CHRISTIANS IN POLITICS AND GOVERNANCE: SERVING WITH INTEGRITY? By Anyim Pius Anyim

In articulating my thoughts on this critical issue of leadership, I am going to be mindful of my audience. Accordingly, I believe my audience—the ECWA Community in Nigeria—would want to know why the failure of leadership in Nigeria; even among Christians. You would want to know whether the fault is ours or God’s. You would want to be reminded of what God says about leadership and where we missed the mark. You would want to know why or if integrity is not inherent in every Christian’s life. You may wish to know the appropriate description of the work of a public officer i.e. whether his/her work could be described as service or ‘rulership’. I believe that a conscious effort to find answers to these questions will adequately address the topic Christians In Politics And Governance: Serving With Integrity?

    In approaching this topic, I shall not waste much time in definitions. I shall therefore just attempt the ordinary meaning of the key words since I believe that we all understand the spirit and the challenge that gave rise to the topic or even the reason for asking me to speak on this topic. I shall then raise key issues in leadership, highlight what God says and allow you to draw your conclusions.

Definition

a.       A Christian means a follower of Jesus Christ, the son of the God of heaven. Someone who has resolved on his own conviction to be like Jesus Christ in words, actions and deeds.

b.       Politics is the art of managing public affairs. That is, the art of managing the destinies of many people with their consent. It means the art of exercising authority as mandated by the people to be affected by such exercise of authority. In ordinary parlance, the person exercising authority on behalf of others is commonly referred to as the leader of those people. It is believed that since the leader is usually mandated to perform the functions of his authority by people that he, in true sense, is serving the people.

c.        Governance means to rule over others. I must say that lack of integrity in public service accounts for the failure of leadership in our country today.

The Nature Of Rulership

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. And God blessed them, and God said to them, Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth” (Gen 1:26-28, RSV)

Please note:

1.       After creation, God did not make provision for man to rule over its kind. Man was to rule over all that was created and the language of ‘rulership’ was to SUBDUE and to DOMINATE.  

2.       God created man to be His pet. i.e. he was to rule (guide) man by Himself.

“And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east; and there he put the man whom he had formed” (Genesis 2:8)

“And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden” (Gen. 3:8).

3.       The need for man to rule man arose as the human race increased in numbers and establishes societies,

When men began to multiply on the face of the ground, the daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were fair; and they took to wife such of them as they chose. Then the LORD said, “My spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh, but his days shall be a hundred and twenty years”. The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came into the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men that were of old, the men of renown. The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually (Gen 6:1-5)

We can see from the above that the issue of rulership over man was an exclusive reserve of God, (Palm 62:11). Therefore for man to rule man, it is not enough that he is mandated by the people, he must be delegated by God because he is going to assume the position of God over man. “Once God has spoken, twice have I heard this: that power belongs to God” (Psalm 62:11).

If a ruler is not delegated by God, two things will happen,

-          He will apply the language of rulership (over other creatures) maximally on man -  subdue, dominate etc

-          He will really think that he has become God unto his subjects and he will start to play God. I must say at this point, that any man, who does not know God and find himself in the corridors of power, is a dangerous weapon in the hand of the devil. In dealing with the people there cannot be integrity in him, such a person will trust in oppression and robbery to make himself richer and richer but the LORD advised him thus: “Put no confidence in extortion, set no vain hopes on robbery; if riches increase, set not your heart on them” (Psalm 62:10).

It is not possible for a man to be righteous with power except he is delegated by God,

The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the Earth, and it grieved him to his heart (Gen 6:5).

-          The idea of democracy and rule of law is founded on the realization of this scripture, because no man can be perfect, it is therefore thought that people should come together and set out rules (law) guiding every conduct and when the ruler is elected, he must not be above those rules (law) for no matter how good-natured a man must be, he cannot be God, as his heart is continually evil, particularly when endowed with power over others.

Who Can Rule?

“Men of low estate are but a breath, men of high estate are a delusion; in the balances they go up; they are together lighter than a breath. Put no confidence in extortion, set no vain hopes on robbery; if riches increase, set not your heart on them. Once God has spoken; twice have I heard this: that power belongs to God; and that to thee, O Lord, belongs steadfast love. For thou dost requite a man according to his work” (Psalm 62:9-12)

-          You cannot do the job because you are  lowly placed

-          You cannot do the job because you are highly  placed

-          You cannot do the job because you have authority to oppress

-          You cannot do the job because you are rich

     The only person who can do the job perfectly well is God because it is reserved for him and so only he can delegate the function. It may be necessary to point out why power is reserved for God.

