Dear Minister Daminabo,
A few months ago the Nigerian media was awash with the story of the brutal murder of a female evangelist, Mrs. Eunice Elisha in Kubwa, a suburb in Abuja. This was scary news as it was a swift follow-up to the brutal murder of a Christian woman at a market in Kano.
Expectedly the uproar died down with each passing day and yes; and life goes on as though nothing has happened.
It is not the fact of this occurrences that matters much, rather it is the aftermath thereof – whether lessons have been learnt, whether there are measures put in place either by the Church or the government to prevent a reoccurrence of such hideous crimes.
To a large extent, I don’t expect much from the government of the day as events have shown that the security and liberty of Christians to live and practice their religion is not a priority. However, I am deeply concerned about the posture, body language, and yes, the loud silence of the big time church leaders in Nigeria.
I like the teachings of Pastor Enoch Adeboye, the general overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG, and I see him as a warrior of the gospel. But, truth be told, I was let down by his veiled gentle and “nice” reaction to the killing of that woman evangelist of his church in Kubwa. Was Daddy GO, as he is fondly called, just being politically correct or what?
I don’t know which church that woman slaughtered in Kano attends but whatever church it is, it failed to raise any eyebrows over the gruesome murder. Predictably, the results of this whimsical approach are coming out loud and clear for anyone to see.
Whatever the reasons for the pathetic reaction of our church leaders to these murders it is important to inform them that the brutal slaughter of Christians has increased in tempo, intensity, and magnitude especially in the North.
I woke up this morning and was upset by a story in the media credited to one Edison Daminabo, an “overseer of the Deeper Life Christian Ministry in Rivers State.
In the statement to the press, Daminabo “warned” Christians in the North not to revenge killings by herdsmen or other terrorists that have been slaughtering them in the past few months. He went further to say that the “killing of Christians in the North is a blessing to the faith.”
God, where art thou, I recall a scripture that says something like….. a time shall come when they shall kill you and say it is a service to God….. A man of God opens his mouth not to warn those who are killing the Christians but the poor Christians. A man of God looks at the brutal pictures and reads the true-life stories of men, women and children slaughtered in their churches and houses and says it is a blessing? A man of God feels no pain for hundreds who are now widows and orphans because their husbands and fathers were slaughtered simply because they ascribe to Christianity? I am angry, yes angry with the church and very very angry with these church leaders who say peace, peace, and peace when murder and wickedness stare us in the eye.
My prayer this morning is simply that God should allow our church leaders especially those “hiding” in the South to just have a little taste of what we are talking about. May Edison Daminabo experience what the Pastors in the North have seen. Have a church locked up with members and set on fire with members roasting to death, have a pastor slaughtered like a ram while a jubilant crowd celebrates. As an Overseer I am sure he has not overseen the mass burial of 200 Christians murdered in one night in their houses. When he has passed through these I would like him to come out and proclaim that the killings are a blessing to the faith.
People have lost and are losing parents, siblings and relations everyday, not through natural disasters or accidents but deliberate designs of man. The least we expect from those in comfort is either to speak comfort or SHUT UP.
My name is Mark Jacob and I just want to make serious commonsense.
Mark Jacob is a barrister-at-law, a Christian from Southern Kaduna in Nigeria. He has lost family members to the terrorist attacks by Boko Haram and the Fulani herdsmen militia. He can be reached by email HERE.
The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author.
