“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” – Matt. 5:16
During the last presidential elections in Nigeria, save for the likes of Reverend Father Ejike Camillus Mbaka, a prominent Catholic priest, I almost lost hope in Christendom. The manner and means by which clergy men and women were compromised, was nothing to write home about.
The Church became a house of psychological manipulation, and the spirit of Dollars and Naira unfortunately took the place of our beloved Holy Spirit. Pastors began to preach hate messages on the altar of God, and the ‘good news’ was relegated to Sunday schools or bible reading sessions. Accusations and counter accusations of bribery rocked the airwaves, some said it was a six billion largesse, while others placed the figure at seven billion Naira. Sadly but true, the house of God became a fortress of merchants.
Then came the prophecies: Not a day went by without the vociferation of former President Goodluck Jonathan’s inevitable return to power by clergy men and women who suddenly became the alpha and omega of Nigerian politics. Some even threatened to open the ‘gates of hell’ on anyone who stood against Jonathan’s re-election bid. A particular Pastor prophesied that Jonathan’s party will not win, but that Jonathan will remain in power afterwards. While the futuristic orchestra played on, the former President and his wife toured from one church to another. The rain of Dollars was so high , and hallelujah choruses resonated unencumbered.
The Adoration International Ministries, Emene, Enugu, was not left out of this unholy infiltration. The wife of the former President, Dame Patience Jonathan, probably an emissary from her husband, did pay a spectacular visit to Reverend Father Mbaka. The man of God received her with good hearts, but unknown to him, the visitor was there for a mission. When she finally made her intentions known, the priest then decided to perform a spiritual exercise in order to ascertain the will of God in the matter. He released four pigeons, three flew up, but the one with former president Jonathan’s tag refused to fly, and he tried but to no avail to make this particular bird to fly. When the man of God saw this strange sign, he declared that he had to further seek the face of God, and so the presidential messenger left with no definite message from God.
By this time, the campaigns had commenced in earnest, and the political atmosphere in Nigeria was charged to a melting point. While PDP dominated the entire space with the power of incumbency and heavy bags of money, the APC was on the other hand, struggling to project and repackage their candidate who was embroiled in numerous controversies, ranging from alleged certificate forgery,religious and ethnic bigotry, dictatorial misconceptions, etc. To the PDP and their elements, General Buhari did not stand a chance at all. But Father Mbaka had a different view, and he embarked on a crusade that almost took his life and career.
On December 31, 2015, Reverend Father Mbaka preached a sermon that shocked the world. In a congregation of over twenty thousand faithfuls, the priest declared that Goodluck Jonathan had become a badluck to Nigeria, and therefore his return to power portends disaster for the country. He cited instances of widespread corruption, economic retrogression, moral decadence, and the rising state of insecurity amongst many other vices in the land, as the main reasons why God did not want Jonathan to be returned as president of Nigeria. For the first time in the history of Nigeria, we saw a situation where an Igbo-Clergy openly declared his support for a Muslim presidential candidate, right inside the church and insisted that it was God’s desire for the country. The Priest stunned everybody when he revealed that he had returned the money that was brought to the church by the wife of the President. Wow!
In the course of his sermon, the Catholic priest, clearly stated that he had never met with Buhari, talkless of receiving any pecuniary measure from him. He said that the message was directly from God who had heard the cries of numerous Nigerians, and has now sent a Messiah in the form of Muhammadu Buhari to salvage the country. These were indeed interesting times: who would have ever imagined that a Catholic Priest could profess such celestial words on an ardent muslim? But like every revolutionist, Father Mbaka had to pay a price for his courage to speak the truth. His bank accounts were frozen, assassins invaded his church and home, and so on and so forth.
But like they say, the end justifies the means; Buhari is now president and Nigeria is beginning to reap the fruit of the gospel according the Father Mbaka. Through Father Mbaka, we now know that the message of Christ is simply ‘good news to humanity, and that whoever brings good tidings is of Christ, no matter his/her tribe or religion.
Solomon Okocha, writes in from Abuja, Nigeria.
