The Catholic Church and a dubious generosity in Ebonyi State, by Ike Willie-Nwobu

Nigerian politicians love a public spectacle. The odd gathering here with media crews hovering about and attention tuned in, and the calculated attempt there to deliver the dividends of democracy all work well in the economy of politics to bring potential voters together, shape future votes, assess moods even if this is hardly clear in gatherings subdued by sychophancy, and meld other minutiae of political life.

At the 2024 priestly ordination of the catholic diocese of Abakaliki held on 6th July 2024 in Ebonyi State, the state governor Francis Nwifuru, was a special guest who managed to steal as much spotlight as the 14 new priests raised to the presbyterate after nine grueling years of formation as he admonished the new priests to flee from materialism. If his advice was a leaf from the book of the catholic bishop of Abakaliki, his presentation of 14 SUVs to the new priests was not.

Now, there is no question that the gift was no surprise to the bishop, the priests, and those familiar with the inner workings of the diocese in the state or the governor and his team for that matter. There must have been consultations before such lavish gifts were unveiled on the ordination day. If anyone was surprised, it was the immediate audience at the ordination, and those watching from outside the state, with surprise soon giving way to valid questions of propriety and morality in a church as ancient and universal as the Catholic Church.

The Catholic Church Is renowned for its hierarchy and meticulous planning, and the ordination could not have taken it by surprise. This meticulous planning and preparation for ordination usually includes buying cars for newly ordained priests to facilitate their work of evangelization. Thus, no matter how many priests ordained in any catholic diocese in Nigeria, such a diocese is often able to give them all they need for their work, including new vehicles. So, the question is why? In a country where leadership failure is as conspicuous as the notoriously dilapidated East-West road or the next village without running water or electricity, is the church an appropriate platform for gifts and grandstanding by a politician who just started his term as governor, with the jury still firmly out on his performance as governor?
In a country where many politicians failing in their responsibilities to the people, typically identify with one religion or the other, and never hesitate to exploit religious events to score cheap political points, the Catholic Church in Abakaliki should have been more circumspect about receiving Greek gifts from politicians.

It is not the responsibility of the governor to buy vehicles for newly ordained catholic priests in the state. The church can afford to provide for its priests. The governor’s responsibilities lie elsewhere, and the church has the prophetic responsibility to remind him of that fact, no matter how costly or uncomfortable it may be.

The church’s prophetic role will be in great jeopardy if politicians who typically fail Nigerians are allowed to peddle the biblical pot of porridge in church, as no one can really speak clearly with a mouth full of meat.
It was also reported that the governor at the occasion exhorted the new priests and other priests in the state to shun materialism and focus on God’s work. The priests should take this to heart. The ostentatious lifestyles and even debauchery for which some of them have become notorious for contradicts the gospel they bear. Inasmuch as they are also sent to politicians who may identify as Christians and Catholics, shunning materialism must also extend to eschewing any disposition that portrays them as available tools for desperate politicians.

The governor who also donated five vehicles to five newly ordained priests last year may identify as catholic, but he must remember that the office of the governor which he fills is neither ecclesial nor divine. It is not God or any church that made him governor. He does not owe God or any church any debt which should be settled with public funds. His fidelity must lie to the electorate and the constitution only.
In that wise, he must be more circumspect in doling out gifts to the Catholic Church or any church for that matter, as his predecessor was inclined to do. Rather, he must commit every available resource to developing the state and combatting poverty which continues to run riot in the state.
If the governor is inclined to give gifts of cars to men of God in the state, then certainly he should extend his dubious generosity to the leaders of every religion in the state. The dangers of such a move would apparently discourage him.

There is so much that can be done with public funds in the state that will be more beneficial than buying cars for catholic priests. The Governor has no business promoting God’s work. There are people whose business it is. The governor should concentrate on the business of governing the state and leave those people to sort the business of the gospel out. Mixing politics and religion will only serve a painful reminder of what happens when governance is muddled up with religion.
As a politician, the governor who is hardly showing any signs that his time in office will be an improvement on the deceptively dour period of his predecessor must have his eyes on the 2027 elections. As Nigerian politicians hardly ever feel any embarrassment, he will do everything possible to shape public opinion in his favor. Going to the Catholic Church which boasts the most Christians of a single denomination in the state, is a great public relations strategy for him. It is what the bishop and his priests must be wary of.

The gospel opposes hypocrisy which Christ calls the leaven of the Pharisees. It behooves on the church to identify and oppose it. It is hypocrisy to go to church and donate public funds while abandoning public projects and ignoring one’s core responsibility. Likewise, it is equally hypocrisy to receive such donations and turn a blind eye when things are going wrong.

Religious leaders in Nigeria must take their responsibilities more seriously. Many of those who have led and who continue to lead Nigeria politicians identify as adherents of one religion or the other. The fact that leadership has been such a cataclysmic failure in the country should serve as a cautionary tale to those who keep God’s gates.

Ike Willie-Nwobu,
Ikewilly9@gmail.com