Theology and Social Issues in Africa: Collection of Essays

By Francis Anekwe Oborji

The Volume speaks to us from the heart and engages the socio-political concerns in the Nigerian context through the lens of a theological approach. The author reflects historically the numerous consequences of the amalgamation of the ethnic groups of different orientations in Nigeria into one socio-political structure of the colonizers interests. This sociopolitical structure raises several questions than answers it pretends to offer the indigenous people. From a Nigerian point of view, the articles in this volume critically challenge the unjust formation of any nationhood in the Africa context. It points out how the sustenance of an unjust nation formation betrays the creed on which such a nation is established. “Truth conquers all” is the spirit with which this Volume is written. It is the truth that will set a nation like Nigeria free from the spirit of confusion and unperceived religio-socio-political syncretism. The awareness emanating from this volume suggests liberating steps from the unsuspicious colonial interests and the sustained feigned relationship with the colonizers which militate against the socio-political and economic growth, and theological orthodoxy of such a growing nation.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Nov 22, 2020
• ISBN: 9781664137349

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Copyright © 2020 by Francis Anekwe Oborji.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Scripture quotations marked NRSV are taken from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, Copyright © 1989, by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Website

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Rev. date: 11/20/2020

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Contents

Dedication

Preface 1

Preface 2

Foreword 1

Foreword 2

Editors’ Note

PART 1. CONTEXTUALIZING

AFRICAN THEOLOGY

Doctrines and Christian Faith

Chapter 1

No Imperfections in Humanity of Jesus: An Open Letter to General Obasanjo

Chapter 2

Assumption of Mary: Its Implications for Nigeria in Distress

Chapter 3

The Pope on the ‘Lord’s Prayer’ and Translations in African Languages

Chapter 4

Hell Is Real: Beyond the Atheistic Fuss

Contextual Theology and Inter-Religious Dialogue

Chapter 5

Mercy in African Traditional Religion (ATR)

Chapter 6

The Universal Value of African Traditional Religion (ATR):The Need for a New Approach in African Studies

Chapter 7

The Dialogue with Christianity in Africa: Beyond Proselytism

Chapter 8

Religious Manipulation in Nigeria: Echoes from Achebe and Soyinka

Chapter 9

A Theological Appraisal of Nnamdi Kanu

Christian Gestures, Church- Politics and the Pastoral Care & Formation

Chapter 10

Pope Francis’ South Sudan Gesture Is Prophetic: A Challenge to African Churches

Chapter 11

Blessed Iwene Tansi: The Patron Saint of Nigeria’s Democracy @20

Chapter 12

Narrative Story in Nation-Building and The Nigerian Church

Chapter 13

Is The Church Political or Apolitical in Nigeria?

Chapter 14

The Church and Politics in Nigeria: A Theological Appraisal

Chapter 15

Solitude not Isolation, the Challenge of COVID-19

Christianity in Context, Inter-church Fellowships and Challenges

Chapter 16

Is Christianity on Trial in Nigeria?

Chapter 17

At A Time Like This In Nigeria… Where Are The Prophets?

Chapter 18

When A ‘Prophet’s Miracle’ Is Not of God

Chapter 19

Merchants In The Temple And The Future of CAN

Chapter 20

When Flutist Admonishes Priests and Nuns

Seasons Theological Reflections

Chapter 21

Nigeria and Christmas Message of Peace

Chapter 22

Origins and Spiritual Imports of Christmas at a Time like This

Chapter 23

Easter: The Triumph of Certainty over Tensions and Turbulence

Chapter 24

The Message of Easter: Implications for Nigeria’s Dangerous Memories – Part 1

Chapter 25

The Message of Easter: Implications for Nigeria’s Dangerous Memories – Part 2

PART 2. THEOLOGY AND

SOCIAL ISSUES IN AFRICA

The Formation of Nigeria and Structure

Chapter 26

Amalgamation of Nigeria in 1914 is Not the Will of God

Chapter 27

That Pilgrimage of the Western Leaders to Abuja

Chapter 28

Why We Lament, NOT Celebrate Nigeria @58?

Chapter 29

The Particularity of the Problem with Nigeria @ 59

The Nigerian Problems

Chapter 30

Is it illegal to be a Nigerian?

Chapter 31

Nigeria’s Imminent Jihad and the Proposed ‘Free Entry Visa’ Policy

Chapter 32

Nigeria at Crossroads between Democracy and Sharia Ideology

Chapter 33

Nigeria and the Tragedy of Absence of a Moral Authority

Chapter 34

When Nigeria Was Last Respected in Africa: Kudos to Benue State

Chapter 35

Has Nigeria Moral Authority To Question Italy’s Corporal Work of Mercy?

Chapter 36

Fundamental Issues before Elections 2019

Chapter 37

The Problem Is Beyond Elections Postponement

Chapter 38

‘Ministry of Religious Affairs is NOT the Answer: Reply to Owerri Muslim Leader’s Call

The Contemporary Biafran Revival

Chapter 39

Nigeria, Before Rwanda, There Was Biafra

Chapter 40

No Religious Agenda in the Struggle of the Pro-Biafra Youths

Chapter 41

Biafra and the Conscience of the World

The Igbo Identity

Chapter 42

Igbo Culture of Dispersal Authority and Challenge of Statehood

Chapter 43

Igbo Claim of Ancestral Link with Israel and Republicanism

Tribute to Legends

Chapter 45

John S. Mbiti – Father of Theology of African Religion: A Tribute

Chapter 45

Dr. Alex Ekwueme: A Devout Anglican in Love with the ‘Holy Rosary’

Chapter 46

UN honouring Nelson Mandela Without Winnie?