-          Because mercy belongs to him (Psalm 62:12)

-          Because he is a just God (Psalm 62:12)

-          Because he is a righteous God. “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice, but when the wicked rule, the people groan” (Prov. 29:2).

Who Is Qualified To Be Delegated By God?

-          A man who fears God. “The God of Israel has spoken, the Rock of Israel has said to me: when one rules justly over men, ruling in the fear of God, he draws on them like the morning light, like the sun shining forth upon a cloudless morning, like rain that makes grass to sprout from the earth” (2 Samuel 23:34)

-          It is only a man who fears God that can be righteous because Jesus is our righteousness. “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; but when the wicked rule, the people groan” (Prov. 29:2).

-          He must know God and the power of His might otherwise the fear of being brought down will make him to seek help from outside God and the devil will take him over. “How long will you set upon a man to shatter him, all of you, like a leaning wall, a tottering fence? They only plan to thrust him down from his eminence. They take pleasure in falsehood. They bless with their mouths, but inwardly, they curse”(Psalm 62:3-4).

While I was in office, I served with integrity because I not only know God, I fear Him. 

This article is culled from the book, "SERVICE WITH INTEGRITY The Christian In The Nigerian Project," published in November 2008 by ECWA Goodnews Church Ungwar Rimi Kaduna. It is published here with the permission of the publisher.

WE ARE CALLED TO BE BOLD! By Yorbin Wayo

Doesn’t it amaze and, sometimes, even annoy you when you see people who seem to have it 'all together’? Everything they do just seems to be cool.  Sometimes we tend to think, “If I was as rich and beautiful as she is, I'll be just like her.” What if I told you, you can also have it 'all together'?

     I’ve found one common trait among people who’re widely admired. They’ve great self-confidence. A good sense of self-worth makes all the difference.  Try saying something wrong with confidence, even if it is something most people know isn’t true. You’ll find that, sometimes, even those who know the right thing may be unsure of it because you sound so confident.  I’ve also noticed that people love confident children. They simply amuse and amaze us. They say what they think even though their frankness can sometimes embarrass us. They’re refreshingly interesting and you know upfront what they’re thinking.

      Timidity, I’m sure you’ll agree, is unattractive.

      One amazing thing I’ve discovered is that God actually expects us to be self-confident. We’re told to love our neighbours as ourselves. This surely implies that we’ve to love ourselves. Loving ourselves has a lot to do with what we think of ourselves, doesn’t it? We’re created by the Almighty God. We’re his own original idea. Psalm 126 shows that we’re not just some whimsical idea God had. He knows us intimately and is mindful of us in spite of the ‘evil’ we may’ve committed. The creator and controller of the greatest men we’ve ever known or heard about, knows us by name and loves us to the point of giving up His life so that we can live. Isn't that kind of love a great foundation on which to build our self-confidence?

     The scripture implores us to come before God with boldness. Therefore, stand up and shine!

     We won’t do anyone (not even ourselves) any good by cowering in one corner of our room like scared little cats. Let us straighten our back and face the world each day with boldness. The King of the universe is before us, with us, and behind us.  

     Don’t get me wrong; we may not build our self-confidence in one day but trust me, today is a good day to start. 

     “What about the part of scripture which says we should, ‘be humble,’” you may ask.  What is humility in the first place? Being humble does not equate to timidity. Humility means stepping aside to see the smallness of our greatness when we consider the one who gave us the ability to become great.  Let us believe in ourselves; we’re the beloved of God, aren’t we? Our father has promised that even if we fall seven times we’ll surely rise again.

     Take a good look at the illustration above again and take a few minutes to meditate on it.

     In deed we are called to be BOLD! 

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WHERE ON EARTH WILL YOU LOCATE THE RIGHT PERSON TO MARRY? The Complete Version

In the early eighties to the early nineties, November/December was the wedding season. Those days my kinsfolk almost always took their weddings to our hometown. Cross-cultural marriages weren’t as commonplace as they are today. Times have changed since then. Now young couples do their nuptials on- and off-season. Months ago, a friend tied the knot on a Thursday. Yes, on a Thursday in September!

