By: Frank Eboye and Mercy Obeka
· Urges Christians not to retaliate
· Says Church has lost focus
· Advises preachers to go back to first love
The Executive Director, Anti-Corruption Network, Hon. Dino Melaye has blamed the frequent church attacks on the Federal Government, whom he said lacked the capacity to contain these attacks.
Melaye recently said this when fielding question from The Christendom in Abuja.
His words: ‘’The truth of the matter is that I blame the Federal Government for the attacks on churches. But I will not want to give it a religious colouration because it is not .It is not actually a religious crisis; it is an economic crisis. You see somebody saying he is fighting for Sharia but he will enter another person’s house and carry a bag of rice; enter another person’s house and carry a television set. What does a television set got to do with religious crisis? And unfortunately, the Federal Government has not demonstrated the needed capacity to contain it. This thing we are experiencing now, we are not experiencing for the first time. In 1981, there was Mata sini crisis which was even bloodier than Boko Haram. The ravaging effects, the magnitude and intensity of mata sini, was fiercer than what we are experiencing now-from Boko Haram .But the difference between in 1981 and now is that the civilian government of Alh. Shehu Shagari, the then Inspector-General of Police, Sunday Adewusi and the then Commandant that was moved to Kano, Major-General Muhammed Buhari, were the men on ground and they contained the Mata sini crisis in Kano and Yola. Now the difference between Matasini crisis and Boko Haram is the capacity of the government to contain. This particular government lacks the capacity, lacks the intelligence know-how and it is blindfolded by corruption because the security agencies are making money from the process, instead of confronting the issues’’.
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| Hon.Dino Melaye |
Melaye, a former member of the House of Representatives, who spearheads the fight against corruption, through his newly-established Anti-Corruption Network, urged Christians nationwide, especially those in the North, not to carry out reprisal attacks, as they lack the capacity to fight for Christ:’’ My advice for the regularly-attacked Christians is that the Bible is very clear. God has said vengeance is His. Christians must not fight for themselves or fight for God. We do not even have the capacity to fight for God. Christians must know that the Bible is clear about it. Vengeance is God’s. Christians must not carry arms, must not carry ammunition or try to retaliate. All we can do is to continue to pray and worship. More of worship, because the Wall of Jericho did not come down by prayers; it came down by worship. Paul and Silas did not come out of the prison by prayer but by worship. That is why the Bible says: ’’ in every situation give thanks to God’’. We serve a God who has the capacity to tame all situations. So, we should keep calling on Him, once we call on him in righteousness, He will answer us. The Bible never told us that we would not face persecution. The Bible told us. Those Christians of old faced the same persecution. Even Apostle Paul was a persecutor before he met God on his way to Damascus. Persecution is there. The Bible says;’’ in this world you will face persecution’’. So, if what we are experiencing now is part of our own persecution, we should take it as persecution but we need to pray. One thing that is sure is that we shall overcome. We shall overcome as we continue to pray. But no Christians must take up arms to fight. If you think you want to fight for God, you cannot fight for God. Because you do not have the capacity to fight for Him’’.
On what is currently missing in the Christendom, when the present Christendom is compared with that of the old, Melaye, who believes the present Church has gone commercial, said the love of materialism and the regular preaching of prosperity have made the Church to lose focus as a change agent it is used to be. ‘’The truth of the matter is that Christianity, these days has gone commercial. Men of God are now men of men. Many of our bishops and Christian leaders spend more time at the Villa than on the pulpit. Many ministers of God have commercialized their consciences and monetized their callings. The love of materialism has taken over the love of Christ. Church is supposed to be a change agent because in the New Testament, even in the Old Testament, the Church was a change agent. When a particular king-in our own case, the president, in the Bible was doing anything contrary to the will of God, the prophet would approach the king to tell him what he was doing was wrong. Those days, the Church was a change agent, but today the Church is partnering with politicians and corrupt leaders to bedevil our economy. Today, very few people preach holiness and purity. Very few preachers preach the Old Order. Very few preachers these days preach about the old Church. Everything has been overtaken by the love of materialism and preaching of prosperity. Prosperity has taken over the preaching of old doctrines, ordinances, purity, rapture, holiness, sanctification, and righteous living-all these are hardly preached these days.
‘’Recently, I was surprised when I was watching the television; I saw an advert of a particular church, calling people to come and attend a seminar on how to make quick money. That is what the Church has turned into. Most of our bishops and church leaders today, are buying jets. And the truth of the matter is that children of God are now servicing the international jet-setting lifestyles of our church leaders. I do hope that those who have acquired jets will use them for the purpose of God. Because the Bible says ‘’go ye and preach the Gospel to all nations not only Nigeria, but all nations. Since they have acquired jets now, I challenge to use those jets to Iran, Iraq, Syria, Peru, Kuwait, Saudi- Arabia, Afghanistan, preaching the Gospel. The Church has absolutely derailed from the Christ-like lifestyle. The Holy Spirit is a meek, humble, quiet, dove-like spirit. But today, our ministers have become so flamboyant, they carry convoys of vehicles. Some of them with body guards .Some of them with sirens. Jesus Christ, while on earth, hired a donkey to go to Jerusalem; He did not even own one. Today, churches do not pay tax and still live flamboyant lifestyles. Even Jesus Christ Himself paid tax. When there was no money to pay, He asked them to get a fish and got money from the mouth of the fish to pay his tax and that of others. But today’s churches do not pay taxes but they live an extravagant, materialistic and worldly lifestyle. So, the Church must refocus her energy at soul-winning, which is the primary occupation of the Christendom. Today, we have lost focus; we have lost direction; we have lost our callings and the consciences of our Christian leaders have been monetized. There is a need for spiritual rejuvenation’’.
Also speaking on the growing divisions and unhealthy competition among Christians, the young Christian family man, who said the old Christianity preached purity, holiness as against prosperity, love of money and materialism that are commonly preached in today’s churches, believes the causes of divisions in the Church today is the love of materialism .His words: ‘’The causes of these divisions is the love of materialism. Each bishop, pastor, CEO and overseer wants to overshadow the other. So, there is immoral competition among churches. This General-Overseer wants to build a bigger auditorium than this one. This one wants to drive a better car than this. This one wants more membership than this. It is immoral competition that is causing these sectional differences’’
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