Chapter 47

Patrice Lumumba @93: A Model Leader and Martyr Africa Needs Today

Chapter 48

Toni Morrison – A Great Black African Dame of Literature: A Tribute

Chapter 49

Lamin Sanneh: A Foremost African Theologian from Gambia

Chapter 50

Legendary Pioneer African Theologian Charles Nyamiti

Bibliography

Dedication

ARCHBISHOP STEPHEN N. EZEANYA

(Pioneer African Theologian & former Archbishop of Onitsha)

To mark the 60th Birthday and 30th Priestly Ordination

Anniversary of Rev Fr. Prof. Francis Anekwe Oborji

Abbreviations

Preface 1

The author of these various articles dealing on diverse topics of social, religious, political, cultural, et cetera, speaks to us from a heart of an African Catholic priest who loves his people and fatherland. He wants whatever is being done, said or taught under the aforementioned topics above to be accurate, thoughtful, and truthful, thus he is not deterred by a distance of 3,508 miles from his fatherland in South Eastern Nigeria in expressing his concern when things are not said or done as they should in his beloved homeland and country. Although limited by a number of pages, I will endeavour to bring out the subject, scope and the aim of each article in the 5 sections of part one under consideration and urge the reader to find more by reading on.

The first section comprises the Doctrines and Christian Faith: Using the text, Hebrew 7:28, he chided the former president of Nigeria, Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo who opined that there was imperfection in Our LORD Jesus Christ. The text says that Jesus is perfect forever. In the second article, "The Assumption of Mary Nigerians are beckoned to adopt the kind of love that propelled our Lord not to allow his mother to decay but assumed her body and soul into heaven. He wished that such love should animate different ethnic groups such that ethnic-hate that fuels incessant killings and terrorism should be stopped. In The Pope and the Lord’s Prayer, the Prof., praised African translators as he observed that the existing translation of our Lord’s prayer in African Languages are more correct and even closer to the original Aramaic and Greek texts of the New Testament bible than translations in the Western Latin Languages which the Pope is considering as in accurate. In the article, Hell is Real," using the very statement of our Lord (Matthew 5:21-22) he scolded the social media which based on the interview granted by an Italian Atheist, Eugenio Scalafari, played down on the reality of hell.

The second section deals with the Contextual Theology and Inter-Religious Dialogues: The article "Mercy in African Traditional Religion was inspired by Pope Francis’s declaration of 2016 as the jubilee year of mercy. For him, mercy is a central theme in African Traditional Religion. Thus, mercy is both religious and cultural in its meaning and expression. In the article, Religious Manipulation in Nigeria, the Prof., used the echo from the two Africa’s foremost literary giants, Achebe and Soyinka to remind politicians to oppose using religion for social, economic, moral or political advantage. In the Theological Appraisal of Nnamdi Kanu, the Prof used the movement led by Nnamdi Kanu to remind Nigerian State that it has unfinished business with the Igbo people of Nigeria and that it needed to be addressed for good reasons. He likened the movement as aggiornamento" of Pope John XXIII. So, it is an eye opener to Nigerian state to redeem itself.

The third section includes issues bordering on the Church, Politics and Pastoral Care: The article, "Pope Francis’s Southern Sudan Gesture… sends a strong message to the African Church leaders: with humility they should now and always toe the line of peace. In Blessed Iwene Tansi: The patron saint of Nigeria’s Democracy @ 20, the Prof., stressed how through the visit of Pope St. John Paul II to beatify Tansi in 1998 marked the beginning of Democracy that we have today in Nigeria. He then highlighted the editorial of Guardian Newspaper of May 11, 2011 which urged the quickening of the process of making Blessed Tansi a saint as it would inspire Nigerians to good conduct. In Narrative Story in Nation Building… he opined that it is story and imagination which lie beneath the founding of nation-state, and the ability to interpret them in the light of the story of Jesu Christ and of the Evangelii Gaudium of Pope Francis will help Nigerian Churches to rise to the demand of Christian story in nation-building. Such action will make the churches more relevant and be able to raise authentic witnesses from bottom up. The Prof. used the article, Is the Church Political or Apolitical in Nigeria to give clear interpretation to the decision of CBCN about the stance of the Church in Nigerian politics. In Solitude not Isolation, the Challenge of COVID-19" he noticed how people are resisting the restrictions like quarantine, social distancing, the lockdowns, and even the masking, and then he discerned that our life is nourished by the connection it has with another human being. He thus proposed that each one of us is not an event only for oneself or for the period of ones’ own earthly existence but something that stands in correlation with all life.

The fourth section consists of reflections on Christianity in Context, Inter-Church Denominations and Challenging issues: In the article, "Is Christianity on Trial in Nigeria? He called attention to the murderous activities and the violence perpetrated by the Fulani Herdsmen and Boko Haram Islamist terror group including police brutality and military recklessness. He lamented that there is a systematic plan by these terrorist groups and their sponsors at the corridors of power in the land, to annihilate or to subjugate the indigenous ethnic-African populations from whom the majority of Nigerian Christians come. In the article: When A Prophet’s Miracle’ Is not of God," he used the analogy of Simon Magus to explain the character of a true prophet.

The first section focuses on the Seasonal Theological Reflection: He used the meaning of Christmas and Easter to send a strong message to Nigeria and Nigerians both at home and in diaspora and encouraged them to imbibe peace and be real.

Citing the message of peace delivered by an Angel to the peasant shepherds he longed that Nigerians would embrace the peace that Christmas is known for as they celebrate the festivity. And in the like manner, he sees Easter as victory of certainty over anxiety and unrest and hopes that such would be the fate of Nigerians for their earthly and spiritual survival.

Rev. Fr. Dr. Alexander Agbata

Preface 2

The second part of this volume is rightly captioned the ‘Theology and Social Issues in Africa’. As the subtitle indicates, the author of the articles engages the socio-political concerns in the Nigerian context through a theological mindset which becomes an invitation lest we forget there was a voice when it mattered most. The voice resonates with the Pauline imperative to 2 Timothy 4: 2, I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, preach the word, be urgent in season and out of season, convince, rebuke, and exhort, be unfailing in patience and in teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own liking, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander into myths. This statement points to the underlying reasons for the various articles by the author. The motives could be seen both proactively and reactively with the aim of enlightening and educating the minds of the people.

