leaders for showing interest in who and how Nigeria is governed. However, we don’t expect them to be partisan or be meddlesome in the electoral process.”

    It is a known fact that Christian faith adherents, especially from the south, were a catalyst to Buhari’s victory in 2015. He has consistently been amassing millions of votes from the north since 2003 when he first threw his hat into the ring but those tons of electoral support were a waste until he built a political fraternity with the south as midwifed by Senator Bola Tinubu. Firmly coordinated by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, then a PDP member, who aided mass defection to weaken the ruling party to prove a point to his estranged “political son”, the water-tight political conspiracy ultimately ousted Jonathan out of power. In all of this, Southern Christians who will ordinarily not have anything to do with a conservative Fulani Muslim like Buhari became his campaigners and mobilisers. Many a pulpit became desecrated with political sermons in favour of the then coming “Messiah of Change” (Buhari).

    Those who received underserved bashing for their leadership roles in the polity prior to 2015 polls have since joined other believers to intercede for the nation and its leadership every day. One of such Christian faith leaders is Pastor Ayodele Oritsejafor, the immediate past President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN.

    Every November 10 is Oritsejafor’s birthday. He has a unique style of marking his day wherever he’s in Nigeria or abroad. One of the events he inculcated into his birthday celebration is to “deeply reflect on the state of our nation. I owe it a duty, not to any man or government in power but to God that called and ordained me to His service, to hold a special communion with God in thanksgiving through which I pray for peace, stability and prosperity of Nigeria on my birthday. In addition, I also reach out to my people, this has been my usual practice for years.”

    In a private chat with the outspoken founder of Word of Life Bible Church in his Warri office, Oritsejafor said he’s not speaking frequently these days for two major reasons: “One, there’s a leader in place; Rev. (Dr.) Olasupo Ayokunle is the sitting President of our umbrella body, C.A.N. He is the official mouthpiece of the Church as well as the one that interfaces with governments or non-governmental bodies in Nigeria and across the world. We are cooperating with him. Two drivers can’t control a car simultaneously. During my time, nobody was sharing the space with me. It is sheer lack of respect for constituted authorities to compete with your leader in a group you willingly subscribed to.

    “Two, I do share my opinions with the leadership bodies I belong to: The C.A.N and the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, PFN. Let me correct one wrong notion out there, I still speak. The fact that I decided to stay away from the media for now for the reason I stated earlier doesn’t mean I have kept silent. Let me tell you, if I have a public function or interdenominational engagement, I will surely speak. My silence in the media has nothing to do with politics or with the people in power. I’m not a politician. I have no animosity towards anyone. I pray every day for the success of President Buhari’s administration as mandated by the Bible. If we fail to uphold those in authority in prayers, we will all be victims of their collective failure.”

    Considering all he had endured, sacrificed and done in service to the body of Christ and the nation at large, Oritsejafor deserves appreciation as a church father, commendation as a nationalist and reverence as a priestly ‘General’ who, without combatant soldiers, defended the people of God courageously even in the face of threats to his life.

  • Oritsejafor: The maverick high priest

    Penultimate Friday, precisely November 10, 2017, Pastor Joseph Ayodele Oritsejafor is a year plus as a septuagenarian Church leader and once upon a time High Priest of the nation. He’s eminently qualified as a High Priest of Nigeria being a former President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN. One of the most indelible era in Christian leadership in Nigeria and, indeed, a very trying period for that matter was during the tenure of Oritsejafor between 2010 and 2016.

    Oritsejafor needs no introduction as his public image means different things to different people. While his critics are often being misled into what they hold as facts against him, those who identify with him are much more informed about the issues involving him. Many people, especially in the political and sectarian orbits couldn’t stand his guts because of his boldness, outspokenness and brilliant articulation of his positions and opinions.

    He is not a lone ranger in the pathway of boldness, other vocal Christian leaders in the league include Bishop Mike Okonkwo, Pastor Tunde Bakare, Bishop Hassan Kukah, Anthony Cardinal Olubunmi Okogie and Prelate Ola Makinde to mention but a few. These fearless clergymen are never intimidated, care less about criticisms against their convictions, they are brave, alert, articulate and well-informed about the happenings within the church and secular world all because of their mandate to speak up for the Body of Christ in Nigeria and in defence of her interests and members.