    

I am amazed at the frequency and frenetic pace of today’s weddings. Saturdays are clogged with a thousand wedding receptions, legion of asoebi-clad matrons thronging reception halls across the city, and ribbon-draped cars darting through the almost tranquil morning traffic. There is a wedding boom right now and my friends are caught up in the party. To my bewilderment, they seem to have found ‘the bone of my bone and the flesh of my flesh,’ almost without effort. How did they manage it? Where did they look? Did they pick the first available nice guy with a fat wallet and a big car, or the first pretty girl with brains and an affinity for saying yes? Pardon my cynicism, but I am strongly inclined to believe more than a few did.

    

For those who must follow the footsteps of Jesus, it is not as easy as that. We must query ourselves: how many places have we looked? Are we sure we are looking in the right place(s)? Can we trust our experience? Can we trust our friends’ counsel? Of the many books available on the subject, are there any with tailored answers for our unique situation? ‘So where do we look?’ we agonize every birthday as we observe the lines in the corner of our eyes, pull the stubborn strings of grey out of our scalp and stare at the smiling faces of our friend and his bride peering down at us from the dozen wedding commemorative calendars we received the year before.

    

Again, pardon me for sounding cynical, but this is how it goes these days (and this is gospel truth however unpalatable it may taste): boy meets girl, could be anywhere—in the library, at work, at a party, in church, at a club, in the market, at a wedding!—he likes her, falls in ‘love’, ’toasts’ her. She sizes him up. Nice guy, she thinks, fat wallet, a BSc, good job, why not? She decides to give it a try; after all, she is not getting any younger. They begin to date—whatever that means. After a while, she lovingly coerces him towards the altar. Some girls even resort to blackmail. Lines like, ‘My ex-boyfriend just came back from Italy; imagine he is asking me to marry him…’ and, ‘my dad is pressurizing me to marry Obafemi Martins,’ are not uncommon. Nine out of ten, boy panics; raids his bank, empty his account, pester his old folks, create a ‘meet the family’ scenario, put a sheepskin, confront his church’s marriage committee, deceive them from day one, may set up a committee of friends and the countdown to Saturday begins. Well it could be Thursday! Sometimes, the guy just landed a good job and wants to add to his new-found status of respectability by taking a wife—it could be any girl!

    

It doesn’t sound right, does it? How then do we proceed, we that are called by his name? What is God’s take on this? Reach for your bibles to the books of Genesis 24 and John 4. They hide signposts directing us to where we should look. 

When it was time for Isaac to marry, Abraham sent his servant (Eliezer) to get a wife for his son. He implored Eliezer: ‘you will not let my son marry one of these local Canaanite women. Go ahead to my homeland, to my relatives, and find a wife there for my son Isaac.’ Why not a Canaanite woman? A Canaanite woman? It sounds like a carnal woman to me. Marry one and be yoked with an unbeliever. The people of Canaan are no believers of Yahweh, the one true God. They are into the Baal thing. Canaan is no place to take a wife. Off to our relatives, to the communion of believers, we must go.

    

The servant made an oath to his master, loaded ten camels with gifts, and embarked on the long trek across vast wastelands, away from the heathen Canaanite woman to where Abraham’s brothers lived. He came by the side of a well outside the village, made his camels kneel, found a place, and sank to a stone under a tree exhausted. It was evening; the sun rays were duller now, and the air cooler. The village women spouted out of their houses to fetch water. As they proceeded to the well, they cast suspicious glances at the pitiable figure slumped in the shade of a tree, the dust from his long journey enveloping his clothes, his legs caked with dirt. ‘Who is that beggar?’ I can imagine them mumble to themselves as they cast their buckets into the well. ‘He looks thirsty. Perhaps we should fetch him water to drink,’ one woman may have suggested. ‘Fetch him water and be damned!’ I can imagine the other women chorusing, ‘do you want to catch cholera?’

    

Bewildered by the task ahead of him, Eliezer may have gazed in amazement as the women filed out of the village as in a beauty pageant and assembled at the well. Which will be his master’s wife? Supposing he choose a vixen?  So he prayed:

This is my request: I will ask one of them for a drink. If she says, ‘yes certainly I will water your camel too!’ let her be the one you appointed as Isaac’s wife. By this, I will know that you have shown kindness to my master. (Gen. 24:14)

    
His prayer was answered. A girl, Rebecca, pure as the early morning dew, sweet and gentle as the lily of the field, yet hardy like a springy gazelle, not only consented to fetch him water but also watered his camels, something even the ablest of men will find quite a task. Camels gulp up a lot of water, especially after a long trek across the desert.

