Much furore about Adeboye’s ‘retirement’

WILLIAM Shakespeare called it “Much ado about nothing” but there is more than ‘nothing’ in the events that led to the purported ‘retirement’ penultimate Saturday of the General Overseer of The Redeemed Christian Church of God (TRCCG), Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye. He had been G.O. since the call to glory of the founder of TRCCG in 1981. For this reason, there had been silent suggestions within the fold either for him to step down or to announce when exactly the congregation should expect him to do so. I remember one Holy Ghost service at the time the now old Holy Ghost Arena was just being opened up when Daddy G.O., as Pastor Adeboye is fondly called, cautioned those he said were positioning themselves for succession, adding, “there is no death in my eyes” before dropping the bombshell that the person who would succeed him as G.O had not yet been ordained, to which an alarmed congregation chorused “Aah!” That event happened before I was ordained a Deacon in 2005. So, penultimate Saturday when a ‘new G.O.’ was announced by Daddy, that statement of more than a decade ago came flooding through my mind.

Like I said in “APC’s scurrilous attack on Adeboye” which, though not printed in this column, went viral all the same and was also printed in our sister-publication, the Nigerian Tribune; The PUNCH; Daily Sun, etc., the views I am about to express here are entirely mine. I do not speak for Pastor Adeboye (herein after referred to as ‘Daddy’); neither do I speak for TRCCG. I do not even speak here as a pastor even though I am an Area Pastor in TRCCG. I speak as a journalist, columnist, critic, and public affairs analyst having a duty to perform and a job to do – and this I am minded to do without fear or favour, regardless whose ox is gored. So, let everyone please get it very clear that the views expressed here are entirely mine and that they have been expressed in the line of duty.

I suspect that the demand for Daddy to retire at some point increased when a retirement age of 70 years was set for senior pastors and many of them did retire and have continued to retire at that age. When Daddy himself clocked 70 years some five years ago, there were those who expected him to follow suit and retire. I suspect that the retirement policy might have been informed by the agitation or superior argument of the better educated younger elements who might have felt that there would be no vacancy to grow into if the “old brigade” did not give way. There could also have been the desire to inject fresh blood into the system. It could also have been a pit stealthily dug and carefully concealed, especially if no conscious effort was made to exclude the office of the General Overseer from the offices to be affected by the retirement policy.

I do not believe\accept that the office\person of the General Overseer should be affected by the retirement policy. From what I have heard and read, Daddy was appointed at the instance of the Holy Spirit; he should therefore hold office at the pleasure of the Holy Spirit. Other layers of authority may be subject to retirement but not the spiritual head of the church. Biblical examples of Moses, Joshua, the judges of Israel, Samuel, Elijah, Elisha, to mention but a few, support this. Here on earth, the founder of TRCCG, Rev. Josiah Olufemi Akindayomi, held office at the pleasure of the Holy Spirit. I am comfortable with TRCCG continuing in that tradition. If there is the need to amend TRCCG Constitution to remove any mistake\pitfall of the past, recent events afford a golden opportunity for the authorities to do so. I am further encouraged to hold this view by the fact that Daddy has carried himself with dignity and has discharged his onerous responsibilities creditably. He has worked more than a jackal for God and TRCCG and God has blessed the Mission in his hand immeasurably. He has done not only TRCCG proud; he has also brought honour, dignity, and respect to the entire Christendom, this country, Nigeria; Africa, and the Black world. I know no man is perfect and Daddy cannot be the exception. All of us make mistakes here or there and have one or more areas where we are still asking God for help but at the level of human beings, I make bold to say that Daddy has done excellently well. I stand to be corrected.