    The Christian faith leadership in Nigeria became vocal against overt and covert acts of injustice since the campaign against Nigeria’s membership of the Organisation of Islamic States, OIC, during the General Ibrahim Babangida (Rtd) military era. The Catholic Archbishop Emeritus of Lagos Diocese, Anthony Cardinal Olubunmi Okogie, was a fire-spitting CAN President at that time. Successive CAN leaders have maintained the culture though at varying degrees depending on the nature of the man in charge. However, it may take a while for the Christian community in Nigeria to have another leader like Oritsejafor.

    To date, Oritsejafor remains the most criticized and vilified national church leader in Nigeria. He received scathing remarks for the very reasons he assumed the mantle of Christian leadership – service! The primary reason Oritsejafor was drafted into CAN Presidency was because the preceding leadership was not doing enough in checkmating the sliding moves to make the Church play a second fiddle in the religious affairs in Nigeria. Being the Pentecostal leader at the time, Oritsejafor was more than able for the challenge knowing full well that Pentecostal Movement in Nigeria right form the era of Late Archbishop Benson Idahosa, has speaking consistently for the Church.

    Noticeably, Oritsejafor has refrained from public appearances and making comments on national issues since he served out his tenure. This, he said, was because there’s a new leadership for the Christian body which he supports wholeheartedly. “There can’t be two captains in a ship. When I was in the saddle, they all rallied support for my tenure and we did the best God had enabled us to do. Here now we have another leadership in place and I support everything they do. So, it is wrong for me to be competing for attention with our leader. It is not in our culture as an organization to do so. Yes, once in a while we could lend a voice in support of whatever the leadership is doing or canvassing but not to compete or embark on showmanship with the incumbent. We are a well-organised body and we respect leadership so much,” he said.

    This year’s birthday is a landmark in his life but he opted to have a low profile celebration because, according to him, as much as there are genuine reasons to celebrate, there are also compelling reasons to be sober and reflective. Oritsejafor wouldn’t like to remember how his critics had employed political colouration, absolute lies and propaganda to combat many noble intentions he had. His tenure had a couple of serious challenges because it was at the height of Boko Haram insurgency up north in which many Christians were killed and several churches destroyed. Also, the tenure contended with the issue of Islamic banking among other matters that were of interest to the Church leadership in Nigeria.

    The systematic and strategic vilification of Oritsejafor had been activated right from his days as the PFN President. During his time, PFN was defacto mouthpiece of the Church in Nigeria. When he signified his intention to vie for the CAN Presidency and knowing that he won’t ‘play the game by the rule’ of the oligarchy, he was roundly worked against by contending interests from outside the Church fold but the unity of the church prevailed. I watched the current CAN President and the President of the Baptist Convention in Nigeria, Rev. (Dr.) Olasupo Ayokunle, on Sunday, April 23, 2017 during his sermon at the 104th Baptist Convention where he acknowledged that in so short a time as CAN President he could now understand why leaders were often criticized and negatively portrayed. He then told Vice President Yemi Osibajo who was present at the service not to be distracted by negative media and criticisms. This goes to show that the yoke of leadership is burdensome and, most of the time, thankless.

    For example, sometimes in 2012, Oritsejafor and Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar addressed a press conference at Sheraton Hotel in Lagos on the festering Boko Haram insurgency. While the Sultan dismissed the ‘terrorists’ label on the sect and rationalized the murderous activities of the Islamists as that of misguided, wrongly indoctrinated rascally youths who will be corrected and rehabilitated in the process of time, Oritsejafor, however, flatly disagreed with him. He said Boko Haram was a pure terror organization. According to him, the activities of the dreaded insurgents were part of the grand plots to Islamise Nigeria; adding that the insurgency was well coordinated, funded and armed by some powerful elements in the country for religious and political purposes.