Speaking boldly in faith, right reasoning, justice, equity and fairness, and without fear of being uncharitable, Prof. Oborji, in the difficult times of geographical location called Nigeria out of necessity, confronts in ‘almostness’ every issue of Nigerian moments when few men were afraid to speak and many women dance to every drumbeat of their oppressors. The opposite to the courage displayed by Prof. Oborji in this masterpiece would likely lead people to the theatrical productions, the diabolical lies, and the fashionable errors¹ of any pretentious nation. Auspiciously, posterity now has a guide so that caution will be her watchword in her socio-politico and economic affairs with herself, with other nations of the world, and perhaps a nation clamoured for in Biafra.

The articles in the second part of this volume critically challenge the unjust formation of any nationhood in the Africa context. He points out how this unjust nation formation is unsuspiciously sustained by the colonizers under the cover of independence and feigned relationship with the colonized country. The author carefully examined certain fundamental problems that have bedevilled Nigeria as an entity that required collective response from her citizens. Because the story of Nigeria’s claim as the Giant of Africa is complex and very contradictory. Despite being endowed with an abundance of resources, Nigeria still wobbles. As a proponent of an African contextual thinker, the author paid special attention to those who could rightly be considered as contemporary African theological, moral, political, and academic legends. Such African icons have manifested knowledge that if put into proper use can lead to the power that liberates and enlightens the African people.

Woe to the one who remains silent in the face of evil for he is equally a traitor. Happy the man who is not afraid to speak the truth for his transition into eternity will be honourable and his memory on earth will live on in as much as the existence of mankind is not annihilated. The history of western philosophy recounts the impacts of Socrates as a man of repute due to his great moral character and discipline. He was a gadfly for the youths of his time. Rev. Fr. Prof. Francis Anekwe Oborji like Socrates addresses the contemporary economic, socio, moral, and political issues in Nigeria with the discipline of an elder statesman. Moreover, what Plato gave us in Socrates, Prof. Oborji with his characteristic candour, pithiness and immaculate judgment gives us in himself especially to curious young Africans who seek the transformation of the African situation in comparison with the other contents.

Thank you Prof. Oborji. I invite readers to be enriched, enlightened and grow in wisdom as you read.

Ikenna Okagbue

Foreword 1

History Revokes Itself. History Regenerates

In many nations on Earth, one observes regenerated events which in the past did not preclude lots of avoidable political and socio-ethical injustices. Nigeria is one of those nations, where it is explicitly obvious of certain political provocative structures, which remain unaddressed. Nigeria as an entity, appears abnormally structured. The expression abnormal may appear very derogatory. But what expression do one expect for a nation, where human rights are proved wrong; where inequality and marginalization are glaring; where unity is preached, but inequality prevails; where government seem to function, but wrongly; where democracy is official, but dictatorship is practiced? Do you doubt this? The Author of this book, Rev Fr. Prof. Francis Anekwe Oborji, writes: The Nigeria as we have it today is a stranger to a good number of its citizens, no matter how one tries to cover it up. Indeed, Nigeria has become a stranger not in a positive perspective but negative. The author discloses crucial historical issues that are very educative, that resurrect a neglected, but important PAST. The past is truncated to this present epoch. In other words, it is a ‘past-present’ reality. This book is a volume, compartmentalized in three different sections.

Section one addresses the Nigerian Entity and its structural Formation. Nigeria became an entity when Europe, particularly the British government, stepped into this part of West Africa. Formally, the land had its different Ethnic groups governed by their Kings. This socio-political structure was completely changed when the British, based on their political interest, structured them to one. This colonial amalgamation of Nigeria in 1914 by the British was it divine? The structural formation of the country prior to British colonialism is indeed brutally punctured. The brutality is more evident even on the structure the colonial masters left behind. This breeds lots of questions till date namely, what is British government still doing in the country? Is there any reason to celebrate Nigerian at the age of 58?

Section two exposes the challenges of Nigeria. Nigerians outside the country are referred to as illegal Migrants. How long will they be considered so, and to what extent is the Nigeria government defending or helping its citizens from such provocative picture? It remains glaring that the country is still exogenous. But are Nigerians within the country exonerated from the challenges? Consider the wave of Sharia ideology and its tentacles, namely the implantation of RUGA in all states in the country, the Proposed ‘Free Entry Visa’ Policy, the political election of 2019. Based on these, the challenges of Nigeria are enormous.

Section three draws our attention to Biafra. The current situation of many Nigerians is pathetic. Many ethnic groups are explicitly, politically and economically, ignored. The creed in Nigeria loudly speaks of Peace and Unity. For over 50 years since independence such has not politically been in praxis. The contrast is invoke. Violent is upheaved instead of peace, and politico-economic denial of the rights of specific ethnic groups as citizens of the same nation, promotes racism. There cannot be unity if someone is racially denied of rights or marginalized. The author draws our attention particularly to the ill-treatment meted on Biafra. The genesis is Nigeria-Biafra War. Based on reactions from some Biafrans on the government, the author comments: Nigerian government and some individuals in the country, deceitfully, pretend to be fighting hate-speech. But in reality, the government and its sympathizers are promoters of ethnic-hate and hate-speech through their actions and inactions in the face of ongoing persecutions of some targeted indigenous ethnic-nationalities and Christians in the country.

This indeed is very conspicuous and affecting the Biafran youths. To aid in rescuing the situation pro-Biafra youth movement was born. Today the members of this group, home and in diaspora, expose the present situation of Biafra to the world, they struggle and make sacrifices to bring the international community and the Nigeria government to a table of dialogue. As one of the consequences to achieve this, heads have rolled, by the Python Dance II of the Nigerian army. When has it become too wrong to have a peaceful protest? It remains till today very provocative that the government watches what happens and increases the pains, instead of healing the wounds. Certainly, the continuous discussion and elucidating insights emerging from this volume are simply a knowledge to acquire and history to be part of.

Fidelis Kwazu

Foreword 2

Among other concerns, daily newspapers, periodicals, television screens, internet news and other social media sites etc., are filled with stories of ethnic and territorial conflicts springing from the heart of human agony. There is a good case in being able to discuss, think and write about topical issues concerning Nigeria’s ethnic and territorial conflicts in global geo-political terms. This collection from some already published writings of Rev. Fr. Professor Francis Anekwe Oborji by his current editors is one such expression. The uniqueness of the writings by Professor Oborji lies, however, in the character and situation of his evangelical work as a Catholic Priest whose vocation centres on higher education/formation of missionaries including the redemptive ministry for the wrongdoer. He lives fully his chosen mile-stone priestly ordination motto: "Vincit Omnes Veritas" (Truth Conquers All), and concretely, in the following pages of this collection.

