Uyo Church collapse as a metaphor for Nigeria (II)

The Uyo church mirrors Nigeria perfectly. Not only do we want to achieve the size, for the heck of it, and all for egotistic reasons. As a nation, we also like BIG. But we hate reason. We hate logic. And so even though the ‘owner’ of the collapsed church may have seen that the structure was fragile, he believed that there is nothing God cannot do; that a structure that was defective will be held up by God himself just because Nigerians were underneath. Nigerians are awfully deluded and our unmerited sense of importance has grown over the years; it keeps growing.  All the fantastic things we have been promised as we journey from religious houses to traditional priests have grown on us. Even the traditional people are more realistic with their promises. The Muslims and orthodox Christian could be exonerated from this practice but even among them exist those whose eyes are on the money and can’t wait to join the Joneses. Muslim teaching emphasizes waiting on God and accepting his Will. Orthodox Christianity – like Catholics, Anglicans, even churches like ECWA, COCIN, CAC and the rest from that era, are also alike. But since we found the fast-talking, greed-pumping, fear-mongering type of Christianity populated by smart-dressing pastors who repeat to our people that just because they pay tithes they will own the world, we have never seen peace in Nigeria. Listening to their prayer points make one wonder how people believe in the series of conmanship that these people display. Even their sins are forgiven easily by members of their church. It is nothing if they embezzle church money. Sleeping with the wives of their parishioners is also no big deal.

I wrote in my last book, Change is Going to Come, how Tony Blair was invited to Nigeria under Goodluck Jonathan to come and commission a church; and he accepted! I don’t think in his ten years of leadership Blair ever commissioned a church in the UK. But it is as one presents himself that the world will take someone. Since Nigeria presented itself to Blair as a country of illogic, which will ignore its own industrialisation and sustainable economics but pursue religion instead, Tony took us that way. And so, just like Bill Clinton and the rest were paid close to a million dollars each to give talks in Nigeria by another organization, Tony would have cashed out. Again this is Nigeria. We know our problems. The solutions to our problems stare us in the face. But hell no! We are not ready to solve the problems. Minister Babatunde Fashola dwelt on the fact that we spend too much of our resources building places of worship in his recent UNIBEN lecture where he charged the youth to think differently and not be slaves to their fears; the fears that these smart Alecs feed upon among Nigerians today. Alas, the government in which he serves seems to care less about his well-espoused ideals which are incontrovertibly progressive.

It is in discussing topics like this that we bring out the beasts in our people. We are ready to point fingers in every direction but not in the excesses of our religions. Why then would anyone expect that our politicians be held to account on anything they do when we are not ready to hold our religious leaders to account? It is all about ‘God’s anointed’. The psychosis has gone too far and too deep. It can no longer be cured.  That is why our politicians are working hand in gloves with the smart usurpers of our people’s reasoning faculties. None of them can believe their lucks anymore. It’s just too good to be true; that 170 million people will be so submissive and unquestioning. They say to themselves “come, let us aggravate their fears some more, let us activate their selfishness and greed.. let us tell them God loves only them and they shouldn’t care about the collective… so that they may allow us to continue holding them as slaves”. Like a ponzi scheme, Nigerian religious leaders have activated two emotions that lead to market crashes; fear and greed. But unlike markets, the business they are in is almost infinitely elastic.   

Like the Uyo Church, like Nigeria. But unlike the Uyo Church, may the shaky beams and pillars that hold the nation together not come crashing under the weight of our illogicality. In order for this not to happen, we must activate our reasoning, throw sentiments aside, and be ready to work – each and everyone – to make the country reasonable. Reasonability is an ideal we can set out achieving for now. I don’t deceive myself to say Nigeria is or was great. We cannot redefine greatness for our own purpose. No, we haven’t been great and are not behaving like great people. I recently flew in an Ethiopian Airline and I was shocked, that in spite of the agony that Nigerians are passing through now, the Ethiopians are acquiring the latest of technologies and luxury jets. And other Africans are not even doing too badly. What have we done to ourselves in Nigeria, that we are trying to justify by saying everyone else is suffering? These Ethiopians have acquired the latest Airbus aircraft each costing almost a billion dollars! The same people launched their Metro in Addis Ababa a few months ago and it is running seamlessly. Story for another day.

But in Nigeria, we have drained all our cash flow into religious houses. The politicians and smart alec businessmen have usurped the rest. We watch our people wallow in filth and ugliness. And we deceive them that we know God. We could not be wronger. God does not dwell inside filth, poverty and ugliness. We need to change, says the Lord!  Merry Christmas dear readers!