    Later that day, when a television station reported the news at 7pm, it reported that both Oritsejafor and the Sultan agreed that Boko Haram was not a terror group but merely a violent group of misguided and irate youths. It played the audio-visual of the Sultan which corroborated the news story but did a voiceover while it showed Oritsejafor’s part. When Oritsejafor’s attention was drawn to it, he called the chairman of the station who himself is a renowned broadcaster, and complained to him about the lies and twist of his own side of the story. The proprietor promised to look into it and get back to him shortly after. About 90 minutes later, the man called to profusely apologise to Oritsejafor and promised that it will be rectified at its 10pm prime news hour. Accordingly, it was corrected. Both Oritsejafor and Sultan’s audiovisuals were played. Immediately, the headline of the story on its news bar changed to “Oritsejafor, Sultan differ on Boko Haram.”

    For the better part of his tenure as CAN President, Oritsejafor was roundly misconstrued and criticized for being close to former President Goodluck Jonathan. Yes, they are still close as brothers from the same Niger/Delta region; in addition, Oritsejafor is a spiritual leader of the oil-rich region to whom Jonathan also subscribes. Former Prelate of the Methodist Church, Rt. Rev. Ola Makinde, led a delegation of some Christian leaders to meet President Jonathan at the Presidential Villa during which he had to express his displeasure that the CAN President, in his capacity as the leader of the largest religious body in the country, didn’t have the President’s phone number which made communication at leadership level sometimes cumbersome.

     

    • Michael is a Media Consultant
  • Oritsejafor and burden of leadership: A postscript

    Oritsejafor and burden of leadership: A postscript

    THE leaders of the two leading religious bodies in Nigeria are indisputably strategic national leaders. They are very influential considering the size of their followership. Conventionally, one of them often talks less in the public; he is not known to be a newsmaker, while the other has to employ the instrumentality of activism and the media to maintain some level of balance in the business of official patronage, especially in the interest of his own constituency.

    The Christian faith leadership in Nigeria shares the role of being vocal against overt and covert acts of injustice with the human rights groups. This has become more pronounced since the campaign against Nigeria’s membership of the Organisation of Islamic States, OIC, during the General Ibrahim Babangida military era.

    The Catholic Archbishop Emeritus of Lagos Diocese, Anthony Cardinal Olubunmi Okogie, was a fire-spitting CAN President at that time. Since then, the Christian body has been more involved in speaking for the masses of this nation, along with its primary role of defending the Christian faith. Successive CAN leaders have maintained the culture, though at varying degrees depending on the nature of the man in charge. However, it may take a while for the Christian community in Nigeria to have another leader like Pastor Joseph Ayodele Oritsejafor.

    To date, Oritsejafor remains the most criticised and vilified national church leader in Nigeria. He received scathing remarks for the very reasons he assumed the mantle of Christian leadership – service! I will try to unveil Oritsejafor in this write-up beyond the parochial opinions some people hold about him. I have a sense of duty to straighten the records in the interest of future leaders who may be scared of stepping into the realm of leadership at that level. I won’t sing his praises because God is the Rewarder of everyone called to service by Him.

    I will write as someone who knows some of his activities, intentions and challenges. Jesus our Lord said in Luke 12: 48 that to whom much is given, much is required; and adopting this statement as the principle of service in leadership is what earned Oritseajafor the brickbats from a section of the media. Oritsejafor accepted to serve the Body of Christ as chief steward in the nation with so much passion as someone who has been privileged to receive abundant mercy and uncommon grace from his Maker. He determined to add value and continue the good works started by his predecessors in office as CAN presidents. In the early part of his tenure in office, Oritsejafor did not allow projects or support works to be financed from the CAN purse.

    I remember when there was a flood disaster somewhere in Sokoto State, all the relief materials and cash donated in the name of CAN were not from the association’s coffers. He buoyed the treasury of the Christian body and initiated some ideas that steadied the body across the country. He dispensed his energy, time and resources – as expected, though – to move the body to the next level.

    He was the sitting President of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, PFN, before he became CAN President. PFN is reputed for intrepid responses to issues as they affect Nigerians in general and the Body of Christ in particular. So, it was much easier for Oritsejafor to fit into the demanding roles of the CAN President. He was not discriminatory in his response to sects or denominations that needed his attention.

    He was present at the Cherubim and Seraphim (Ayo Ni O) annual event in Lagos before Prophet Gabriel Fakeye transited to glory. He was also in attendance at the heroic burial of Apostle T. O. Obadare of C.A.C in Ilesha, Osun State. He was up and doing as an energetic and charismatic leader of CAN. He was very vocal against the undue advantage of one religion over the other as demonstrated in the official patronage over the years.

