10 COMMENTARY
THE NATION, SATURDAY, APRIL 28, 2012
An unhealthy revolution our pastors began
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dramatic scene once occurred in my church. It was on one of the few Sundays I arrived the church early enough to take part in the Sunday school teaching which usually precedes the main service. At the end of the teaching, one of the pastors who had supervised the session said we should feel free to ask any Bible-related question. I quickly raised my hand, seeing the gesture as a golden opportunity to get an answer to a contravention of some verses of the Bible I had witnessed not only in the church, but virtually all the churches I had attended. As soon as I raised my hand, the supervising pastor walked up to me and sought to know what my question was before I would make it public. I whispered it into his ear but was shocked at the way he reacted. “Ah, you don’t ask that kind of question; it is capable of destabilising the church!” he said. I had wanted to know the justification for pastors’ wilful violation of Apostle Paul’s instructions in 1 Corinthians 14: 34-35. “Let your women keep silence in the churches, for it is not permitted unto them to speak. But they are commanded to be under obedience as also saith the law. And if they will learn anything, let them ask their husbands at home, for it is a shame for women to speak in the church,” that portion of the Bible commanded. But whereas Paul said a female worshipper cannot as much as ask a question in church,
Re: This Shuaibu is not my brother Vincent, thanks for your piece on the scam in the pension administered from the OHCSF, Abuja. While your fellow Kogites and others are facing trial before various courts of competent jurisdiction, we the affected pensioners appeal to Mr. President to direct that the N35 billion idle pension funds placed in various banks by the Task Force be used to pay all outstanding arrears owed pensioners. My understanding of the law is that such already appropriated do not need the National Assembly’s endorsement before disbursement. As one of the affected pensioners owed arrears, I am bitter with Dr. Sule Shuaibu and would wish Nigeria had a law of summary execution of corrupt public officials as it is done in China. There is no how a civil servant would come about billions of naira except through heartless looting. In 2009, I was before Dr. Shuaibu on two occasions, taking the risk of travelling from Lagos to Abuja after several unreplied letters only to be given the excuse that there were no funds to pay pension arrears whereas the government had regularly made funds available. All the people who have subjected pensioners to hardship will go into perdition. Barrister Ayo Olalere, Apete, Ibadan. Vin, I am one of your fans. It is really unfortunate to learn that you hail from Kogi State. It is one of the shortcomings of nature that a star like you was made to be born in that state. You see what you people from the majority tribes are doing to this country. Yet you are contributing to the national coffers. I retired from the civil service five years ago, yet I have not been paid a kobo up till now. Somebody was using my money to acquire mouth-watering property for himself. Could it be that the men at the helm of affairs at the National Boundary Commission are also from Kogi State? No single interstate boundary has been fixed, yet every year, money is budgeted for that department. They too should be investigated please. 080235698.. •Corruption is the second name of all the pension offices the three tiers of government in Nigeria and their parastatals/agencies. The EFCC should beam its searchlight on all the tiers of government and their parastatals
they now appear to be even more vocal than their male counterparts. Let me state clearly that I am not a male chauvinist. Anyone who knows a bit about me would also attest to this fact. My comment is motivated by the ripple effects this selective obedience to biblical injunctions by the men who are supposed to guide us in matters of obedience to the words of God have had on our social lives. I have asked at least two pastor friends why this biblical injunction is often overruled by church leaders, but neither of them could provide an answer. I suspect, however, that as competition grew among the churches and the female population grew in influence and financial stature, it became increasingly difficult to restrict women to the background in church activities. They reasoned that if money is the vehicle that drives the gospel and women are now ministers, members of parliament and chief executives of blue chip