Taking a cursory look at the table of contents, one can notice right from the opening article of section one - The Entity Nigeria- that the amalgamation by Britain in 1914 is not the Will of God. As he argues strongly, it is not sacrosanct! Henceforth, truth, justice and morality is a continuous loud cry of calls that echo throughout the pages, until the end of the section on Tribute to legends. It is not an exaggeration to surmise that Fr. Francis Oborji builds on all of the deep resources of empathy and compassion that are so richly and naturally a part of his life. (Where do we go from here: Chaos or Community? by Martin Luther King, Jr. p. xiii 1968). Without being seduced by an idealized understanding of what should happen, Professor Oborji has a mastery way of knowledge transmission that is frankly apologetic and captivating.

Truth, justice and morality is essentially a rhetorical invocation with no expected immediate practical results. However, this collection is contemporary in focus. And it offers the reader a promise of a worldview where the fundamentals are revealed with uncharted mundane details of honest truths. Every title in this collection is attractive, easy to read and understand. Human history has taught us that "the word is mightier than the sword", however long it may take to work its wonders. Again one indispensable condition is that it must be centred on a tripod of Truth, Justice and Morality. In this collection of articles, Rev. Fr. Professor Francis Anakwe Oborji has taken this tripod seriously as his strong foundation. I commend this work warmly to every reader as an expression of compassion, towards the soonest restoration of Biafra, the salvation of Nigeria, Africa, and eventual redemption of the World.

Dr. Emmanuel O. Omanukwue

Louvain, Belgium

1st July 2020

Editors’ Note

The collections of essays in this volume were intended to mark the thirty-first priestly anniversary of Rev. Fr. Professor Francis Anekwe Oborji. Incidentally, these compilations went into full swing which translates the climate of the melancholy of the 2020 pandemic lockdown to yield the fruit of active productive experience. The editors deemed it appropriate to take this opportunity to gather Prof. Oborji’s writings for an onward reference source.

This volume titled, Theology and Social Issues in Africa has the touch of an academic pastor who specializes in missiological studies, contextual theology, and history. These qualities reflect in the way he articulates and communicates his ideas. The simplicity of language and easy to comprehend arguments make the issues discussed assessible to every reader. One not only notices the persuasive case for the orthodoxy of the Christian faith but also the spirit and admiration of one’s identity, indigenous culture and norms, and patriotism. Prof. Oborji’s reflections can gainfully be seen as a seed for the future readers, meant to either inform and/or reaffirm the consciousness of a people’s identity and history. He approaches these reflections with deftness and non-judgmental presentation. The evolving ideas and arguments are not only adequately responding to the theological, socio-political concerns, but also create dynamic pathways that envisage a proper direction for guidance in the face of injustice.

Besides, Theology and Social Issues in Africa are distinctively relevant for its adequate and proactive responses to the shallowness and misunderstanding of the church’s teachings provoked in the context of the rising influence of secular culture and uninformed relativism. The book arouses the curiosity to assess the people in a state of religious and socio-political instability. Accordingly, the matters explored in this volume bring to limelight the causes of the socio-political predicaments of an indigenous people of a country (Nigeria). The quality of reflections, however, will in no doubt fill one with the nostalgia to join in the call for justice, truth, freedom, equity, and peace of any nation.

This volume comprises two parts. The first part focuses on the theological reflections published in peer review journals and some national dailies. The second part deals with the socio-political and cultural issues of the Nigerian context. In the first part, which has five sub-sections, Prof. Oborji’s thoughts are arranged from the doctrinal to the contextual theological reflections. The first section begins with a Christological argument for better understanding of the doctrinal teaching on the two natures of Christ – Jesus Christ as perfectly human and perfectly divine. He unapologetically brings into proper perspective the theology of the being of Christ arising from an atheological understanding of the personhood of Jesus Christ. In the chapter that follows, he contextualizes the significance of the dogma of the Assumption to the problem of the leadership crisis as ideal for any nation.

In this section too, the author examines how the translation of the gospel into the language of an indigenous people (Igbo as a case study) is a huge step towards inculturation. Focusing on the Lord’s prayer, the arguments demonstrate that expressing the content of the gospel in the language of the people enables the understanding and expansion of the Christian faith. Furthermore, the doctrinal section discusses the reality of the hell, which an Italian journalist and atheist Eugene Scalfari denies from a secularist construct. The argument examines the reality of the last four things through the lens of the Scripture which secularist imagination perceives from the sociological and psychological reasoning.

The second section relates to the themes of contextual theology and issues concerning interreligious dialogue. This begins with the consideration of the communitarian and relational content of mercy in the African traditional religio-cultural perspective. On the occasion of the Annual International Writers’ Conference in Kenya, the author argued for a new approach that strengthens the universal value of ATR in the context of human salvation in Jesus Christ and with the entire humanity. Thus, he reflects on how young African scholars (within the continent and diaspora) could embark on this without conflating Christianity with the Western thought pattern. In another heading, he examines a fair interpretation of the relational structure of approaching reality and encountering the divine in an African worldview. This highlights a pathway of establishing a dialogue between Christianity and ATR as well as promoting inter-human co-existence shaped by the African philosophy of relationality. Moreover, Prof. Oborji addresses the inherent danger of the instrumentalization of religion in politics in the contexts of a post-colonial and neo-colonial era of people with particular attention to the Nigerian religious climate. This section also investigates the issue of reconciliation and healing between the aggressor and the victim, which is usually initiated by the victim.