    Oritsejafor was despised in some quarters for being audacious by cutting-to-size the larger-than-life image of the ‘feudal lords’ in national affairs at any given opportunity. Even in the face of threats to his life at the peak of the Boko Haram onslaught, Oritsejafor used the weapon of his tongue to protect and defend his people while holding the federal government, Northern and Muslim leaders responsible for the havoc wreaked by the insurgents because of leadership failure on their part.

    These were the reasons why those uncomfortable with his unrelenting and fearless disposition silently employed acerbic media attacks against him. There are two major areas his critics talked about: his closeness to the former President Goodluck Jonathan and his frequent fiery responses to any action, policy or moves against the Church; insensitivity to the plight of the people or acts of injustice against any section of the country.

    They feel he should have been a gentleman who rarely or scarcely reacts as the leader of the most populous religious organization in Nigeria. But Oritsejafor thinks otherwise! “If I pretend to be insensitive to threatening and damaging actions against my people because I want to be nice and command respect through silence when I should speak up, it’s the height of betrayal of my covenant with God and His people I agreed to serve in leadership position,” he said, quoting legendary Albert Einstein who said “The world is not dangerous because of those who do harm but because of those who look at it without doing anything.”

    Oritsejafor’s closeness to former President Goodluck Jonathan never affected his sense of duty as the Chief Priest of the nation during Jonathan’s era. He was not enjoying any special attention or privilege above his peer in the other faith. What surprises me the most is that we don’t get to hear anything about such closeness to the seat of power in all the years that the leader of the other faith (both past and present) has been the unseen hands behind many actions in our national affairs. Alas! Is it a crime to be close to any person in power, especially when it is not for conceited purposes? I think the answer is NO. Most Rev. Peter Akinola was the CAN President who completed the National Ecumenical Centre, Abuja, 18 months into his tenure of office. The project had been comatose for almost 15 years before Akinola was elected in 2004. He leveraged on his friendship and intimacy with former President Olusegun Obasanjo by appointing him (Obasanjo) to chair the fund raising committee to complete the edifice.

    It would have been understandable if Oritsejafor’s attackers were only from anywhere else than the Church. Some of his critics in the media are Christians. While there’s nothing wrong in constructively ‘criticizing’ (as against ‘admonishing’ church fathers/leaders as stipulated in the Holy Bible – 1 Timothy 5: 1), many of the vitriolic attacks were due to misconstrued intentions and veiled campaign to either weaken or blackmail Oritsejafor into submission. When Oritsejafor needed people to speak up for him, there was none.

    He became a loner in battle. Those who knew the truth about issues involving Oritsejafor opted to be quiet for reasons best known to them. He was frustrated to a point that he said “If there is another route to heaven apart from the church, I will follow it but, hey, there’s none.”

    He was commonly criticized for “talking too much” whenever he responded to issues of major concern; Okogie during his own time did same or even more but because it was Oritsejafor, he must be over- criticized. When his aircraft was impounded in South Africa for conveying $9.3 million undeclared cash at the point of entry, the money, said to be meant to procure arms and ammunition in the black market for our soldiers fighting Boko Haram in the North East, was said by some to belong to Oritsejafor, despite the public confession by the then National Security Adviser, NSA, Col. Sambo Dasuki (Rtd), that the money belonged to the federal government and that the aircraft was hired for the trip. But because the aircraft belonged to Oritsejafor, tongues wagged for a long time about the “ulterior motives” behind the money and the owner of the aircraft.

    Rotimi Amaechi, then governor of Rivers State, alleged that the sum of N6 billion had been released to the leadership of CAN to mobilize and campaign for former President Jonathan during the 2015 presidential election. Even when it was obvious that the claim was political propaganda which remained unsubstantiated till date, but because Oritsejafor was at the helm of CAN leadership at the time, the story became an instant “truth.”

    While Oritsejafor enjoyed tremendous support from the leaders of the component blocs of CAN for his leadership style, tactfulness, and confidence-building capabilities, some of his people in the Pentecostal Movement were apathetic towards his challenges. It was like such a dis-affectionate disposition had become the stockin- trade of the Pentecostals.