companies, then there is nothing wrong with making them deaconesses and pastors if that would redound to the church’s financial strength. Consequently, women now not only mount the pulpit and dish out orders,they also function as pastors, bishops and even church founders. But as it has turned out, the women liberation movement begun in the church has transcended the realm of the spirit into our social lives, provoking unhealthy rivalry between the sexes and sparking the fire that now threatens to consume the institution of marriage. Only recently, I picked up a copy of a British newspaper, The Mail, only to be confronted with agitations by the promoters of same-sex marriage that words like Mr, Mrs, husband and wife be expunged from the country’s laws because there is no more such thing as superior partner in marriage. That is a far cry from what obtained at the
and/agencies. Barrister Olu Arotiba. Oh, Vincent, May your article titled This Shuaibu Is Not My Brother also prompt the Lord to say ‘this Shuaibu is not my son.’ I wish we can develop an anti-corruption vaccine, so that we can begin to immunise Nigerians against the deadly disease called corruption. Godfrey Ehimare. I really enjoyed your piece on Shuaibu. I laughed at your interpretation of ‘Riba-Ile’. I wish I could write beautifully like you. Franklin. What a calamity. It is a crime against humanity stealing from pension money. May God punish them for this wicked act and afflict them with diseases that cannot be cured. Brother, keep telling the truth. Aminu Ahmed, Katsina. Vincent, we all know that Dr. Shuaibu is your fellow Kogite, but you are not his Kogite-in-theft. We know you as a forthright, principled decent person. Shuaibu should be derobed of his PhD, having shown himself to be heartless, unkind and wicked. Merely reading about the choice properties of his, as revealed by the EFCC, show Shuaibu to be a criminal. He bastardised the PhD. Go on with your own good journalistic work. You can’t be robed into Shuaibu’s indecency and theft. Lanre Oseni, Lagos. Shuaibu is definitely not your brother. Failure is an orphan. There are many Shuaibus in the system. Many people tag to Tinubu today because of his uncommon, dedicated service to the society. Shuaibu should be eternally consigned to Kirikiri with his co-travellers before his date with Allah for the blood of the dead pensioners. Oladele Oseni, Ita Oliwo, Ikorodu, Lagos.
Re: It’s not over for Ibori, after all You know my only regret is that Ibori was not caught in the US where he could have bagged about 30 years or China where he could have been shot. The sad people that we are in Nigeria will welcome him home, rolling out the red carpet right from the airport. As for our judiciary, they should bury their heads in shame. But then, again, Nigeria is not a nation of remorseful people. 081596970.. Vincent, what is the problem with the British courts? Our courts ruled that Ibori was
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We have our pastors to thank for whatever change has occurred in the gender equilibrium. But the question is: if it is possible to ignore 1 Corinthians 14: 34-35, why is it not also possible to shun Malachi 3:8, the portion of the Bible on whose basis our pastors insist we must pay tithes?
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beginning of creation, if the stories we read in the Scriptures are anything to go by. God, we are told, created Adam and only decided much later to create Eve to be his helper. The Bible is unambiguous in its position that the man is the superior partner in marriage, hence the charge to woman to respect her husband. This was a position Apostle Paul felt should extend to the church until pastors championed a rebellion that made male and female worshippers equal. Rather than content themselves with being the neck and determine the position of the head, our women are now insisting that they must be co-heads in the home like they are in the church. The extreme result is the
not a thief because no money was missing. This is a frame-up. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International should take the matter up. Assuming he stole money, is it not our oil money? Bad belle! F.A. Adeleke It is very sad that someone who occupied government house for eight years in Nigeria can be described as a thief in government and also a common thief in the UK. This same man was once accused of being an ex-convict, but the highest court in Nigeria said the James Onanefe Ibori brought before it was not the convicted James Ibori. Haba Nigerian judiciary! Allah ya ‘isa. Alhaji Adeboye Lawal, Felele, Ibadan.
