‘Eradication Of Corruption Will Make Nigeria Great’ (1)

Rev. (Dr.) Olasupo Ayokunle is the President of Nigerian Baptist Convention. While in Eket, Akwa Ibom State, recently, for the foundation laying ceremony of an ultra modern permanent site of First Baptist Church in Eket, and a two-day crusade, he spoke with AYOYINKA JEGEDE on his mission to the state, as well as the state of the nation.

How does Nigeria stand at 55?
WE are in the hands of God. We will not appreciate Him, if we say that there has not been anything good that has happened to this country. Firstly, the independence brought us out of subjugation. We came out of slavery and for a people that never ran a government before we would expect there would be mistakes. Though there have been mistakes in the past, but if you see the way God delivered us from the hands of the military and return us to democracy; if you compare the civilian time to the military era, you would see that there have been more social development in Nigeria during civilian rule. The military really destroyed this nation. They brought corruption and because they are not trained in the act of governance, they just bastardised everything and wasted resources.

By the time civilians took over, they’ve had one experience or the other. These people had money with which they can campaign and buy votes or rig elections. And though they dumped their military uniforms and donned civilian garments, but in the real sense of it, nothing has changed. The well-trained people that came out couldn’t get to power because they didn’t have the money to compete with these military men. Ex-military men were mostly the ones ruling after independence, though a few rich civilians also joined them. They challenged the development in some of the states, especially in the Southwest and put others on their toes.

Anyhow, the infrastructural development, especially in terms of road construction, has become better than before. If the former rate of development were sustained, we wouldn’t be where we are now. The major task confronting the nation now is the elimination of corruption. If we can do this as the present government is saying and it is not just political propaganda, we shall make great progress. If they can follow through and ensure that corrupt people don’t go scot-free and they block all the channels through which corruption is being perpetrated, Nigeria’s future is great.

In your view, what’s does the future hold for this country?
God has been gracious to us because there are people in this country, who have been praying for the nation. This is one of the impacts of religion that I have seen. Many nations that have been torn apart didn’t go through half of what we have experienced as a nation. But the prayers of the saints are sustaining this nation and regardless of whatever progress we think we are making, we should not abandon God because He reigns in the affairs of men. If we continue to preach the truth and discipline our members, then the siege will be lifted and the time of scarcity will be turned to plenty.

I urge Nigerians to continue to pray, and then we should be decisive in choosing visionary leaders. We should not allow rich politicians to buy us. Nigerians should no longer allow corrupt politicians to buy their conscience with money during elections. We should turn a new leaf and begin to vote wisely and in accordance with God’s will. We should elect purposeful people, whose past indicated that they are capable of leading.

I think we should thank former President Goodluck Jonathan because unlike before, our votes counted in the last elections because if not, the present government would not have come in. And the voters’ card that we have now, which carries the bio-data of everybody, is a great improvement.
INEC has to improve, if we want to move forward. There is hope for Nigeria, if we continue to pray, seek God’s face and preach righteousness so that church members going out there to participate in politics will practise the truth.

What, in your view, is the solution to corruption in Nigeria?
It has been there from independence, but it was not as pronounced as it is today. It is rampant in both the public and the private sectors. It is not only the politicians that are corrupt. Civil servants are also very corrupt, if not more than the politicians. Go to any ministry to transact a legitimate business, and you’ll see that officials, who are being paid, won’t do the work unless you give them something.

Somebody close to me said for the past five years she has not been able to collect her gratuity because at the last point, they told her she must agree to give the officials 10 percent. She replied, “But you didn’t labour with me and you will also retire and get your own gratuity. So, you don’t have the right to take from mine.” And for that reason, she has not been able to collect her gratuity five years after retirement. This is just to let you know that civil servants are also very corrupt and government should beam their searchlight in that direction.
We need men and women of integrity in this nation. We don’t have many of them in this nation.

Has the Church been helping to fight corruption?
An undisciplined church member is not better than an unbeliever. Biblical membership is very important and it is not for every Dick, Tom and Harry. What we need are church members that know who Jesus is by heart and not by mouth. We need people that can say like Joseph when temptation comes, ‘how can I do this and sin against God’s people?’ Integrity is the hallmark of Christianity.

I just wrote a book entitled, “Integrity: key to success in leadership.” Whether in Christian or secular leadership, when you lose your integrity, you have lost your effectiveness. People should be able to say like Samuel ‘witness against me, whose goat have I taken? Whose oxen have I taken since I have been in the leadership of you people?’ This is why I emphasise the need to discipline our members so that they will know there is a difference between what they profess and their actions.

Somebody that embezzles does not know God. He/she only has the identity of a Christian or the church’s he/she is attending. When you are passing through a church, but the church does not pass through you, your product will be unacceptable. Jesus Christ said, ‘by their fruit we shall know them. Not all that call me Lord belongs to me, and not all of them will enter the kingdom of God.’ The church should be meticulous enough to take members through a systematic Bible study.

Why does evil prevail in the country, despite numerous churches?
We still have unbelievers almost doubling the number of churches in Nigeria. Until every soul is won for God, I cannot say we have enough churches. We need to reach out more and more. If you see the havoc that Boko Haram is causing. These are people with mental disillusion of what religion is and they need to hear the gospel and change the way they think by embracing peace and valuing to life.
All these are the challenges. Some people are in the church but they are not disciplined. More churches should be planted with more disciplined people that are not just church members by profession, but who are church members by practice. These are people that we can be sure will live well in the society. They are those that will be raptured when Jesus comes.

How is the Baptist Church contributing to Nigeria’s growth?
Baptist is helping to build the nation and society at large, through undiluted Biblical sermons and theological education that will lead to production and graduation of sound ministers of God. These are not emergency ministers that will become bishops overnight. They would have been well grounded and would have studied under experienced ministers. You don’t rush people and begin to place them over church, because they will destroy people through unwholesome doctrines.

We are also investing in secular education with the fear of God. That was why we established the Baptist University (BOWEN) and secondary schools such as Obanikoro Academy, Baptist High School, Jos, Port Harcourt, Mbubi and Olivet Baptist High School. We have our schools all over the nation so that people might study with the fear of God. If you give people education that lacks the fear of God, you are only giving them the wisdom to destroy the system.

What was your mission in Eket?
I came for evangelistic outreach because the strength of Baptist is small in this region and people are thinking that Baptist is a small or new church. The Baptist denomination has been in this country for 165 years. It is one of the foremost churches, one of the biggest three in Nigeria. Our effort is to double church planting here. We already declared First Baptist Church Eket home mission field and we have about 29 home mission fields in Nigeria.

We have a missionary here, who is working with the pastors and mobilising them to identify areas, where they should plant churches so that people can worship God. My coming here was to boost their faith and commitment both morally and financially in the work of the Lord.
I also dedicated a new church— Faith Baptist Church, which cost several millions to build. It was the mission Church of First Baptist Church, Eket. I also performed the foundation laying of an ultra modern auditorium that can sit thousands of people.