    When Pastor Tunde Bakare became the running mate to President Muhammadu Buhari in 2011, opposition to his political career was rooted in his Pentecostal constituency. Vice President Yemi Osibajo also had his own fair share of the intra-brotherhood opposition during the 2015 electioneering campaign. Osibajo wept profusely when he was denied entry into a meeting his friends and leaders in the Pentecostal movement were holding to signal to him that “you are on your own.” In spite of these daunting challenges, Oritsejafor took it calmly in his strides and forged ahead.

    He sums it up thus: “There are almost 100 million Christians in Nigeria out of which God, in His infinite mercy, counted me worthy to serve His people at leadership position. Whatever is said or written against me is an indication that I am making an impact. If you don’t want to be insulted or blackmailed, then you are not ready for service. Even for going about doing good; Jesus Christ was blackmailed, abused, and eventually killed. It is all a burden of leadership. Only God, the faithful Judge, will reward my stewardship accordingly.” •Michael Awe is a Lagos-based Media Consultant. “mailto:mikeawe@yahoo.co.uk” mikeawe@yahoo.co.uk

  • Oritsejafor agonises

    Oyo Oritsejafor, former president of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), but who by virtue of his position and ethnic contiguity with former President Goodluck Jonathan, firmly established himself as the Rasputin of the Jonathan presidential court, agonises.

    His grouse?  That as CAN president, fellow Christians actively insulted and betrayed him. Yet, he claimed, he staked his life for the cause of Nigerian Christendom.

    Pastor Oritsejafor was clearly referring to those best-forgotten days of Boko Haram, when Christians and their temples, even around important Christian festivals like Christmas and Easter, were fair game for those crazed murderers, after some quixotic, Stone Age, Islamic republic.

    But the bubble soon burst. Boko Haram would pounce on fellow Muslims, with even more savagery, that any talk of the blood-thirsty terrorists being some Muslim rod against Christians — or any faith outside Islam for that matter — became a bad and grim joke.

    Crazy and bloody times, back there.  May we never see such again.  And yes, to be fair, Pastor Oritsejafor did his best, as CAN president, to rally the faithful in times of great peril.  Kudos and respect.

    What was unclear, however, was Oritsejafor’s motive for such admirable activism: to serve Nigerian Christendom, or to ingratiate himself into the Jonathan court, in a not-too-complex ethno-political intrigue for power, which catapulted CAN, under the trendy Warri pastor, as a spiritual (?) consultant to the Jonathan court.

    That plan was simple.  With CAN’s reach, Oritsejafor would help dress up an embattled president, desperate for re-election, as some helpless Christian about to be undone and unhorsed by some infidel Muslims.

    If the 2015 electioneering quaked with ultra-dangerous religious antipathy, with not a few church pastors, especially in the Pentecostal movement, passionately campaigning for Jonathan along religious lines, it was the dangerous potency of Oritsejafor’s combustible brew of spiritual secularity or secular spirituality, put in the opportunistic hands of political partisans. Nigerian Christendom never appeared uglier.

    And the scandals.  First was the news that the holy pastor’s private jet was involved in a profane currency smuggle into South Africa, for a controversial arms purchase.  The holy pastor pleaded not guilty, since it was the aircraft’s operator that was involved in the deal. Fair enough.

    But that was after some ugly insinuations about the nativity of the pastor’s jet. The pastor claimed it was a birthday gift from his blessed congregation. But some deep throats grumbled, with rumbling rage, that the pastor should tell them another story.

    But who would say the man of God was guilty of untruth? Not Hardball, who is no iconoclast.

    At that juncture, however, the Oritsejafor political activism had planted enough resent in some conscientious Christians, thoroughly scandalised at the ugly turn of events.  That explains the pastor’s allegation of in-house Christian plots and insults.

    Still, Pastor Oritsejafor, instead of shopping for pity, must brace himself against his own personal demons. Notorious fact: his actions (or inactions) as CAN president, under President Jonathan, brought Nigerian Christendom to ridicule — and no amount of shopping for pity can cancel that.

    Well, Oritsejafor is now history as far as the CAN presidency is concerned. His successor, Rev. Samson Ayokunle, would do well to learn from the pitfalls of his predecessor.