    

Thousands of years later, again we come across another encounter by a well. As before, it was between a man and a woman, between the Christ and a Samaritan woman. Jesus and his disciples were going to Galilee and had to pass through Samaria. It was about noon. Tired from the long walk and probably dehydrated by the scorching eastern sun, he came by the side of a well in a Samaritan village and had to pause to rest while his disciples go in to buy food. Soon, a Samaritan woman came to draw water and He asked for a drink. She was surprised. What communion has the dove with the vulture? She said to Jesus: ‘you are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?’ Jesus replied, ‘if only you knew the gift God has for you and who I am, you would ask me, and I would give you living water,’ (John 4:9, 10). ‘What spurious claims!’ the woman may have thought, ‘who is this strange Jew anyway? Is he greater than our father Jacob who built this well? What water is he talking about?

Jesus replied, ‘people soon become thirsty again after drinking this water, but the water I give them takes away thirst altogether. It becomes a perpetual spring within them, giving them eternal life.’ (John 4:13, 14)

    
Here was a woman encountering God and yet missing him. But in spite of her doubt, in spite of challenging his authority, he offered her salvation, the chance of eternal life. Christ did not rebuke her in spite of her sordidness. He was not repelled by her sin. Far from it. He offered her life instead. True, she has been married to five men—wrong men—and living with the wrong man still. If only she had met Christ sooner!

    

But where is the well? Christ stopped at Sychar, by a well on the spot of land Jacob gave his son Joseph. I find myself wondering if this is the same well Eliezer met Rebecca, Jacob’s mother. I wonder: what is it about water that attracts us? What power is inherent in a body of water? Why do some artists receive the inspiration for their greatest masterpieces on the banks of a river? What attracts tourist to beaches? Why must we be immersed in water to be baptized? Why do animists make fetish sacrifices at the riverbanks? Why is it that even in the wild, there is often almost a code of nonaggression at the waterholes, allowing prey and predator to deep their tongues and drink from the same pool? It seems to me that the life-giving nature of water exacts a pull on us, bringing out the best of good people and the worst of the bad.

    

Water sustains life. A well was of great importance in the arid regions of old Palestine as it is today with the Bedouin tribes of the deserts of Arabian and every community living without the benefit of potable water supply or flowing streams. Water is a ‘sustainer’ of life. Could the well therefore be a metaphor for a sustainable source of life? But where can we find this source of sustainable life?  Could it be the church, not the denominations we belong to, but the body of Christ, the communion of believers? At Christ bosom alone is available the assurance of a sustained, abundant life as he promised the Samaritan woman. The well therefore symbolizes the life-giving presence of God. When you go to a place of abundant life—not a club!—you would find your mate, the one God created for you.

    

Women, stay by the well! Seldom do we find a woman adorned in the snow-white frock of Genesis 24:16 or the impeccable virtues of Proverbs 31:10-31. Like the Samaritan woman, most girls today have made the mistake of ‘being with’ five (or more) men and are not married to the man (or men) they now sleep with. And like the Samaritan woman, it is because they did not go to the well sooner. If it is any consolation to know, most men are guilty of worse. For our sisters though, tarnished as they are, I will say, ‘stay by the well.’ There you will meet your mate. You will meet the kind of man you deserve, Christ Jesus! He loves you in spite of your sordid past, and challenges your accusers to ‘cast the first stone,’ if they dare. He is willing to give you water that will keep you eternally. First, love him, not like the Samaritan woman, who staring love in the eye, missed it! Love him enough to water even his camels. Then he shall send you a mate; someone like him. Someone that will love and respect you as he does, provide for you materially, emotionally, and spiritually, just as Christ provides water that will last eternally.

    

Men, stay by the well! So few men can sing with confidence the refrain, ‘we want to follow the ways of Jesus’. But for those who must walk in his footsteps, however small their feet, I will say, ‘stay by the well.’ By the well in the region where believers dwell, seek a woman who has true faith in Christ. Seek God’s guidance through prayer, believing that, ‘charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last; but a woman who fears the lord will be greatly praised,’ (Prov.31:30). You will find your mate—a Rebecca, a virtuous woman, a lover of God; someone who is cooperative, helpful, generous and hardworking.

