Obi-Oyedepo: When Religion Bared its Fangs on 2023 Politics

Obi-Oyedepo: When Religion Bared its Fangs on 2023 Politics

By Ozumi Abdul 

The phrase “spiritual father or daddy” is not found in the Bible. But there are passages that do imply a form of spiritual fatherhood between individuals and over churches.

Peter, for example, called Mark “my son” (1 Peter 5:13). Paul refers to Timothy as “my true son in the faith,” thus indicating his close relationship to Timothy (1 Timothy 1:2).

Elsewhere in Paul’s letters, he also refers to Onesimus as his son, indicating that he was a spiritual father to the former slave (Philemon 1:10).

The apostles also imply that they are “spiritual fathers” in relationship to various congregations. The apostle John referred to members of a church he was overseeing as his children (1 John 2:1, 12–13). Paul’s relationship with the Corinthian church is likened to that of a father to his children (2 Corinthians 12:14–15).

Elsewhere, Paul writes, “I am writing this not to shame you but to warn you as my dear children. Even if you had ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel” (1 Corinthians 4:14–15).

In each case, it could be that these apostles had led their “spiritual children” to faith in Christ; even if they did not, the apostles loved, protected, and led those under their spiritual care as a father would his own children.

I note that, although Paul calls Timothy his “son in the faith,” nowhere are any of the apostles addressed as “father” or “daddy” by other believers.

Father (abbreviated as Fr.) is a title used by Catholics to designate priests and even the Pope, whose title means “father.”

Just as a father works at raising his children to maturity, so Catholic priests claim that their job as spiritual fathers is to raise their congregations to spiritual maturity.

They liken their job as spiritual fathers to that of physical fathers, claiming they wash the children at birth with infant baptism, feed them with the Eucharist, and guide them by interpreting the Bible.

Roman Catholics use verses such as 1 Corinthians 4:14–15 and 2 Corinthians 12:14–15 as support for their priests being called “fathers,” but nowhere in Scripture are overseers or pastors called spiritual “fathers or daddies”.

Rather, they are called shepherds (John 21:15–17; 1 Peter 5:1–3). Just as Jesus is the Good Shepherd (John 10:11), so are pastors to be shepherds of the flock of believers that Christ entrusts to them (1 Peter 5:2).

In supporting this claim, the position of Matthew 23:9 clearly states thus: And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven.

These above biblical references are not in any way meant to be demeaning or mischievous whatsoever towards anybody or group, but to rather clearly state the unequivocal standpoints of the holy bible that the Christians venerate with reverence as the most authoritative scriptural reference in the christaindom.

Then, coming to our clime, Nigeria, where is it scripted in the bible that men of God who normally clad themselves with the robe of celestial predilection should be addressed as “Daddy G.O”, “Daddy” and etcetera?

Even Jesus was sometimes called “rabbi” in the Gospels (Matthew 26:25, 49; Mark 9:5, 11:21, 14:45; John 1:38, 49, 2:2, 4:31, 6:25, 9:2, 11:8). The word “rabbi,” as John says, is translated “teacher” (John 1:38). The title “teacher” is more common.

Earlier this week, precisely on Sunday, there was a viral audio clip, allegedly involving the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Mr Peter Gregory Obi and the founder of Winners Chapel, Pastor David Oyedepo, which almost crashed the Internet space.

But in a way however, it was nothing short of a comic relief to the already tensed Nigerian atmosphere, occasioned by the just concluded general elections and the protracted cash crunch.

Trust Nigerians who are already being over flogged with multi dimensional adversaries by this government. They saw the moment as a bailable opportunity to take some edges off their worrying realities,to at least laugh off their sorrows, hence they quickly latched on the leaked audio clip with aplomb, especially laying emphasis on the “yes daddy”, “ok daddy” and “thank you daddy” phrases, and then created funs and meme out of it. I even learnt its skits are out.

In the audio skit, a voice similar to that of Obi can be heard asking the cleric to speak to the Christians in the south-west and Kwara to vote for him in the presidential poll, describing the election as a “religious war”.

While some Obi supporters described the audio as fake, Kenneth Okonkwo, the spokesperson of the LP campaign, in a series of posts on his official Twitter handle said this: “political criminals are trying to spin the conversation as if the LP candidate was making a religious comment”.