    Otherwise CAN would be assured of nothing but a can of worms.

  • Baptist cleric Ayokunle replaces Oritsejafor at CAN

    Baptist cleric Ayokunle replaces Oritsejafor at CAN

    President of the Nigerian Baptist Convention (NBC) Rev Dr Supo Ayokunle yesterday emerged new national president of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN).

    Ayokunle defeated Elder Prof. Joseph Otubu of the Motailatu Church Cherubim and Seraphim Movement (MCCSW) with 54 to 28 votes.

    Ayokunle earlier won the Electoral College votes 8-2 some weeks ago.

    He won again yesterday during the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the apex Christian body.

    The electoral process was almost disrupted when some delegates belonging to the TEKAN/ECWA bloc of CAN claimed there was a court order against the exercise.

    A shouting order prevailed for about ten minutes before frayed nerves were calmed.

    The delegates later staged a walk-out, claiming the process was already compromised.

    They claimed that the president of Ever Church Winning All(ECWA) Rev Dr Jeremiah Gado was duly nominated and should have contested the election.

    Our correspondent, who was the venue of the election, also observed that at least five delegates of the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (CSN) walked out of the venue.

    They were believed to be carrying out the withdrawal threat of the bloc from the national body.

    Outgoing president of the body, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor announced the result around 2:30pm to a rousing applause at the Ecumenical Centre, Abuja.

    As soon as the results were announced, delegates from the Christian Council of Nigeria (CCN), which Ayokunle’s church belongs to moved to congratulate him.

    With the result, Otubu automatically become the vice president of the body.

     

  • Keshi’s death shocking- Oritsejafor

    Keshi’s death shocking- Oritsejafor

    President of The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, on Thursday described the death of former Super Eagles coach, Stephen Keshi, as shocking.

    A statement issued by CAN National Secretary, Rev. Musa Asake, in Abuja, said: “On behalf of the President of The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, OFR, and the entire Christian Community, I commiserate with the family of the late Stephen Keshi, and the entire football-loving Nigerians over the demise of the late former captain and coach of the super eagles,

    “With shock and deep sense of loss we received the news of the death of the former Super Eagles captain and coach, CAN is pained. Indeed his passing is a great loss to the footballing community around the world and the church. Definitely, he would be greatly missed. CAN as a family stands by the family of the deceased at this time of grief, we pray that the Lord will comfort and uphold the family left behind as they take solace in Christ Jesus.

    “We want the family to also be consoled that Keshi impacted on the lives of millions of football followers, he lived a good life, ran and won a good race. I pray God to grant his immediate family, Nigeria and the global football community, the fortitude to bear the great loss.

    “We also prayed that Nigeria football house to learn from the experiences of the football hero who won many laurels for the nation in the time past. May God grant his soul eternal rest. Amen. On behalf of everyone in CAN, do accept my sympathy.”

  • Oritsejafor, Ademowo, preach sacrifice, unity

    Oritsejafor, Ademowo, preach sacrifice, unity

    The President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor and the Dean Emeritus, Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), Most Rev. Ademola Ademowo yesterday urged Nigerians to shun corruption, kidnapping, stealing, violent acts and other social vices.

    They also urged the citizens to embrace the spirits of endurance, sacrifice and other virtues exemplified in the crucifiction of Jesus Christ.

    In his message to Nigerians on the occasion of Good Friday, Ademowo said that all the vices were damaging to the image of the nation.

    According to him, Good Friday teaches us to jettison all forms of social vices from our system.

    He said: “It is of paramount importance to call on the citizens of this great country, in the spirit of the season, to imbibe the true spirit of nation building.

    “I hereby call on all those in position of authorities to seek the common good instead of individual comfort and interest.

    “They should be sacrificial in their services to our great nation.

    “Let us be determined in our hearts to promote the ideas of transparency and honesty to move our country forward.”

    The President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, urged Nigerians to resist any urge for the division of the country.

    His plea was contained in a statement he issued in Abuja yesterday, according to the News Agency of Nigeria.

    According to the statement, sacrifice, love and humility which is the focus of Good Friday must permeate through the society.