Furthermore, by examining the roles of Christians in politics and distinctive African pastoral care and formation, the prophetic gesture of reconciliation of Pope Francis is explored as a challenge to the African churches in their communities. In the chapter that follows, the heroic virtues of Blessed Iwene Tansi are considered as worthy of emulation in the Nigerian approach to democracy precisely to enhance interpersonal healing, reconciliation and national peace. It is pertinent to note that to guarantee effective healing, formation, and rapprochement of the African Christians, the narrative method of story-telling and introspection are options worthy of consideration. The author further makes a case for the prophetic and political role of the church as an institution, especially during the time of political confusion in the society. Thus, he maintains the position of the church as non-partisan, even though lay Christians belong to partisan politics. The section concludes with pastoral attention to the care and concern for human life in the moment of pandemic onslaught across the world.

The next division discusses issues of the travails of the Christian faith in Nigeria and the inter-church fellowship, which envisage the expectations of the church and the individual Christians in society. The expositions question the depth of the Christian faith in the hearts of the so-called Christians. This questioning highlights the unusual lack of authentic Christian witnessing seen in the uncomfortable silent attitude of Christians in contrast to the prophetic Christian value. The discussion proceeds to distinguish between Christianity founded and inspired by the Paschal mystery and that prompted by the incessant pursuit of miraculous manifestations. In addition, the section deliberates on the subject of the leadership that failed to foster the relationship among the various Christian denominations. The concluding theme of this section dwells on the theology in the public square which examines the untheological perception of the Eucharist in the face of incessant violence against Christians; thereby challenging religious leaders not to remain voiceless on the issue. The final section of part one focuses on seasonal theological reflections.

The second part of this volume treats theology and social issues in Africa. In five sections, it cuts across the formation and structure of a nation (Nigeria), the question of the forced union of nations under one irreconcilable country, the persistent efforts by the colonizers to maintain the forced union for their advantage and the insignificance of the national celebrations in the face of interlocking injustice and violence which have triggered deep disenchantment of the people. The second section looks at the Nigerian problems ranging from her identity struggle, the conflation of democracy with the exercise of sharia ideology. Given the mis-presentation of the sharia ideology over the democratic process, the issue of government policies on unchecked immigration, the distortion of the justice system, the absence of national moral authority, religious persecutions, and ethnic massacre become imminent concerns. Moreover, the failure of the government to protect her citizens in foreign lands and negligence of same have led to the death of numerous citizens attempting to travel to Europe to die in the Sahara Desert and Mediterranean Sea. Other socio-political matters relate to the fundamental distrust of the electorate in the electoral system of Nigeria, which hampers a healthy inter-ethnic and inter-religious relationship. Besides, he describes the jihadist style of infiltration into the Christian communities, which have bedeviled the peaceful coexistence in the multicultural and multireligious society.

Consequently, this socio-political impasse have revived several senses of the national consciousness, thus challenging the 1914 amalgamation by British colonial masters that led to creation the Nigerian state. The present clamour for Biafra restoration is reinforced by this situation, and also in the hope that young people are tomorrow’s future. Hence, the underlying motivation of the pro-Biafran agitators is essentially a clamour for self-determination and freedom of the oppressed people, and therefore, not to supplant Christianity in Biafraland with Traditional African Religion (ATR) or with Judaism, as some have alleged. This goes to the extent that the clamour for the restoration of the Biafran nation is a cry to the conscience of the international communities in their conspiracy of silence and neglect. The goal is that this restoration invites dialogue rather than suppression of the freedom agitators.

Moreover, given the unfolding of a nation lies the issue of the Igbo dispersal nature. This is investigated in the light of the quest for nationhood. However, this feature of the Igbo people resonate with the Israelites who are by nature republicans. Finally, the last section is dedicated to the tributes to some African legends. These legends are honourable people in the sphere of religio-spiritual qualities, academic prowess, politics and leadership model for contemporary Africans. Nevertheless, while the volume explores various themes, yet it has neither grand ambition to respond to all the emerging questions and misunderstandings in the socio-political and religious affairs about the people nor does it assume to exhaust the mischaracterizations in the contemporary person in the Nigerian space. Hence, the topics examined in this volume invites for further deliberations and discussions. We wish you a happy reading.

Part 1

Contextualizing

African Theology

Section I

Doctrines and Christian Faith

Chapter 1

No Imperfections in Humanity of Jesus:

An Open Letter to General Obasanjo

For the law appoints as high priests those who are subject to weakness, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever." (Hebrews, 7:28).

Dear Sir,

His Excellency, General Olusegun Matthew Obasanjo,

Former President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Sir, permit me to address this letter to you as a mark of my respect for your person and what you are for us in Nigeria and Africa, an elder statesman and most respected former President of Nigeria alive today. I hope and pray that my letter will receive your cordial and urgent attention since the point it raises is one that you and I share together as Christians from that geographical expression called Nigeria.

Sir, I write you not about the crucial role you are playing these days with our other elder statesmen to help Nigeria navigate through its present political crisis for a credible election this February 2019. To this, however, I must commend you. I commend you for that effort in spite of the reservations I may have as a person in some of your past and even present political calculations, which in no small measures contributed a great deal in creating the unpleasant political scenario we are grappling with in the country today. This, however, is a point for another day. Whatever is the case, I still see you as one among the few remaining elderly Nigerian elites, ex-generals and politicians with high standing, not afraid to make their positions known at any critical moment of our recent history as a nation state. Sir, I must congratulate you for that steadfastness and contribution to nation-building both in Nigeria and in other troubled African nations.

However, my main purpose in writing you this letter is to let you know how disappointed I felt as a person and Christian in particular, reading from our Nigerian Newspapers and social media, the recent statement accredited to you, where it was alleged, you said, inter alia: "Jesus, the only Messiah I know, was imperfect…" According to media reports, Sir, you made that statement when you led His Excellency, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) and other PDP leaders to Island Club, Lagos on Wednesday, January 30, 2019, to mark the 75th anniversary of the elite club.

That means you made the statement for political purpose. However, this is not the purpose of our present letter. As a person, and in all sincerity, I have nothing against His Excellency, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, nor will I be ever against him becoming the next President of Nigeria if the electorate decides so. All of us are on the same vanguard of praying and hoping for a new leadership and a new political system in Nigeria other than what we have today. In fact, if Atiku is the choice of majority of Nigerians, it will be a victory for the masses. Moreover, if Nigeria is restructured to reflect its multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-cultural diversities, that will be the greatest achievement of the present generation of Nigerians and those yet unborn. Again, this is not the reason for writing you this letter.

