Who’s Fooling Who?

It takes the outburst of a news analyst on a radio station for one to realise that there’s nothing cheery in the national news. The media is awash with nothing but news of national economic woes and corruption! corruption!! corruption!!! The analyst in question wishes that the dailies could be filled with different caption of news to analyse. From his tone one can infer that the bleak news of corruption and economic woes is disturbing and affecting him psychologically and mentally (my words). News from this side of the world is presently quite depressing. I recall a Liberian pastor preaching in an English-speaking church in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire while I lived there some years ago. He warned the congregation against the evil of the negative news on the African continent in the international media. He asked why the international media didn’t have anything good to say about Africa. There were wars going on in different regions of the continent at that time. That, like I said, was years ago, almost two decades. Has the situation changed?
Any visitor to Nigeria reading our newspapers would certainly be amazed at the level of corruption in the society. One hears of an indicted former Comptroller-General of the Customs refunding 1 billion naira – no small amount in any currency – to the national treasury. This individual was a civil servant alleged to have appropriated money running into billions of naira. One also reads of money in different currencies allegedly found in the houses of members of the judiciary. A contributor to a radio chat show said that the figures made him feel dizzy. He isn’t alone. Nigerians seem to have a knack for doing it ‘big’. Trending is the news of the exhorbitant fees charged by the educational institutions established by religious groups. Various pastors and leaders of these groups already told us how indigent they were at the inception of their religious journey. So we know that they were not like Buddha who was a prince or like Jesus, son of Mary who came from a royal stock. These latter-day pastors were not born with silver spoon at all but they eventually built huge institutions ‘with a little help’ from the tithes and offerings of their members. What’s strange in all this is that the fees are so high that these schools are no-go areas to the children of those whose money was used to establish these institutions. So some of us are asking if this is fair. Missionaries (both Christians and Muslims) who brought the guest religions to our shore provided the indigenes with free education. You may argue that that was the gimmicks of making an in-road into the society. But the natives were the best for it. They got education and became enlightened. Chief Obafemi Awolowo of blessed memory introduced free education to the Western region when he was the Premier. Most of us are beneficiaries of that scheme. But these days ‘many full time pastors’ are ‘living off the poor’ in our society.
One of the Daddy GOs (General Overseers) who set up these religious educational institutions with the tithes and offerings of their                                                                                                                                           members asks us to stop criticizing the fees ‘or face God’s wrath’. Very unChristian-like. Very undemocratic. Why should the Almighty be portrayed as if he’s on the side of the exploitative rich when he has assured us that he stands with the weak. This isn’t the first time this Daddy GO will invoke the wrath of Papa God on those who question some of his actions. Is he a Christian or a Sango adherent? The Christian knows his God takes his time before acting. And this is the reason they take his name in vain. They wouldn’t dare do that with an ‘orisa’ one of whom is Sango aka Olikoso. Olikoso wastes no time in striking the wicked dead. I say the wicked because you should go to Olikoso with clean hands. If not it will be ‘return to sender’.
We all know the life-style of these religious leaders. Their practice isn’t hidden from the civil servants and statesmen some of whom frequent these groups. From time to time they join in also contributing to the tithes and offerings. There has been reports of the largesse of the former president to the Christian Association of Nigeria to the tunes of millions during the 2015 presidential campaign. His visits to these people were highly publicised. The donation brought discord to the house of the Lord the ripples of which are still felt. Man cannot serve God and Mammon.
The man in the cassock doesn’t chide the man in ‘agbada’ when the latter steps out of line. The priest visits the politician detained on corruption charges. He claims to be happy to find the detained politician ‘in high spirits despite the discomfort of temporary restriction’. The man in cassock feels no shame when he urges the politician ‘not to be downcast and to see their current travail as divine’. Hang on, we’re talking about a person who has been indicted for misappropriating the commonwealth. Religion and politics are the scourge with which Nigeria has been ‘blesssed’. The visit of the Reverend Father Kukah to those detained on economic charges makes one ask on whose side is the priest. Some of us who once saw you as a beacon of hope don’t recognise you anymore. A governor says it’s ‘only God who can save Nigeria’. But we’re built in his image. And he works through us. But neither the Nigerian politician nor pastor understands this. Which means we’re on our own. Every man for himself. Nobody represents the interest of anyone in either the state house or at the NASS. So who’s fooling who?

ART X Lagos
The inaugural edition of Art X Lagos took place at the Civic Centre on 4 – 6 November. The dates coincided with many other events in the City of Excellence but it was Art X that got that Excellence. The first day pulled more than 1,000 guests. Civic Centre Car Park was filled to the brim and spilled over. All the neighbouring streets were dotted with guests’ vehicles. The event pulled viewers from different generation and demography. The dressense of the guests rivaled that of the models catwalking at the Lagos Fashion Show holding somewhere the same day.
ART X Lagos was the maiden outing of Tokini Peterside as an entrepreneur. The exhibition was curated by the one and only Bisi Silva who has set a standard to demonstrate that something good can come out of our land. You did us proud Tokini, Bisi and the team. I walked tall. I moon-walked or did I just swagger like Barack Obama? Hip! Hip!! Hip!!! We look forward to ART X Lagos 2017. Inch’Allah.