This is a clear verification of the authenticity of the audio clip from Okonkwo, it’s more or less hearing from the horse’s mouth of sort.

While some staunch Obidient faithful would want to continue to question the authenticity of the audio clip, a particular question begging for a billion answers is that, who else can better confirm or validate the authenticity or otherwise of the audio clip than the LP’s spokesperson, the party’s mouthpiece, Mr Kenneth Okonkwo?

Or is it that he (Okonkwo) let the cat out of the basket by mistake? This of course clearly points to the fact confusion is lurking in the LP’s house for sure, with those conflicting verification of the clip by Okonkwo and the later press statement debunking it by party’s campaign council. There is a communication lapse in there.

My crux is not about seeing the meddling of “daddies” into our politics, it’s even a welcome development in as much it would help to strengthen our polity, bring about good leadership and help to foster development; after all Proverb 29:2 said and I quote:

When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice,but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn. So we need the ‘positive’ participation of our men of God in our polity.

I’m only seriously perturbed with the comeuppances of injurious, venomous, destructive, baleful, baneful, malicious, maligning and divisiveness along ethnic and religious lines that their meddlesomeness would usher into our body polity.

It’s even that worse to the extent of the spiritual Director of the Adoration Chaplaincy, Enugu, Fr Ejike Mbaka, interceding to God to forgive them recently.

The controversial cleric said: “churches were defiled, turned to grounds for politicking, atrocities during elections.

“God, forgive us, forgive the Church, we have gotten it wrong this time.

“I apologise on behalf of the whole men of God, the whole pastors, the whole priests and the whole bishops. I’m not worthy to apologise for Bishops, but I’m apologising.

“Let the mercy of God descend because what we did within the political moment….a lot of indescribable political brouhaha and political jingoisms and atrocities (were committed).

“We manifested and buried the power of sacrament beneath political forces, political hocks and vultures; they want to vulturise the Church.

“We turned the churches into campaign centres, turned the churches into places of politicking.

“We messed up the altar, we defiled the Altar. How do we want power to move from altar that has been defiled? We cannot continue with such iniquities.

“I pray that God will forgive us forgive us Oh Lord, forgive Your Church, forgive Christianity in Nigeria.”

Mbaka, who spoke in both English and Igbo, continued: “We have gotten it wrong this time. Amen. Just let it be like this. If you want to misunderstand me, that is your business”.

In a celestial sense, the church and the larger society politics supposed to be two parallel lines that can never meet, it is however the reverse case in Nigeria, as one hardly differentiate between the two lines of larger society politics and church now.

Politics is now corrupting the church and eroding the gospel message that Jesus has laid down.

“When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.” (John 6:15).

The world did not understand the mission of Christ, they wanted to make him political king, but knowing that he was here for another purpose, he rejected it. “For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens.” (Hebrew 7:26). “For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.” (I Corinthians 2:2).

The church of God has jettisoned the standard of the Bible and is now becoming megaphones of political candidates.

Some few days to the February 25, 2023 presidential elections, several pastors came out openly to let their congregation know who they are supporting and pushing them to go in the same direction.

While some endorsed the Labour Party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, others pitched their tents with Asiwaju Bola Tinubu of the APC and Atiku Abubakar of the PDP. While some openly campaigned for them using the altar of the church, others tactically showed their members the way.

What they however fail to understand is that members of their congregation have affiliations to different political parties. Canvassing votes for a particular candidate amounts to bias, injustice and a slap on the gospel message.

Without doubts, Nigeria is blessed with men and women with requisite cerebral competence that can shake up and reawaken the soul of the nation from the dungeon.

Nigeria is blessed with characters that can help bring the nation’s ship back on the right course.

Then why are men of God who are supposed to be at the forefront of reshaping our fragile unity, dismantling it?

These are questions we must find answers to. Otherwise, our brand of politics will continue to be fouled by the actions and inactions of not only the key players – the career politicians, but also spiritual clergymen and men saddled with maintaining the sanctuary of the pulpit.

Ozumi Abdul is a journalist and staff writer at PRNIGERIA. He can be reached via [email protected]