CAN, FG and that Islamisation agenda
Before the Sukuk loan that brought major reactions and counter-reactions from the two major religions in Nigeria, Christianity and Islam, there had been insinuations in some Christian quarters of plans by the Federal Government to make Nigeria a Muslim country.
This was fuelled further by various alarms raised by the president of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Reverend Samson Ayokunle, on the issue.
Ayokunle had stated in an earlier interview with TribuneChurch that “Whether by Islamisation or not, there is a siege on Christianity in Nigeria. How can somebody claim that in the name of reform, that Jesus Christ is not the son of God, did not die on the cross or rise from the dead, and it would be called Christian Religious Knowledge? Where did such come from? Is it an attempt to provoke anger? Who drew up such curriculum?
“An ECWA pastor was butchered in Nasarawa State. There have been incidents where Christians have been killed by virtue of their religious stand. There is the case of the man who was stabbed in Kaduna because he ate during fasting period; the woman killed in Kano because she protested against ablution in front of her shop; the Catholic Church opened for service in Niger State on a Friday attacked, among others. And those in authority have kept quiet as if nothing is happening. We will not allow them to rest until they speak out and take action. Let there be mutual respect for religions. We have coexisted peacefully before now. Let’s return to that time. We are too many in this nation to be overrun in a day. As long as God gives us breath, we will not allow any religion to be forced upon us.”
Barely a week into 2017, the first week of January to be precise, reports had it that Pastor E.A. Adeboye had resigned as the general overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG). It, however, turned out that he had stepped aside and would instead now be addressed as the General Overseer (worldwide) of the RCCG.
The reshuffling in the RCCG came after moves related to the code of corporate governance requirements by the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria. The FRC code was said to attempt to address the issue of succession in religious institutions, proposing a certain retirement age for clerics.
Unlike a majority of orthodox denominations that have clear-cut rules for leadership positions, many Pentecostal church leaders would have been affected by the code if it saw the light of day as many denominations are relatively unclear on succession plans, preferring instead to leave plans for choosing general overseers and spiritual fathers to divine inspiration.
Jerusalem holds a special place for the global Christian community and it was therefore not surprising when the world was shaken by the declaration of President Donald Trump of the United States of America that Jerusalem is Israel’s capital, and the movement of the US Embassy.
Pope Francis, the World Council of Churches, and other church leaders across the globe expressed varying opinions on the move, with many calling for caution in order not to escalate conflicts.
Head of the Roman Catholic Church worldwide, Pope Francis, in one of his weekly audiences with the congregation had appealed for “wisdom and prudence.”
“I cannot keep quiet about my deep worry about the situation that has been created in the last few days,” he said, and appealed “that everyone respects the status quo of the city” according to U.N. resolutions.
“I pray to the Lord that its identity is preserved and strengthened for the benefit of the Holy Land, the Middle East and the whole world and that wisdom and prudence prevail to prevent new elements of tension from being added to a global context already convulsed by so many cruel conflicts,” Pope Francis stated as published by the Associated Press.
June 2017 won’t go down in a hurry for many Christians, within and outside Nigeria as it featured the month-long biggest social media religious crusade in recent times.
Renowned gospel musician, Nathaniel Bassey, promoted an activity on the social media, which he tagged the #HalleluyahChallenge. The event was targeted at giving praises to God throughout the entire month, beginning at midnight, running for as long as the individual wished. Christians were also encouraged to join Bassey on Instagram as he also ran live updates of video recordings of him also holding worship sessions.
There were many testimonies recorded as a result of the event, which went on to feature on CNN, and saw celebrities, including Jenifa’s Diary movie star, Funke Akindele, keying into the concept.
Following challenges with his health, which saw Nigeria’s president, Muhammadu Buhari out of the country for weeks, Christian clerics such as the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby and Pastor E.A. Adeboye, visited him while recuperating in the UK.
If nothing, the separate visits helped to ease fears on the real condition of the president, as rumours were rife at the time on the severity of his ill health.
and then