Right Reverend Williams Aladekugbe is the newly enthroned Bishop of Ibadan North Diocese, Anglican Communion. In this interview with SEYI SOKOYA, he speaks about life in the vineyard and sundry national issues.
YOU were recently enthroned as the Bishop of Ibadan North Diocese, Anglican Communion. How has the experience been since you attained this new office?
I am sincerely grateful to God Almighty who called us into ministry about 30 years ago. Basically, I was consecrated Bishop of Oyo in 2014. So I’ve been a Bishop before coming to Ibadan North, but we give thanks to God that at His own time, He called us to get translated to Ibadan North and we were enthroned August 14 as the Bishop of Ibadan North Diocese. It is only God that deserves praise and thanksgiving because nothing happens without His permission. So, that He allowed it, we give thanks to Him. For my coming in and enthronement I feel good and happy. I feel fulfilled, moreover, that one came into the open arms of good, loving, caring and forward looking people. So, I am grateful to God that God made it to happen and the people are very receptive, welcoming, caring, and loving.
How special is the translation from Oyo to Ibadan to you?
Nothing is really special apart from change in diocese. Maybe coming from a smaller diocese to a bigger one or coming from a relatively younger diocese to an older diocese, but I do know that the work here in Ibadan North is enormous and could be more challenging than that of Oyo, because in terms of population, they are quite more in comparative terms; Ibadan and Oyo: there is a world of difference. Also, in terms of several other things, there are differences between them, but as per the office of a Bishop, what exactly I was doing, as a Bishop in Oyo is still what I will be doing as a Bishop in Ibadan, but maybe in a bigger capacity more than that of Oyo and that is just what I see.
So how are you prepared for the task?
God is our sufficiency. One thing that I have always known is that when God calls, He equips. When God calls one He backs up, so on our own, the manpower may not be sufficient, but once we absolutely rely on Him, He will do the imaginable. As far as education is concerned, one could say, yes, he is prepared for a job. As far as training is concerned, one can say yes, relatively he’s prepared for the job. When we talk about exposure, one can say he is experienced; but in all of this, God is our sufficiency and one thing we have done is to rely completely on Him. Let Him take the lead and direct us and whatever He tells us to do, we will do. But our intention is to make Ibadan North the cynosure of all eyes and make it a diocese that can favourablly compete with sister dioceses all over the country.
Would you say you are fulfilled as a cleric, following the recent success you have achieved?
Even before this time, I have been fulfilled, because I remember 35 years ago that I received my call, which I have shared with people everywhere I go that God has called me to the vineyard to be a priest that I eventually became about 43 years ago. So, to me, it is a fulfillment. This is just an added opportunity, grace and advantage and that requires more work from me to God. As for fulfillment, I am fulfilled, especially with the fact that one is able to get to the peak of his chosen ministry and that one is working where people will cherish his little contribution is also a fulfillment for me. Also, that one walked into the waiting arms of people who show love, care and understanding is a fulfilment on its own. So, when you look at all of these, I can conveniently say that I am fulfilled.
Could you highlight some of your major visions for the new office and how do you intend to achieve them?
We are grateful to God for the founding fathers of Ibadan North diocese and I give kudos to our predecessor in the office, Most Reverend SegunOkubadejo and his wife, who labouredvery hard to bring the diocese up to where she is today. One thing we have concluded within us is that we will build on the very strong foundation they laid, and by the grace of God we will ensure that more places of worship are built for members of our diocese. We intend to have places of worship very close to all our members. We don’t want a situation where people travel a distance before they get to their place of worship as Anglicans. So, we are going to work very hard on that. We are also going to have a new Bishop’s Court. We also want to make the office complex a modern one. Importantly, we want to further empower our clerics, because when you develop structures, the human capacity has to be developed too. We want to embark on Andrew Mission evangelism; that everybody will be an evangelists so that you don’t have to wait for a clergyman before you minister. We want to ensure that in our time the church progresses, the gospel is preached and more souls are won for Christ. These are some of the things we have in mind as well as to make the diocese financially buoyant.
