The Spectacle of a Sitting Nigerian Governor Standing as Usher! -By Ugochukwu Ugwuanyi

Just when I was going to scream ‘Holy Moses!’ at the rare sight of Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, serving as an usher during Living Faith Church’s Shiloh in-gathering, comments attached to the trending video emphasised that the scene is anything but a big deal. According to one of the bloggers, “In Winners, Canaanland precisely, you will see even judges of courts serving in different units of the church.”

Another commenter said, “Billionaire businessman, Ochacho is a Protocol Member in Dunamis Church the Glory Dome in Abuja, We have manned space together during Church Service, Make una rest, in the House of God, no portfolio is noticed.” While these disclosures are appreciable, there is a reason why none of those instances made the headlines like a sitting (incumbent) governor ushering in the Church.

A story was told of freshly minted President Olusegun Obasanjo visiting one of the 36 states months after his inauguration in 1999. As exhilarated residents lined the streets to cheer their charismatic leader, Obasanjo asked the main body he was travelling with to allow him to greet and interact with his countrymen and women. His request was politely declined by his security detail for fear of the unknown.

When the President reportedly ordered them to stop the convoy, the orderlies maintained they couldn’t make room for a security breach, given the weight of their responsibility to return the No. 1 citizen to Aso Villa without any incident. You may well say that’s the President of the Federal Republic; we’re talking about a Governor who is one amongst 35 others, whereas there is just one President. Granted, but that doesn’t mean that powerful chief executives of the sub-national governments don’t enjoy near-similar courtesies.

In Nigeria, nothing is left to chance when it comes to ensuring the safety and comfort of principal government officials. Their long motorcades even include ambulances. For the Governor to publicly serve Shiloh attendees, he must have resisted his aide-de-camp and protocol personnel’s entreaties against doing so. Recall that about this time four years ago, a video surfaced online where a man charged at Bishop David Oyedepo while he was heading to the pulpit at the Winners headquarters in Ota, Ogun State.

Now, if guaranteed divine protection was what Oborevwori banked on to brave security concerns, how about exposing himself to thorough scrutiny for high moral standards and probity in governance?

Apart from skeptics who believe that born-again Christians have ulterior motives for their devotion to God, critics will be quick to juxtapose the governor’s ecclesiastic passions with his perceived failings in governance and politics. And knowing the Nigerian blogosphere, Oborevwori risks being dragged mercilessly for lapses that his counterparts and contemporaries in politics would ordinarily get away with. Heck, what does it matter if he’s in right standing with God!

It is not only Christians in government who attract suspicions and doubts. People who openly identify as children of God are unduly judged, misunderstood and second-guessed, especially by those who believe no one can exceed their own moral bandwidth. This has led some believers to shy away from proselytising. They can’t stand the censorious or cope with the expectation of being above board like Ceaser’s wife. After all, the Almighty factored in His children’s flaws and inadvertent fall. “My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous.” (1 John 2:1).

Believers who are wary of tantrums and being told, “I thought you called yourself a born-again Christian” must come out of their shells. Apart from Governor Oborevwori, they can emulate an erstwhile CBN deputy governor who, even as a Central Bank bigwig, joins Foursquare faithful to evangelise Lagos neighbourhoods. If the American rap goddess, Nicki Minaj can tweet this conviction: “On Christ the solid rock I stand. All other ground is sinking sand. All other ground…,” why would the believer bother about persons who question their moral compass and suspect their sincerity? Those hypercritical people are only living out an inherited trait from he who was revealed in the book of Revelation as the accuser of the brethren!

While what matters is the believer’s justification by faith, the expected righteousness (even though many don’t know what this actually means) helps to keep Christians in check. The elect must make their lifestyles the Bible that unbelievers read. This is part of what the Church brings to the table, to counter those who consider Christianity a scam that hampers national development. On the contrary, the Church reforms society by making citizens conscionable and public-spirited. What an impressive human capital development effort!

Clerics who inspire and instill biblical values and principles in members, therefore, deserve their flowers. Critics who deride them as extortionists living large off the congregation should open their eyes to the connection between Governor Oborevwori’s Kingdom service and prosperity. When they see the linkage, “let them say continually, “the LORD be magnified, Who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant” in accordance with Psalm 35:27.

VIS Ugochukwu, a sage, poet and essayist, can be reached on X via @sylvesugwuanyi