    He said: “This is a time when Christians in parts of the country are plagued by insurgency. I call for steadfastness and unwavering faith in God, the maker of all things.

    “This should be the watch word for all Christians in this season of sacrifice and forgiveness.

    “As greed, hatred and wickedness continue to dominate the affairs of some in our midst, goodwill ultimately prevails over evil,’’ it said.

    The statement also said that sacrifice is not necessarily exemplified by dying for others; it could be demonstrated by giving alms, helping the needy and carrying out other works of mercy in the society.

    It said that as Christ paid the ultimate sacrifice for mankind on Good Friday, Nigerians must also learn to sacrifice for their fellow human beings in any way they could.

    The statement noted that Nigerians must always be guided by the message of the Cross because it must be put into practice in all its ramifications.

    “Evil will not have the last word, but love, mercy and pardon will,” he said.

    The statement noted that all the activities of the Church must be seen to reflect the virtues of sacrifice and love which Christ himself exhibited through his death on the cross.

    “As we join other faithful across the world to commemorate the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ on Good Friday, I enjoin all Christians to reflect on the lessons of the solemn celebration.

    “So, as you reflect on this solemn celebration, may we all be reminded of God’s plan for mankind which was fulfilled by Christ against all odds, especially as it affects their lives,’’ the statement added.

  • Tension in CAN as Oritsejafor quits in July

    Tension in CAN as Oritsejafor quits in July

    Ahead of the expiration of the tenure of the President of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor in July, a group, Christ Redeemers Union (CRU), claimed the Presidency was interested in its election for selfish reasons.

    CRU’s National Director  Dr. Ebenezer Olusola Abednego told reporters in Abuja that Christians would resist any plan by the Presidency to install its choice as CAN president

     He said:  “There is tension in CAN and the action of the Presidency has polarised the association along North–South dichotomy as northern religious leaders are being lobbied to support the plot.

    “We have it on good authority that any leader being installed by the Presidency in CAN would avoid any virulent criticism of the Buhari government and this has informed its desperation to install a leadership that will not be critical.’

    But Special Adviser to the President (Media and Communications) Mr. Femi Adesina dismissed the allegation.

    He said: “It means that some Nigerians don’t know their President. Your President, Muhammadu Buhari, does not interfere in things like that; so they need to know the person who is their President.

     “The people making the allegation can’t insist that they are correct because that is the man for you and Buhari doesn’t interfere in anything. If he doesn’t interfere in state elections where his party, APC, is having candidates, how will he interfere in CAN elections? They don’t know their President

  • CAN urges Nigerians to join forces to against insurgency

    CAN urges Nigerians to join forces to against insurgency

    Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) President Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor has advised Nigerians to stand firm and support security operatives to win the fight against insurgency.

    He said the citizens must fight to defeat ills that have retarded the country’s growth and promote those positive virtues that are capable of repositioning its economy.

    In a statement, the CAN boss said: “Dear fellow Nigerians, I felicitate with you on behalf of the national executive of CAN on the occasion of the 2016 New Year celebration.

    “As we join the rest of the world to mark the end of a turbulent year and beginning of another one, I want to congratulate all Nigerians for being resolute in the out-gone year.

    “Indeed, the year 2015 tested our resolve as a nation to forge ahead in spite of the daunting challenges. Unarguably, the true Nigerian spirit was tested in the course of the year and the rest is now history.

    “As we celebrate the New Year, I urge all citizens to reflect on the challenges that impeded Nigeria’s progress with a view to tackling them. Let us put the wrongs of the past behind us and move on as a nation.”

    He added: “Nigerians must fight to defeat ills that have retarded the growth of their country and promote those positive virtues that are capable of repositioning its economy.

    “I urge all Nigerians to join forces in the New Year and work toward the general good of the country.

    “I also urge us all to stand firm in support of state apparatuses to defeat the evil of insurgency and other vices confronting the country.

    “It is high time all Nigerians put aside their differences and work with relevant authorities in the New Year to move our country.

    “Let us all emulate the teachings of the holy books and promote what is genuinely represented in the schools.

    “May the spirit of the season, which is manifested in joy, peace and sacrifice continue to guide our actions in the New Year. Once again, I wish all citizens a wonderful and fulfilling New Year.”