Asking G.Os to step down is overkill

The Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRC) has a bad reputation among most Nigerians for being a power-hungry organisation. It has tried to put in place a one-size-fits-all corporate governance code which m
A akes everyone defer to the organisation. That has been challenged.

The challenge with religion in Nigeria is two-pronged. Each major religion has its own issues. The Christians proliferate and many smart Alecs have seen these as money making ventures. The Muslims suffer from a proliferation of sects – one of these became Boko Haram. Another is being brutally put down by El-Rufai. Too many exist up north, undocumented. We recall Maitatsine. Reasonable Muslims are afraid of those sects. Boko Haram has killed more Muslims by far, than any other group has.

So the issues are not merely financial. Where does the FRC come in? Why not have holistic approaches to this issue? When a company registers at the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) as a Limited Liability, because it intends to make profit, FIRS takes over. When a church or mosque or NGO registers at the same CAC, who takes over? And FRC cannot fit the bill because the issue is not about money alone.

As a matter of fact, of late, many of the mushrooming churches don’t even bother going to CAC, or advertising their Board of Trustees for 21 days as required. All those who used to stay at bus stops performing magic and robbing people have turned into pastors. Some stay small, but make money. Our people have a quirk in their DNA that makes them believe some of these things. Poverty also does not help. FRC can ‘force’ G.Os to step down, shebi that is when you know of the church’s corporate existence? They will only battle the large churches and Buhari will draw a lot of flak for that, and notably it will be called ‘Church persecution”.

The problem with Boko Haram is not money. Yes some people fund them and give them arms, and nothing has been said about those. Boko Haram even attacks the poor and never the rich. They kill people at bus stops and mosques and such places. They are blind to the mansions of the rich who have been reveling in lavish ceremonies lately. So we know Boko Haram’s footprints, but we dont know the truth about them. If Boko Haram had been documented when they started, and we knew who their trustees are, people like Ali Modu will not be denying that he never knew them at all.

What we need is a comprehensive approach to religion, which has of late gutted this country in more ways than one. Religion divides us down the middle – especially the Middle Eastern ones. For many adherents, anyone who doesn’t believe the way they do is hell-bound, and they are ready to dispatch you there immediately. It is a sad issue.

So the issue is not about forcing GOs to step down. That is overkill. Even in the UK, as strict as they are, I don’t think they force the head of religious organisations to step down. Why demote a man in the organisation he started to become a shopfloor member?

Why must a Mike Okonkwo, or Oyedepo, if they are still strong and charismatic, suddenly be retired in the work of the Lord? Those who know ‘spiritual’ things will call this an abomination. I don’t know much about such. The issue is clearly not about how long they stay as the head of the organisations they create. And churches or mosques do not trade with government money, so the limit to effecting changes in their headship should really not arise. NEVER MEDDLE THAT MUCH IN THEIR AFFAIRS!

What we need is a CHARITY COMMISSION that will be on ground and do its work, DOCUMENTING these organisations, putting some sanity into their activities. It is not only about money or about the Christians alone.
Let us think about the ramifications of this problem. Think about churches that ‘pastors’ use as fronts for armed robbery, printing of fake currencies, the receipt of stolen goods, baby factories, and other crimes. Then think of churches where they drive nails in children’s heads, and chain them down for months because they are ‘witches’. Think of those ‘pastors’, like the one in Akwa Ibom, who claimed on camera to have killed more than 1,400 people who are witches. Think of the effect on productivity in the land as our young and strong people take to ‘preaching’ and making money, while no one actually produces anything tangible. Someone told me last week, that a large proportion of relief funds sent up North-East is being used to build mosques. Nothing wrong with that, only that there are no hospitals, no schools, etc. The idea is to hasten people’s journey to heaven right? There is problem in the land.