Archbishop Calvin Antonza II is the President of Supernatural Love Ministries/Spirit Life Power, Yola in Adamawa State. He speaks with SEYI SOKOYA, on the current situation of the nation, church, and other issues.
What is your take on the current state of the country?
To be candid, Nigeria is in a critical position and we all know that it has never been this bad in our country. People are not only suffering but we have reached a state of hopelessness.
People are most dangerous when they reach a state of hopelessness, where they have nothing to lose, they can engage in any atrocity you can mention. Also, we have had more cases of suicidal tendencies and attempts than we have had in the past. These summarise the present situation of our country.
Christians are not exempted in the current state of the nation. Some families hardly feed their families. What role should the church play?
We must always seek the face of God for the way out. But before that, we must pray and repent of our way of doing things. There is something wrong with the Nigerian church and its approach towards God and society. That is why we need to pray and repent. Repentance means a change of heart; a change of attitude, a change of the way you do things, I am not talking about religion; I am talking about a real relationship with God.
The proof of your good relationship with God is that you will dominate and bring solutions to life’s issues; you will not be the problem. Again, we must act. Faith without works is dead. One of the major challenges of Nigerian society is our curriculum. It glorifies certificates, with no corresponding practical skills. We must look into this, but what I am saying here is that work is what will take us out of poverty. Poverty does not respect prayers.
What it responds to is smart work to produce, distribute, and transfer goods and services. Everyone must seek to be in the food and services chain. That is what will take us out of this quagmire. The Bible calls the church the light of the world. So, the major role of the church is to shine its light on the world. The easiest thing to do is to give people palliatives, which is not bad in itself, but this must not be the main intervention.
Don’t just give me fish, teach me to fish. So, the church must play its role of being the light that will shine in the darkness. We must teach our members how to develop themselves and acquire skills that will make them productive in society. This must start, however, by the imbibing of godly values.
Should clerics be partisan the way some went during the general elections?
No. I have made the point. Church leaders are fathers of the society. In a big house, not all will be at one party. So, you must be large-hearted to accommodate all. Moreover, the country also belongs to Muslims, atheists, and people of traditional religions. Politics and the church cannot mix. You cannot dictate your doctrine in a country where there is freedom of religion. This does not mean the church is powerless and cannot turn society in the direction it wants it to; however, it doesn’t happen by being partisan.
Some have expressed concerns about the mode of dressing in the church as it seems not to be different from social outings, especially among ladies in the name of fashion. What is your take on this?
The main reason some church people dress, revealing their body parts is because they have not developed a wholesome value of who they are in Christ. I will call them carnal Christians. Though some are being born again, their minds have not been renewed, so they need renewal. Remember, the Bible says in Mark 7 verses 21-22 (NIV), “Every action comes from within men’s hearts. It’s from evil thoughts of the heart, that you bring forth evil actions. You dress according to who you are inside.”
So, your dress is a reflection of your values system and how much you have embraced the teachings of Christ. Don’t expect a pig inside, to avoid mud outside. You will never see a mature Christian dress like the world. In reality, the world is supposed to get its best designs from the church. We are the light and the salt of the earth.
Nigeria is recorded second most praying nation in the world after Afghanistan, but there is criticism that the situation of things in the country does not reflect this record, why is it so?
Most people in Nigeria are only practicing religion with emotionalism and not in reality. Many people go to churches or mosques as a formality and it has no bearing on true value systems of life. Religion is indeed the opium of the people. It can help you feel high, without changing your condition. It can whip up emotions and make you take up arms to fight for it. However, true Christianity must involve your deepest values such that you have respect for yourself and others. You treat your neighbours as yourself.
You embrace the basic tenets of honesty, hard work, and fidelity. You understand that worship is work. You refuse to cut short processes to please yourself. You follow procedures and processes that will make the end product maintain the standard it’s supposed to maintain. That is true Christianity. Prayers and religious services are meant to teach you how to live with integrity. What most people practice in Nigeria is false religion. A selfish endeavour that you pursue just to meet your needs and not what you can contribute to society.
That is why we have more churches and mosques than factories in Nigeria. If for every place of worship in Nigeria, we have a factory or shop, we will be more productive. This country can only get out of its mess when we learn to produce. I expect the government to provide the entire enabling environment necessary for true entrepreneurs to arise and begin to build small, and medium enterprises as well as large-scale industries. The government needs to promote agriculture.
Three things can turn our country around; large-scale employment of our youths in agriculture, massive building of roads and housing, and finally, enabling specialisation by different geographical regions of the country to the natural endowment of each region.
What other solution could you proffer for a breakthrough in the current situation in the nation?
Agriculture alone can make Nigeria an independent country economically. Israel today is one of the most developed nations in the world; they started by developing their agricultural system based on the kibbutzim system.
Once you are independent agriculturally, you can then develop other systems of industrialisation. If we want to get out of this situation, we must set up skills development centres, where all young people can learn modern agricultural techniques that can help them grow crops all year round. Another radical approach is we should shut down our country, and only eat what we grow. This radical approach has been used many centuries ago and once we develop our economy to be able to compete with others, then we can open it up for competition.
READ ALSO FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
and then