Back to the main point of my letter. Sir, in that your talk at the Island Club, Lagos, it was reported in the media that you uttered the following statement:

"On an occasion in the past when I said that someone was not a Messiah, some Nigerians out of bad belle were up in arms. For me, as a Christian, the only Messiah I know is Jesus Christ and even then, the man aspect of Him was imperfect while the divine aspect of Him was perfectly messianic."²

Sir, your last sentence in the above statement is the bone-of-contention. It has a serious doctrinal error and theological problem. For someone like you, whom we were told, just bagged a doctorate degree in theology (or was it in religious studies or sociology of religions?), though in your ’70s, to say such a thing and in the present political and religious charged atmosphere of Nigeria, leaves much to be desired.

Sir, setting up the divine nature of Jesus Christ against his human nature is not what the Christian Creed teaches us. Creating polemic in the 21st century on the uniqueness of Jesus Christ, who is truly God and truly Man, is to say the least of some one of your calibre, who, apart from his intimidating political profile in the country, is also a doctorate degree holder in religious studies. In fact, if it has been another person of less calibre and theological exposure that said those things, I would not have bothered to write this letter. But considering your person and the influence of whatever you say at the political and religious scenes of Nigeria, I felt the urge to call your attention to these doctrinal errors and theological problems in your assertion that the Man aspect of Jesus is imperfect.

Sir, do you know that your statement that the human aspect of Jesus is imperfect, betrays a fundamental misunderstanding of the Biblical doctrine of God. One of the wonders of the Old Testament tradition was the conviction that God shared in the afflictions and sufferings of his people, a concept probably unique among the religions of the ancient world, and that has been rediscovered dramatically by Jewish scholars in our day. t was not a Western theologian but a Japanese, Kazoh Kitamori, who, in a book produced in 1946 after the horrors of World War II and Hiroshima, contented that the essence of the gospel is the pain of God. Another Asian theologian, C.S. Song, while criticizing Kitamori for internalizing the pain of God as conflict between his wrath and love, agrees that God’s headache is the beginning of theology.

Sir, this shows that the concept of God who suffers with and for his people is a central one for the Christian faith, where in the person of the Son God demonstrates his identity with the sufferings of humanity. This is not imperfection nor is it a diminution of the Godhead, but, in the Judeo-Christian tradition, one of its crowning achievements and one that cannot be neglected without jeopardizing the whole basis of Christian faith itself. A leading African theologian, Charles Nyamiti from Tanzania has expressed this view forcibly as follows:

What is new to the African (concept of God) is the fact that God’s power is manifest in weakness: in Christ’s humility, meekness, forgiveness of sins, and – most astoundingly – in suffering, his death on the Cross, and its glorious saving consequences in Christ himself and in the whole of creation.³

On the basis of all these, Sir, I would like to draw your attention to the following points, which bothers on the doctrinal and theological problems any discerning eye is bound to deduce from your statement that the man aspect of Jesus Christ was imperfect while the divine aspect of Him was perfectly messianic.

1. Jesus as Man is Sinless

Sir, do you know that by saying that Jesus as Man is imperfect, what you are saying in effect is that Jesus is a sinner. This I am sure you may not have intended, but unfortunately, that is the implication of your statement. By saying that Jesus as man is imperfect, you are invariably saying that Jesus was a sinner and so have corrupt human nature like all sinful humanity. But this is very far from the truth of our Christian faith, otherwise we shall not be talking of Virgin Birth and of Jesus as a man like us in everything, except sin (cf. Philippians 2:6-11; Hebrews 4:16).

In the first place, let us consider the general meaning of the two words, "perfect and imperfect." According to Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, the word Perfect, means having everything needed. It means been complete, or been in perfect condition, without fault. The opposite is imperfect. The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, also defines Imperfect, as follows: faulty or defective; not perfect… imperfect knowledge, understanding, etc. In plain language, therefore, ‘imperfect’ means faulty or defective. The word fault is the modern man’s language for sin. Instead of some people acknowledging they have sinned or wronged you, they would simply say, I am at fault. In other words, to say that Jesus is imperfect as Man, is like saying that Jesus is a sinful man" or that he is at fault. Which is blasphemous and heretical.

Sir, to appreciate the gravity of the implications of your statement on the human nature of Jesus, I would like to refer you to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC), which has the most excellent teaching on the theme under consideration: According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the unique and singular event of the Incarnation of the Son of God does not mean that Jesus is part God and part man, nor does it imply that he is the result of a confused mixture of the divine and human. He became truly man while remaining truly God. Jesus Christ is true God and true man. During the first centuries, the Church had to defend and clarify this truth of faith against the heresies that falsified it.⁴

In Biblical tradition, Jesus Christ is described in the Letter to the Hebrews, as the one with the highest ‘perfection’, the appointed Son of God, who is made perfect for ever:

"For it was fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, blameless, undefiled, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. Unlike the other high priests, he has no need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for those of the people; this he did once for all when he offered himself." (Hebrews 7:26-27).

Furthermore, the author of the Letter to the Hebrews writes: "Since in Jesus, the Son of God, we have the supreme high priest who has gone through to the highest heaven, we must hold firm to our profession of faith. For the high priest we have is not incapable of feeling our weaknesses with us, but has been put to the test in exactly the same way as ourselves, apart from sin."⁵ Hebrews 4:14-15).

In other words, in no way has the Biblical faith and the early Church associated Jesus Christ with sin or imperfection, be it his divine or human nature. The Biblical faith and the Church have always confessed Jesus Christ as the sinless Incarnate Son of God, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. In the Gospel of John, we see Jesus confronting those who were trying to deny his sinless humanity:

Jesus answered them, Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not have a permanent place in the household; the son has a place there forever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. … Which of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? Whoever is from God hears the words of God. The reason you do not hear them is that you are not from God." John 8:34-36, 46-47).

