An Anglican cleric, Venerable Eugene Uchechukwu Nwaogu Owunnamanam has exposed the suffering Nigerians pass through as a result of government policies in a new book, why do the righteous suffer.
TheNewsGuru (TNG) reports Venerable Owunnamanam made the exposure in chapter two of the new book that was launched on Saturday under the title, suffering on account of other people’s acts/policies.
Owunnamanam, in the book, said it is most disturbing when people, especially the innocent, suffer as a result of the actions or inactions of others.
He said such persons may include family members, friends or group members, or even passengers of a driver or even citizens of countries.
“Many people, most times, also suffer on account of other people’s bad rulership and unfavourable government policies. It can be directly or indirectly affecting the individuals or the general public.
“Most at times people suffer for lack of care and provision of some basic needs of the society. Very high cost of living and abject poverty and all that are enough suffering on their own.
“The people suffer when their supposed leaders become their rulers.
“In Nigeria, there is a projection that the nation might take over from India as the world poverty capital by the year 2020. But by the grace of God, we will never get there. Some projections like that in the past have failed and this will fail too. We are hard-working people and the God of heaven will help us.
“All we need is leadership with good, lively and achievable vision for the good of the masses.
“The issue of poor, very poor infrastructures, especially roads stare people in the face everywhere and people suffer untold hardship passing these roads across the country.
“Housing is grossly inadequate. People live and sleep under the bridges, in the motor parks, open markets and other places that are available for them. There is no need to ask if such people are gainfully employed or have any good means of livelihood.
“Even those that could be said to be working, their take home is usually a far cry from taking them home. In this country, open defecation remains a kind of good way of life that only two out of seven hundred and seventy- seven Local Government Councils are said to be open defecation free.
“People go hungry and most of the time sleep on an empty stomach, helpless, suffering people in deed, confusion everywhere while there is government all the time.
“Many children are out of school because their parents and guardians cannot even afford to feed them let alone footing their educational bills and instead, they are out there in the street, causing one form of nuisance or the other.
“Many of them are sent into the street to hawk or, are engaged in one form of child labour or the other. Others are exposed to cultism and other dangerous life styles inimical to their welfare and undermine their God-given potentials. Many of these fall victims of rape and other sexual molestations including every kind of delinquency one can think about and whereas they are supposed to be taken good care of both by their parents and guardians on one hand and by the government on the other hand, but not.
“There is insecurity of lives and properties everywhere, robbery, kidnapping, and all that affecting everyone, both Christians and none Christians alike, but the most dangerous are the ones targeted at Christians with the colouration of official sponsorship.
“Christians are being systematically eliminated by the Muslims, especially in the north while the government looks away and in some cases seem to be aiding and abetting the killings. They are molested, incastrated with reckless abandon without anyone virtually doing anything about it.
“Take the case of Leah Shuaibu, a Dapchi Christian girl kidnapped alongside others from their school in Dapchi, Borno State, who refused to renounce her faith and as such is still in the hands of her captors for a very long time now.
“The activities of Boko Haram, Fulani Herdsmen, Kidnappers and others have remained uncheckmated,” the book read.
TNG reports the book was launched at St. Jude’s Anglican Church, Jeddo, Okpe Local Government Area of Delta in an elaborate event attended by Bishop of Sapele Diocese, Rt. Rev. Blessing Erifeta.
Speaking at the book launch that also marked the fiftieth birthday and twentieth year in the ordained ministry celebration of Venerable Owunnamanam, Bishop Erifeta, while commending the St. Jude’s vicar, gave reason why there are more problems in the Church today than there are in secular organizations around the world.
Taking his keynote address from the Bible book of Hebrews 5:4, the Diocesan said the Church, as a body of Christ, has made a lot of mistakes and come across so many blunders in recent times.
Distinguishing between how the leaders of secular organizations are raised and how the leaders of churches are raised, Bishop Erifeta decried that so much philosophy of the world has been brought to bear in the Church.
He said people have misconstrued the church for the secular world, stressing “that is why we are having more internal problems in the church than outside the church”.
“We have made a lot of mistakes. We have come across so many blunders. We are all guilty of what is happening in the Church of God all over the world. In the secular world, people are raised and trained for particular vocations or professions.
“People have misconstrued the church for the secular world, bringing the way leaders are raised in the secular world into the Church. We brought the idea of leadership in the outside world inside the church instead. That is why we are having more internal problems in the church than outside the church,” Erifeta said.
Speaking on the standard the Church should emulate, and highlighting the Bible book of Numbers 16, the Bishop said the Bible is the standard that no one can change.
“There is a standard we cannot change. The Bible is the standard for the church. You cannot use secular ideas to run the church. You cannot use secular ideas to raise leaders for the church. If we are to recruit manpower for the church, the persons have to be called by God,” he said.
Distinguishing between self-calling, political calling and religious calling, Bishop Erifeta said, “We live in an era where people pretend to be called by God”.
He, however, explained self-calling is when an individual asked to follow God by themselves; political calling is a calling of people who are kin to playing politics in the church, and religious calling as people who believe there is God, but their religiosity has no bearing with that of Christ.
Bishop Erifeta, who said he is a privileged ecclesiast and not that he merited the position he is occupying, said if God had not given him the privilege, he had no right to the position.
“I am a privileged ecclesiast. Not that I merit where I am. If God has not given me the privilege I have no right. That should be the mindset of everyone who call themselves Christians. If you don’t see it from that light you will be projecting your personal ideas and think where you are is by your power, that if nobody listens to you, nothing can happen.
“We must avoid taking the honour unto ourselves. If the system says this is what we should do, and we do otherwise, we are taking the honour due for. If the church says this is what we should do and we go contrary, we are taking honour due to God,” he said.
Erifeta said people who have gone against God ordained way of raising leaders for the Church have done so at the expense of their lives and that of their followers.
“Those who have done it all went down and God will not change the pattern. Hebrew is reminding us of a standard that cannot be changed. If God does not give you, there is nothing you can do. If you force your way in, God will force you out,” he said.
TNG reports Rev. Dr. James Irikefe presented the book, and Rev. Dr. Amos Obi, who delivered a lecture at the occasion, commended Owunnamanam, and said the author has fulfilled the saying that “if you want to live forever, plant a tree, write a book or build a house”.