Oritsejafor needs no introduction as his public image means different things to different people. While his critics are often being misled into what they hold as facts against him, those who identify with him are much more informed about the issues involving him. Many people, especially in the political and sectarian orbits, couldn’t stand his guts because of his boldness, outspokenness and brilliant articulation of his positions and opinions.
He is not a lone ranger in the pathway of boldness. Other vocal Christian leaders in the league include Bishop Mike Okonkwo, Pastor Tunde Bakare, Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah, Anthony Cardinal Olubunmi Okogie and Prelate Ola Makinde to mention but a few. These fearless clergymen are never intimidated, care less about criticisms against their convictions. They are brave, alert, articulate and well-informed about the happenings within the church and the secular world all because of their mandate to speak up for the body of Christ in Nigeria and in defense of her interests and members.
The Christian leadership in Nigeria became vocal against overt and covert acts of injustice since the campaign against Nigeria’s membership of the Organisation of Islamic States, during the General Ibrahim Babangida military era. The Catholic Archbishop Emeritus of Lagos Diocese, Anthony Cardinal Olubunmi Okogie, was a fire-spitting CAN President at the time. Successive CAN leaders have maintained the culture though at varying degrees depending on the nature of the man in charge. However, it may take a while for the Christian community in Nigeria to have another leader like Oritsejafor. To date, Oritsejafor remains the most criticised and vilified national church leader in Nigeria. He received scathing remarks for the very reasons he assumed the mantle of Christian leadership – service!
Noticeably, Oritsejafor has refrained from public appearances and making comments on national issues since he served out his tenure. This, he said, was because there’s a new leadership for the Christian body which he supports wholeheartedly. “There can’t be two captains in a ship. When I was in the saddle, they all rallied support for my tenure and we did the best God enabled us to do. Here now, we have another leadership in place and I support everything they do. So, it is wrong for me to be competing for attention with our leader. It is not in our culture as an organisation to do so. Yes, once in a while we could lend a voice in support of whatever the leadership is doing or canvassing but not to compete or embark on showmanship with the incumbent. We are a well-organised body and we respect leadership so much,” he said.
This year’s birthday was a landmark in his life but he opted to have a low-key celebration because, according to him, as much as there are genuine reasons to celebrate, there are also compelling reasons to be sober and reflective.
Oritsejafor wouldn’t like to remember how his critics employed political colouration, absolute lies and propaganda to combat many noble intentions he had. His tenure had a couple of serious challenges because it was at the height of the Boko Haram insurgency in the North in which many Christians were killed and several churches destroyed. Also, the tenure contended with the issue of Islamic banking among other matters that were of interest to the church leadership in Nigeria.
The systematic and strategic vilification of Oritsejafor had been activated right from his days as the PFN President. During his time, PFN was the de facto mouthpiece of the church in Nigeria. When he signified his intention to vie for the CAN Presidency, and knowing that he wouldn’t play the game by the rule of the oligarchy, he was roundly worked against by contending interests from outside the church but the unity of the church prevailed. I watched the current CAN President and the President of the Baptist Convention in Nigeria, Dr. Olasupo Ayokunle, on Sunday, April 23, 2017 during his sermon at the 104th Baptist Convention where he acknowledged that in so short a time as CAN President, he could now understand why leaders were often criticised and negatively portrayed. He then told Vice-President Yemi Osibajo, who was present at the service not to be distracted by negative media and criticisms. This goes to show that the yoke of leadership is burdensome and most of the time, thankless.
For example, sometime in 2012, Oritsejafor and the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, addressed a press conference at Sheraton Hotel in Lagos on the festering Boko Haram insurgency. While the Sultan dismissed the ‘terrorists’ label on the sect and rationalised the murderous activities of the Islamists as that of misguided, wrongly-indoctrinated rascally youths, who would be corrected and rehabilitated in the process of time, Oritsejafor, however, flatly disagreed with him. He said Boko Haram was a pure terror organisation.
He said the activities of the dreaded insurgents were part of the grand plots to Islamise Nigeria, adding that the insurgency was well coordinated, funded and armed by some powerful elements in the country for religious and political purposes.
Later that day, when a television station reported the news at 7pm, it reported that both Oritsejafor and the Sultan agreed that Boko Haram was not a terror group but merely a violent group of misguided and irate youths. It played the audio-visual of the Sultan which corroborated the news story but did a voiceover while it showed Oritsejafor’s part. When Oritsejafor’s attention was drawn to it, he called the chairman of the station, who himself is a renowned broadcaster, and complained to him about the lies and twist of his own side of the story. About 90 minutes later, the man called to profusely apologise to Oritsejafor and promised that it would be rectified on its 10pm prime news hour. Accordingly, it was corrected.
For the better part of his tenure as CAN President, Oritsejafor was roundly misconstrued and criticised for being close to former President Goodluck Jonathan. Yes, they are still close as brothers from the same Niger Delta region. In addition, Oritsejafor is a spiritual leader of the oil-rich region to whom Jonathan also subscribes. Former Prelate of the Methodist Church, Rt. Rev. Ola Makinde, led a delegation of some Christian leaders to meet President Jonathan at the Presidential Villa during which he expressed his displeasure that the CAN President, in his capacity as the leader of the largest religious body in the country, didn’t have the President’s phone number which made communication at leadership level sometimes cumbersome. Jonathan then wrote the State House switchboard number on a piece of paper and gave it to them. It may sound incredible but it’s the truth that Oritsejafor doesn’t have the private mobile phone number of the former President even till date. This goes to show that things are not exactly the way they seem at times.
We shouldn’t wait until great men die before we celebrate them. Oritsejafor is maverick in his dealings, leadership style, strategic thinking and priestly delivery. May he continue to age gracefully until his glorious exit to eternity to be with his Lord and maker.
By Prince Eniola Ojajuni
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