Re: Betweem Kim’s water and Okonjo-Iweala’s blood Hi Vincent. Your article on Kim and Okonjo-Iweala was an accurate account of the politics involved in the selection of World Bank’s president. Our dear madam has not done anything at home to deserve being selected. Charity, they say, begins at home. Obama might probably not want to be seen as supporting a fellow African to the detriment of his own political future. Competence apart, there were other impediments militating against her being chosen. Economic failure in governance actually contributed to her failure. Chief Apelogun, Oshogbo. Whatever the thinking of Obama was in pushing Kim as World Bank President, it showed that a leopard will never change its skin-spot. The USA, upon all its democracy noise, remains as partial and autocratic as ever all over the world. There was no iota of merit in the choice of Kim by the USA and its cohorts. This is why countries should not be compelled to embrace democracy. Rather, an environmentally-suitable type of government should be adopted. What has been our gain from democracy vis a vis the huge expenditure between 1999 and 2012? Lanre Oseni, Lagos. On Kim and Okonjo-Iweala, you got the analysis and reasons all wrong. Obama is African only by birth. It is not enough to make him change an age-long tradition of the World Bank in favour of an African. Americans voted him (Obama) in as president, not Africans. It is an election year in the US and everything counts. It is self
phenomenon of same-sex marriage that now confronts us like a monster. It began slowly with the saying that what a man can do, a woman can try. Those were my days in the primary school. By the time I got to secondary school, the slogan had changed to what a man can do, a woman can do also. By the time I got to the university, it became what a man can do, a woman can do better. The foregoing position was most forcefully expressed at the Beijing Conference where eminent women from all over the world gathered and issued a communique to the effect that women would no longer content themselves with playing the second fiddle in matters of governance. While the threat is yet to produce a female President or Governor in Nigeria, the dominant roles our women now play in government are enough signs to suspect that the time will soon come when the Presidency will become an exclusive preserve of the womenfolk. It is no secret that in many states of the federation, the direction of governance is solely determined by the first lady. The trend is catching on at the family level where most men now only delude themselves with being the head. The story is told of a man who was asked for his remarks on the occasion of his 10th wedding anniversary. “Ladies and gentlemen,” he said, “when this marriage was consummated 10 years ago, my wife and I agreed that I would take the major decisions and she would take the minor ones. But somehow, there has not been a major decision since we got married!” We have our pastors to thank for whatever change has occurred in the gender equilibrium. But the question is: if it is possible to ignore 1 Corinthians 14: 34-35, why is it not also possible to shun Malachi 3:8, the portion of the Bible on whose basis our pastors insist we must pay tithes?
conservation first and nothing like African solidarity. World Bank is politics and tool for US. 080577760.. Vincent, the fuel subsidy saga revealed the rot in our oil industry. Do we the expect Obama to support the person at the helm of this state of affairs? Obama has shown that he is the best man for the job in the USA, unlike our President who admits he is not the best. Adeleke F.A. Okonjo-Iweala knew the rules of succession at the world bank and the IMF but attempted to force a change she knew could not work and embarrassed her sponsors in the end. 080540687.. There is no way Obama can support Okonjo-Iweala. They are aware of all the rot in Nigeria. America will not make the mistake to entrust the World Bank in the hands of a Nigerian; a bank in which they are the highest shareholders. Alhaji Adeboye Lawal, Felele, Ibadan. I admire the impeccability of your son’s sagacious intellection for exposing the true meaning of OBAMA. The rubber-chichencircuit where Kim’s presidency was announced clearly intellectualises the magnum opus of Walter Rodney as stated in his book titled How Europe Underdeveloped Africa. So sad that the like of Obama, with African geneaology, still hold the idee fixe and abysmal monomania to further the excesses pertain of imperialism. Godfrey. Bad leadership in Nigeria cost Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala the presidency of the World Bank. James Ibori’s conviction in London is a clear indication that our judicial system is not working. They should bury their heads in shame for discharging and acquitting Ibori over charges of money laundering. Gordon Nnorom, Umukabia, Abia State. If obama’s lack of support for Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is as a result of our leadership failure or corrupt tendencies, then he should have a rethink. As a blackman, Obama should help Nigeria in addressing its leadership problems rather than stigmatising the country. As for Dr. Okonjo-Iweala, she should not be discouraged but rather bring her 20-year experience in the World Bank to bear on the Ministry of Finance and help turn the economy of the country around. God bless Nigeria. Don Ezeala, Port Harcourt