Therefore, Sir, I know you might have not contemplated very well on the doctrinal and theological implications of your statement on the human nature of Jesus when you uttered it and the context in which you said it. In nutshell, however, the implication of your statement is that you have denied the ‘humanity of Jesus as the sinless Incarnate Son of God." In addition, you have taken us back to the early centuries’ Christological heresies, which have since been condemned by the Church concerning the doctrine on Jesus as truly Man and truly God.

Moreover, without knowing it, your statement sounds to be an offshoot of modern man’s reliving of the old heresies. To this end, I would suggest that whenever you can, kindly read Pope Francis’ recent Apostolic Exhortation "Gaudete et Exultate" (On the Call to Holiness in Today’s World (March 19, 2018). In the document, the Pope warned us of the dangers inherent in promoting such heretical tendencies in our contemporary world. Pope Francis describes the modern heresies as neo-Pelagianism and neo-Gnosticism, and calls them false spirituality.⁶ This problem also formed the theme of a new document of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), titled, "Placuit Deo (On Certain Aspects of Christian Salvation (2018). Sir, it would be appreciated if you could make out time to read these two documents.

2. Jesus Is True God and True Man

Sir, your statement about dichotomy in the humanity and divinity of Jesus is not only blasphemous but also contradicts what the Apostles’ Creed teaches about the uniqueness and unicity of the two natures of Jesus, divine and human. I mean where you said: … the man aspect of Him (Jesus Christ) was imperfect while the divine aspect of Him was perfectly messianic. Although, I don’t understand in what sense you are using the word messianic in this context. So, I will just concentrate on your characterization of Jesus’ human nature as imperfect, until you expatiate on what you mean by messianic in that context you applied it, which for me, is like superimposing and mixing-up two different theological treatises just to impress your audience.

However, with regard to the point of my letter, perhaps, it may interest you to consult the teachings of the Church on the 12 Articles of the Apostles’ Creed: - The Profession of Faith, Christians of the mainline churches recite at every liturgical celebration, especially on Sundays. I would appreciate it highly if you could read in particular, the second article of the Apostles’ Creed on our faith in Jesus Christ, namely:

I believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, The Only-Begotten Son of God, Born of the Father before time began, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God; Begotten, not made, one in substance with the Father; And through him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation, He came down from heaven ….⁷

From the Apostles’ Creed, Sir, you will discover immediately, that the Church Fathers who received it from the Apostles and handed it down to us through the Councils of the early centuries, were never ambiguous in their choice of words. That is, in their safeguarding the authentic doctrine on the uniqueness and unicity of the two natures of the Incarnate Son of God, Jesus Christ, who is truly God and truly Man. The Early Church in the Apostles’ Creed guarded against creating dichotomy between the two natures of Jesus Christ, divine and human. Both the Apostles and the Early Church Fathers, who handed over to us the Creed, were always conscious of the uniqueness and unicity of the two natures of the Incarnate Son of God, Jesus Christ.

Again, I will like you not to forget that your statement on the human nature of Jesus being imperfect, was one of the first heresies the Church had to confront with in the early centuries of Christianity. The first centuries’ heresies denied not so much Christ’s divinity as his true humanity (Gnostic Docetism) – which is similar to what your statement on the human nature of Jesus as being imperfect, is insinuating. From apostolic times, the Christian faith has insisted on the true incarnation of God’s Son come in flesh (1 John 4:2-4; 2 John 7).

In the third century, the Church in a Council at Antioch had to affirm against Paul of Samosata that Jesus Christ is Son of God by nature and not by adoption. The first Ecumenical Council of Nicaea in 325 confessed in its Creed that the Son of God is "Begotten, not made, of the same substance (homoousios) as the Father. The council condemned Arius, who had affirmed that the Son of God came to be from things that were not and that he was from another substance than that of the Father (Council of Nicaea I (325). Then came the Nestorian heresy, which regarded Christ as a human person joined to the divine person of God’s Son. Opposing this heresy, St. Cyril of Alexandria and the Third Ecumenical Council of Ephesus in 431 confessed that the Word, uniting to himself in his person the flesh animated by a rational soul, became man (Council of Ephesus (431).

Christ’s humanity has no other subject than the divine person of the Son of God, who assumed it and made it his own, from his conception. For this reason, the Council of Ephesus proclaimed in 431 that Blessed Virgin Mary truly became the Mother of God by the human conception of the Son of God in her womb. As the Council puts; Mother of God, not that the nature of the Word or his divinity received the beginning of its existence from the holy Virgin, but that, since the holy body, animated by a rational soul, which the Word of God united to himself according to the hypostasis, was born from her, the Word is said to be born according to the flesh⁸ (Council of Ephesus, 431: DS 251).

Sir, note that the Nestorian heresy which is also somehow similar to what you are proposing in that your statement on the supremacy of divinity of Jesus over his human nature, was the catalyst that led to the birth of another heresy, the Monophysitism in Egypt. This was a heresy in which the monks played a decisive role. In their desire for their transformation into children of God, they emphasized the divine nature of Christ to the extent of overlooking his human nature. This tendency was called Monophysitism (One Nature doctrine). But at the next Council, that of Chalcedon (451), an extreme type of Monophysitism came under attack. Some monks held that at the Incarnation Christ’s human nature was absorbed into the divine nature. The Monophysites affirmed that the human nature had ceased to exist as such in Christ when the divine person of God’s Son assumed it. Faced with this heresy, the Fourth Ecumenical Council, at Chalcedon in 451 was convoked.

This doctrine was condemned and Patriarch Dioscorus of Alexandria who defended it was deposed. The Copts reacted very vehemently; they rejected the new Patriarch imposed by the Emperor and choose their own. All attempts at reconciliation failed because they would not accept the Council of Chalcedon which in their eyes had undone that of Ephesus. This meant that the Coptic Church was cut off from Constantinople as well as from Rome and denounced as Monophysite.

However, thanks be to God, since 1987, the Coptic Church in Egypt, the so-called Monophysitism, have since abandoned their extreme view. They have signed the Christological Agreement by the Orthodox Council of Churches in the Middle East, on 19 November 1987, after many years of mutual consultation. It unites again the Coptic with the Greek churches in one faith, after their separation following the Council of Chalcedon. The Copts accepted the Chalcedonian formula in a slightly different wording. In 1988 Pope St. John Paul II approved the Christological Agreement of the Middle East Council of Churches in a bid to promote ecumenical dialogue among the churches.