Would you say that the intention to empower the younger clerics and giving them more opportunities in the mission would stop them from switching to the Pentecostal churches?
Every church that has Christ as the head is Pentecostal, the Anglican Church too is Pentecostal and let me confess to you that there is practically nothing wrong with our doctrine as the Anglican Church. There is practically nothing wrong with the way we conduct services in the church. The problem we have is the handler, those who handle the doctrine, and the conduct of services, and that is why we want to embark on training and re-training because everything is evolving. So, the method of 100 or 50 years ago may not suffice for what we have in our present day world. So, we want them to be more relevant, and that is why we want to train them so that they can fit into our present day society and be able to minister to all diverse of people.; the old, young and the middle aged, and this is our focus. We want the younger clerics to be more vibrant and there should be life in whatever they do. We are not changing the system, doctrine, and worship, but we can make it lively and vibrant.
The state of security in the country has made the work of clerics more challenging. Do you see this as an attack on the church or a fair share of the security challenge Nigeria is facing?
Kindly note that the ministry of the church is not juicy, but could be tasking, if there is any job that is so tasking, it is the job of a church pastor; it is brain-tasking, time-consuming and energy-sapping. You will agree with me that the church is within the society. It is unfortunate that as a country, we find ourselves where we are today. One question I keep asking is how did we get here? As young as I may be, I know as bishop chaplain in the late 80s, there were days we left Lagos by 7pm to Akoko, in OndoState and that is about an eight-hour journeyduring which you are likely to return to base about 2am and we enjoyed it, but unfortunately this is where we found ourselves today. A journey, even during daytime these days is so risky. Remember what happened to the Catholic Church. It is unfortunate and that shows how dangerous our work can be today and every work is not immune from the danger in the society.
We only pray to God that He who watches over Israel and who does not sleep or slumber should watch over His people too. But if the bandits have also threatened the president of the country, who then is safe in this country. The base of the armoury of the country, Kaduna was attacked too; that means nowhere is safe. But the Bible is so complete that the name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous runs into it and he is saved. So, all our safety is in the hands of God. It is in the midst of all of these that the clerics will work; we cannot abandon it because the lives of the people are so precious to us. Our work is like that of the military; you don’t abandon your members in the face of insecurity, terrorism and banditry. You are there with them and that is the kind of life Jesus lived while on earth and that is the mandate He has given to us. So, we keep praying for ourselves that in the midst of all that we go through the Lord will provide security. However, we still call on our government to do the needful and not shy away from their responsibility. But my pain in all these is that sometimes we wonder if these people are not known to those in government, and what are they doing about it? Or are these people special people that they are untouchable or why do we have to treat them with kids gloves? That’s one of the questions Nigerians should be asking and our leaders are expected to provide answers.
Do you think the church is doing enough to address insecury?
The church is doing her best by sensitising people by being careful. It is unfortunate that it has become difficult for some churches to hold vigils or extend their programmes beyond 6 or 7pm, which normally shouldn’t be. Sometimes people want to be in the presence of the Lord for as long as they wish, but the security issues has hindered them. So, the church is trying to be very careful. So, it is in the hands of the government. But the church will partner with them in prayers, and we will be vigilant.
It has been noticed that some clerics these days now disguise during official assignments so as to avoid being kidnapped. Is this a new approach?
It is not a new approach. It is only a way to adjust to the system or the situation on ground. If that is what the situation on ground is calling for, why can’t we adopt that? We have no choice than to do that since we are now a target because from this year, we have seen that a lot of clerics had been kidnapped and huge amount of ransom was paid.
With the shape of things in the country going towards the 2023 election, do you think Nigeria is heading toward its Promised Land?
We can only be praying for 2023. No one knows tomorrow and our God is a God of oneness. He does whatever pleases Him and it is He who knows tomorrow. We are only praying and that is more of a call. As for me, I will say that 2023 will be a deciding factor to make or mar our country.
ALSO READ FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
and then