He will be 75 years in March but has age in any way diminished Daddy’s performance as G.O? If you think so, please, speak out like I am doing here! Is there any of us working harder than or even as hard as Daddy? Is there any of us fasting longer days and months than him? Is there any of us whom the Holy Spirit has confided in that He no longer has need of the services of Daddy or that He has found another man after His heart? If so, speak out! Many times in the past I heard Daddy say he was willing to retire but that God did not let him. I would not, for anything in this world – not for the blackmail of the misdirected elements within or the shenanigans of their acolytes without – ask Daddy to kick against the will of God. If God says “stay on;” please, Daddy, stay on! You were not called by them; you were called by God. You are, therefore, not in any way answerable to them; you are answerable to God. And God is able to take care of any storm in a tea cup!

Honestly, that is how I perceive the brouhaha about Daddy’s so-called retirement, including the one orchestrated by the Financial Regulatory Council of Nigeria (FRCN’s) dismissed Executive Secretary, saucy, cheeky, and irascible Jim Obazee. We need not detain ourselves here about Obazee but suffice it to say that he had vested interests, allowed conflict of interests, acted in bad faith, and was out on the nefarious mission to use a very important agency of government to fight personal battles and settle dubious scores. Thank God he has now landed where he rightly belongs – the dustbin of history. His name will forever remain in the Hall of Infamy. It remains now for government to take a careful look at Obazee’s mischievous Governance Code and expunge the offending portions. Laws that weaken the Body of Christ shall not stand!

Now some clarifications: The satanic Governance Code was not made by the APC\Muhammadu Buhari administration; it had been in existence since the time of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan. But the former president had the common sense or was wily enough to use it selectively. He entrapped his foes with the regulation but turned a blind spot to areas that could have caused him problem. It is, however, the bad luck of APC\Buhari that they had the misfortune of a “mad dog” like Obazee who decided to kick against the goad. Buhari must now curse the day he met Obazee as well as rue his relationship with the man said to have introduced him. Since Pastor Adeboye was not the only one affected by the Code, there are those who have criticised his being the first to react or acting solo. To them, it is like Daddy’s head had been used to crack the coconut.

I disagree! Yes, his reaction has cleared the way for others; has led to the effective suspension of the Code, the uprooting of its protagonist, and, hopefully, will lay the contentious areas of the Code finally to rest. Daddy’s clout and stature did the job. While not belittling the other powerful and respectable men of God involved, I make bold to say, with all sense of responsibility, that Daddy is, unarguably, one of the few we can call the pastors’ pastor. He is revered nationally and internationally. Christians and Muslims alike respect him. Even atheists and agnostics hold Daddy in high esteem. He was, in my own opinion, the fittest person to lead the battle – and see how swift the victory!

It remains for me to take serious exception to the similarities Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa tried to draw between Daddy and the fumbling President Yahya Jammeh of The Gambia. It pained me to the marrow that Ebun-Olu could make such a comparison but I will restrain myself for the fact that Ebun-Olu is a Comrade who has made important contributions to this country as a pro-democracy activist and defender of people’s right. Yes, I, too, heard Daddy say “your new General Overseer” and subsequent “clarifications” muddled things up. The more they tried to “clarify”, the deeper they sank into the miry clay.

We can point attention to that and offer advice on how to avoid such a quagmire in the future: Think through an issue before you come to the public domain. Yes, I felt someone else other than Daddy’s biological son should have made the clarifications, so as not to give further ammunitions to those peddling allegations of too much family influence in TRCCG affairs: Discourage busybodies and meddlesome interlopers; allow established structures do their job.

But then, the news of Daddy’s ‘retirement’ sent everyone – TRCCG members and non-members alike – into panic mode and we cannot but expect what we witnessed. In some other places, it would have completely scattered the flock. Yahya Jammeh contested election and lost. He initially conceded defeat but later made a volte-face. Daddy did not contest or lose an election. He was victim of a brazen effort by a vengeful super brat intent on rubbishing him and other Ivy League generals of Christ. Thank God the coup failed. There is no basis at all to compare Daddy with Jammeh. Never! Unlike Jammeh who deserves censure and opprobrium, what Daddy deserves is our unflinching support and love. It would appear, however, that some people were too eager to offload Daddy that they could not stomach seeing the opportunity slip through their fingers. Pity!