Revisionist Agenda Has No Place In Church Of Nigeria; We’ll Stand Against It

stand for He Who loved and gave Himself for us. Not only are we going to stand, we will also defend.

The focus of our ministry has to be on the family, because raising a healthy family in the fear of God, nurtured in the word of God, built up in the faith of Christ will also mean we will be raising a healthy church, a witnessing church, a believing church, a church that can stand in times of trials. When this COVID- 19 crisis came, I said, “Lord, is it everywhere I go that it will be like this?” I said we are already used to it. Lockdown has been our experience in the Northeast. The Chairman of Michika that was beheaded is just one out of so many. I lost one of my pastors, Pastor Bello, who was going to have service with members, and fell into the hands of the Hudawas, who decapitated him. We had to go and pack his body and belongings, and buried him. Having passed through all these things, will I now be more modern? It is Jesus or nothing; it is the Word of God or nothing. If we will die, let us die for the real thing; let us die believing Him. When we suffer, let it be because of our faith in Him, and there is no going back.

If any pastor thinks he can eat of the table of the demons and also share in the table of the Lord, he has no place in this church. We will work at the House of Bishops to see that the church is kept pure and kept faithful to the Lord. That is what we are believing God for. As for the revisionist agenda, it has no place in the Church of Nigeria, and we will stand for the same thing in any ecumenical organisations we belong to. We will not be part of any organisation that is not ready to hold on to the Word of God and the Gospel of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ - faith in Him and the heritage of the saints. We’ll go to the Global Anglican Future Conference ( GAFCON) with the same stance, and anyone who is not ready to stand with us will be on his own. One with God is always the majority.

What is your view on supporting weak dioceses, especially with regard to GAFCON cause?

I think GAFCON was partly founded or has support of the Church of Nigeria ( CON) in collaboration with our brothers in Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya and other parts of Africa. GAFCON came as a rescue mission to bring together those who were not happy with the way Episcopal Church in America and other churches in the West deviated from the Word of God and upheld another gospel, which was not the true Gospel. We said no, we were not going that way. But they were well endowed and had the resources. When Baba Akinola and other fathers of the church started speaking, they said they were just making noise. They didn’t take us serious; they didn’t think we could stand. But one thing we have come to realise is that anything that is of God lasts. The present Chairman of GAFCON is the Primate of ACNA, Archbishop Foley Beach and the Secretary General is our own Archbishop Benjamin Kwashi. So, we are still neck deep in the functions of GAFCON.

The CON will stand with GAFCON, though some of our sister churches are not as resourced as CON. The West already knows this weakness, having related with us for a very long time, and even sent the missionaries that founded most of us. So, they know where to pull the carpet from under our feet. That was how some that did not have the resources started going from the back. It is just like the weak ones are going from the back and you are pulling them. While the strong ones are in the front, they are busy gathering the ones at the back and confusing them. The same thing may even be happening in the CON. Some of the bishops may be tempted and be bought over because they lack the resources. But as far as we are concerned, it cannot happen in CON. That is why we thank God for Baba Okoh for establishing St. Matthias Fund, which has helped to stabilise some of us and we will ensure we pursue it. When I take my place in the Primates’ Council in GAFCON, I will think and work with my brother Archbishops and the Primates to see what we can do. How we can raise funds to help our brethren, so that we can have unity of purpose and move together. We will not compromise our stance. We will uphold the 2008 Jerusalem Declaration and 2018 Reaffirmation, and other conventions and their agreements that we have made. We will see that we keep on supporting GAFCON and working with them.