It would not be a surprising thing if all the newspapers in Nigeria become filled with such headlines like: “Nnamdi Kanu Insults Nigerian Pastors”, “Nnamdi Kanu calls all Nigerian Pastors fake”, “Nnamdi Kanu bombs Nigeria churches” and the rest of all those ‘brown-envelope’ inspired headlines. Such headlines are what has kept Nigeria in the dark till date since her creation by Fredrick Lugard. The media has since departed from the part of truth and will never dwell on the truthful roles the church ought to have been playing in a sane society.
The body of Christ as the church is called, should be to every society, what the massage of Christ was, during his walk on earth. Christ called himself the Truth, the Way and the Life ( John 14:6), the Light (John 8:12) and the Message of the Kingdom of God (Mark 1:15). The church was positioned to channel His human and material resources into building a replica of the kingdom of God in any society she is found. She is supposed to be at the forefront and standing on the part of truth but if the church has failed in doing this in the prevailing situation in Nigeria, then the message of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, should get to the church irrespective of whatever connotation the Nigeran media might take it to be.
If the church has been the light as Christ told her to be, why then is Nigeria in darkness? If the church has been the way, why has Nigeria no direction? If the church has been the life, why is death now a way of life in Nigeria? If the church is the representation of God's kingdom, why have we not built a local government that stands for Christ? We talked more about the kingdom of God while the Fulanis changed the Constitution of Nigeria and inserted everything Islam while the Church dines and wines, building castles, auditoriums and boasting of millions of membership.
If the church cares to make amends, it's time to turn a new leaf, repent and seek justice as the God we worship is a God of justice. The church must stand for the truth, stand for the people and fight from the fore. The church in Nigeria must learn from Desmond Tutu of South Africa, Pope John Paul of Poland, during the apartheid regime in South Africa and Polish Independence, respectively.
The Church cannot stand by and watch wolves scatter her flock and ravenously feed on them unless as Christ said, they are hired shepherds or they are the wolves themselves. But if the Church truly is of the Good Shepherd who laid down His life for His sheep, then, the time for her to stand up and defend her flock is now. Time is running out or what befell Turkey will be a child’s play in Nigeria should the church allow this jihadi onslaught and islamisation of Nigeria, to succeed. Let the Nigerian church remember that Jesus Christ said that “...a time is coming when no one can work”.
Written by Daniel Nwobodo
Edited by Chukwuemeka Okechukwu
For Family Writers Press International
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