The headline of the Guardian Newspaper of Saturday 16 May 2020 saddened my heart and brought tears to my eyes. Leah Sharibu’s mum was appealing that she would accept a Boko Haram member as inlaw if her daughter is released. The sinking feeling and shame I felt as a Nigerian Christian was immense. On this day, I renewed my earlier decision of withdrawing my respect for all the General Overseers of Nigerian churches. The carelessness with which these clergies have handled her captivity is nothing short of scandalous. COVID-19 has also brought another angle to the callousness of these men. Many are now more concerned about online and offline tithes and offerings than about the welfare of their members. It took the killing of Catholic Priests to get the Catholic leadership to voice their dissatisfaction about the state of insecurity in Nigeria. The clergy now fear the government more than they fear GOD. They have all forgotten that a Christian teenager has been in captivity because she refused to renounce her belief in GOD through Jesus Christ. None can boast of regularly mentioning her in their prayers. None can boast of frequently reaching out to her parents to encourage them. I weep! I weep! I weep! For the fate of Leah Sharibu and what she has gone through so far.
Many respected men of God are champions in rhetorics saying Christianity is not a religion. They forget that James 1:26-27 says (MSG) Anyone who sets himself up as “religious” by talking a good game is self-deceived. This kind of religion is hot air and only hot air. Real religion, the kind that passes muster before God the Father, is this: Reach out to the homeless and loveless in their plight, and guard against corruption from the godless world. Today, their focus is on building mighty cathedrals to show off their church growth. They are focused on declaring lengthy fast to show off their spirituality. They focus on material acquisition to show off their personal success. I weep! I weep! I weep! For the direction, the Church of GOD is heading. And I wonder who will redirect the flocks of Christ. I wonder who would be bold enough to speak like Paul the Evangelist to Peter the Apostle about the Nigerian Church. I wonder who will be selfless enough among these clergies to declare a fast until Leah Sharibu is released. I wonder!
We shall all give an account of our silence when our voices are supposed to be loud and clear. We shall all give account for the praise and defense we gave these evil and unreasonable men in power when we should have voiced our concerns and condemnations. We shall all give an account of how our silence aided and abetted Leah Sharibu’s continued captivity. So, I beseech all well-meaning Nigerians to stand up for Leah Sharibu. Be her voice when the Nigerian clergy has decided to be mute. Be her voice even if your voice is not powerful enough. Do something. Anything that will cumulatively help her release or make the government take her case seriously. Update your profile picture with Leah’s picture, talk about her to your legislator, write a post about her on your WhatsApp group. Do something, because the clergy in Nigeria have decided to do nothing.
Ata Ukuta, Editor – www.towncryyers.com
Share until Leah is released…
This write-up aptly describes the sorry state of the present day church leadership. In the good old times, Church leaders were feared by political leaders, as God’s mouthpieces. Today, the reverse is the case. Church leaders are not only silent on crucial national issues, they chastise their members who dare to ‘speak evil of those in authority’. If CAN, for instance, had issued an ultimatum to President Buhari before the 2019 general election, that Christians won’t vote if Leah remained in captivity, trust our politicians, he could have secured her release, knowing full well that his quest for a second term could be aborted if Christians shunned the polls.
Thanks Vincent for taking the effort to comment. We pray they do what Our Lord and Savior would have done in person. Kindly subscribe to http://www.towncryyers.com