    

Very few have been to the well before tying the knot, and I must confess I know of none. But I know a lot of disillusioned husbands and disappointed wives. Most people are ‘pro-choice’, much in the fashion of the abortionist as regards this issue. Hear them say, ‘it’s a matter of choice!’ with a smirk not unlike Eve’s when she presented Adam with the forbidden fruit. If the word of God is true and the Bible the Christians’ manifesto, shouldn’t we live by its precepts? Is it not true that for every man there is a woman, as there was Eve to Adam, the Christ to the church? If that were the truth, where would we find our mate, the bone of our bone, and flesh of our flesh, other than at the foot of Jesus ‘by side of the well’?

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Are Christians In North Central Nigeria Facing Genocide?

There is a worrying trend in the pattern of the violent attacks on the Christian peoples of the Plateau and recently on Christian villages in Southern Kaduna. The nocturnal marauders pillaging Christian villages in North Central Nigeria have a complete disregard for lives and property. There are increasing accounts of the deliberate targeting of women and children by the heavily armed, well-organized, Fulani militia suspected to be behind these dastardly attacks.

     The report presented below (with permission of the Christian Solidarity Worldwide Nigeria) raises concern about the possible, deliberate, plan to cleanse North Central Nigeria of its growing, indigenous, Christian population.

      The report is presented here to draw public attention to the silent genocide going on, unhindered, in North Central Nigeria with the hope that all people of good conscience will add their voices to the call to the Nigerian government and relevant international organizations to hasten to put a stop to the possible extermination and displacement of millions of people, mostly women and children, from their homes in the plains and hills of North Central Nigeria. 

CSW Report.                                    

For Immediate Release

2 April 2013

NIGERIA: AT LEAST 80 DIE IN ARMED ATTACKS ON VILLAGES IN KADUNA AND PLATEAU STATES IN EASTER WEEK

At least 19 people were killed, an unknown number injured and an estimated 4000 displaced when armed Fulanis attacked Mafang and Zilang villages in Kaura Local Government Area (LGA) in Southern Kaduna State over the Easter weekend. 

     According to local reports, on Saturday 30 March well-armed men dressed in black surrounded the villages before launching an assault that continued into Easter Sunday.
     Many villagers fled to the nearby hills. Some who returned later to assess the extent of the damage were also murdered. The majority of victims were women and children. The assailants also razed a significant number of homes. Many of those displaced by the destruction are reported to be staying in the local Amisi Primary School, as well as in nearby Fadan Attakar and Mifi villages.
     The Reverend Yunusa Nmadu, CEO of Christian Solidarity Worldwide-Nigeria (CSW-N), said, “We request prayers for, and extend our condolences to the families of all those who lost their lives during the tragic events of last week. We also call on the relevant state governments to provide urgent assistance to the injured and displaced. The systematic manner in which these attacks now occur indicates a greater degree of organisation than has previously been the case and requires an urgent reassessment of strategy and a surge in the number of troops assigned to these areas."
     Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) was informed that over a month ago, a local chief allowed Fulanis to settle on land on a hillside near Kirim Village after they were ordered to leave Zangon Kataf LGA, also in Southern Kaduna, following a Fulani attack on Aduwan Village. In recent weeks the local community had begun to ask questions after it became apparent that the Fulanis were storing arms in the area.
     The assault on the villages in Kaduna occurred during the same week that a series of attacks on villages in Wase and Riyom LGAs in neighbouring Plateau State claimed the lives of at least 60 people, mostly women and children, and escalated local tensions.  Prior to this, attacks in Riyom LGA over a two month period had claimed 16 lives.
     CSW’s Chief Executive Mervyn Thomas said, "While attacks on remote villages by well-armed Fulanis have occurred sporadically since 2010, the recent escalation of assaults on villagers on the Plateau-Kaduna border, the consistent targeting of women and children and the mass displacement of inhabitants appear to be part of a deliberate attempt to rid these areas of their original inhabitants. It is worrying that armed groups can still move freely, attacking for lengthy periods despite a security presence in each state. Tackling this issue effectively will require a comprehensive and unified effort by the governments of Kaduna, Plateau and even Bauchi States to track down and apprehend the perpetrators.”