Note also that after the Council of Chalcedon, some made of Christ’s human nature a kind of personal subject. Against them, the Fifth Ecumenical Council at Constantinople in 553 confessed that "there is but one hypostasis (or person), which is our Lord Jesus Christ, one of the Trinity. Thus, everything in Christ’s human nature is to be attributed to his divine person as its proper subject, not only his miracles but also his sufferings and even his death: He who was crucified in the flesh, our Lord Jesus Christ, is true God, Lord of glory, and one of the Holy Trinity."⁹ All these implies that the Church since its beginning has always confessed that Jesus is inseparably True God and True man. He is truly the Son of God who, without ceasing to be God and Lord, became a man and our brother.¹⁰

3. My Other Worries

Sir, my other worries for which I decided to write you this letter is that going by antecedents of Nigeria’s recent political history, this is not the first time nor the second, you have made such unguarded comments about Christianity in your political rhetoric and manoeuvring. You may remember in 1999, as a civilian President, in your first term, when you made the statement, Even Jesus Christ if he comes down today will not be able to govern Nigeria? You made this statement at the time Nigerian Christians were very apprehensive, that you, as a Christian President could not halt the mad-rush of governments of the 12 Northern States, which were then adopting Islamic Sharia legal system in their states as against the Common Law enshrined in the nation’s Constitution. You will agree with me that your action and inaction at that critical moment of our nation’s history, was the beginning of the sowing of seed of new wave of religious extremism and Islamic terrorism that have today descended on the country in a way never witnessed before. Does it disturb you that the two terrorists groups, Boko Haram and Fulani herdsmen militants and bandits have their base in the Sharia States of Northern Nigeria?

Sir, could it be that you were able to uphold the secular nature of the Nigerian state at that time, reaffirm the sacrosanct of legal system of Common Law for the entire country, perhaps, things could not have gotten as bad as we have it now. That is, a near total collapse of our legal system and respect for rule of law and order. Added to this is the present descent to anarchy and totalitarian government in what is supposed to be a democracy in Nigeria. Till today most of us have not been able to come to terms as to why you, a Christian President of Nigeria in 1999, was not able to stand firm and uphold the secular nature of the Nigerian state when it was threatened by some radical religious bigots and ethnic irredentists. Your only reason for allowing such ineptitude response to a national challenge, as deduced from your statement, is that, even if Jesus Christ comes down from heaven today, he will not be able to rule Nigeria.

However, Sir, permit me to tell you in passing that I do not share your view. This is because, if Jesus Christ is here to lead us physically, in Nigeria today, he will provide an alternative society and leadership, not like the types your kind and the present-day corrupt Nigerian leaders have been using in lording it over the poor masses. Jesus could have laid a new foundation for a new Nigeria. Jesus does not operate in a corrupt, selfish and wicked environment, which those who have been ruling the country, especially, since the Nigeria–Biafra War have created for their personal interests and lust for power.

Have you forgotten Sir, what Jesus did when he came in human flesh on earth to inaugurate a New Kingdom of His Father, a Kingdom of peace, love, mercy, righteousness, freedom, justice and equity! In fact, it suffices to read the Gospel story of the feeding of the crowd in the Desert with five loaves of bread and two fish, how Jesus refused his apostles’ request to send the crowd away back to the corrupt society they were running away from to follow Jesus. Did you notice how Jesus turned a Desert into a living environment, with abundant bread and fish to take care of the crowd? (John 6: 1-15).

This is how Jesus operates, and that is what he would do in Nigeria if allowed by wicked people to rule our lives today. If Jesus is here today to lead us physically in Nigeria, I can assure you, he will create a new society that is people-oriented, built from bottom-top and not top-bottom as we have it today in the country. Jesus does not operate on a corrupt system, which is what the ruling class of Nigeria are using to manipulate and oppress the masses. Jesus does not operate on a system that is built on lopsided leadership, religious bigotry, ethnic-hate, Fulani herdsmen and Boko Haram terrorism and ethnic-cleansings of indigenous populations. These are some of the maladies inflicted on Nigeria by the present ruling class.

Your Excellency, together with the rest of your colleagues, I wish to invite you and with respect, to kindly do some soul-searching concerning what we are passing through in Nigeria today, which, without missing words, is what happens in a failed nation-state.

Finally, Your Excellency, Sir, I am sure you remember your famous phrase, CAN my foot! That is when you used such a derogatory and disrespectful words in addressing the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN). It was your response to the Chairman of CAN of Plateau State, who challenged you for ordering Emergency rule in the Christian State of Plateau while you could not do so in the Sharia State of Borno, where the terrorist activities of Boko Haram was beginning to threaten the peace of the whole nation as at that time.

Sir, I may be wrong. But permit me to say that one discovers immediately your parchment for quick verbal assault and unguarded comments on those things Christians revere and hold dear. Could it be that you had spoken of Prophet Mohammed (or any Islamic Organization) in this derogatory way you spoke of Jesus Christ’s human nature as imperfect (or called CAN my foot), I can assure you everywhere will be in flames in the whole country and Muslim world by now.

In conclusion, Sir, these are some of the urgent matters, I have decided to bring to your notice, to let you know how I feel and also how many Christians felt really disappointed by your wrongly characterization of Jesus’ two natures, divine and human. It is my candid wish that you find time in no distance future to correct these errors in public, and if possible, issue an apology to Christians for the way you have portrayed wrongly the true nature of Jesus Christ, who is True God and True Man.

Thanking you sincerely for your precious attention,

I remain, Yours Respectfully,

Francis Anekwe Oborji

Chapter 2

Assumption of Mary: Its Implications

for Nigeria in Distress

…When Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and she exclaimed with a loud voice, ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!’ And Mary said: My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my saviour, for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaid. For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. (Luke 1.41-49).

On August 15, every year, Catholics all over the world celebrate the