Omozuwa Gabriel Osamwonyi
\nNicholas Ibekwe, a journalist with an Abuja-based online newspaper, Premium Times, recently alleged that the clerical point man of The Synagogue, Church of All Nations (SCOAN), T.B. Joshua, gave journalists hush money, commonly known as \u201cbrown envelope.\u201d According to him, it was a ploy of spin control, which undermines journalistic obligation of disseminating objective information and the public\u2019s need to know. Hence, he refused to accept the inducement.
\nSoon after the audio recording of the saga was released on Twitter, it went viral. Expectedly, T.B. Joshua\u2019s vast network of allies and sympathisers unleashed their arsenal of psychological warfare against Nicholas Ibekwe. They failed to ask if it is ethical for a religious leader to give brown envelope. Or, if journalists could collect money from news sources, yet, avoid conflict of interest and maintain credibility. Sadly, they did not make intelligent efforts to refute Ibekwe\u2019s claim with facts. Most of the reactions suggest that in religious issues, passion frequently trumps reason.
\nAgain, the reactions were a sordid dramatisation of an erroneous perception: It is a point of honour to condone the misdemeanours of religious leaders. Exposing them is treacherous. This thinking is hinged on a misunderstanding of the scriptural injunction, \u201ctouch not my anointed.\u201d In fact, some Christians equate polite, nonjudgmental comments about clerical malfeasances with \u201cthe unpardonable sin.\u201d They think it is a taboo to lovingly admonish religious leaders via news media. Refusal to keep mute when a religious charlatan behaves badly makes one an anti-Christ, enemy of the church, and accuser of the brethren. This ought not to be. We should expect and demand accountability from leaders. Otherwise, it would create room for the spirit of lawlessness to rule.
\nIn our beloved nation, it is easy to bury scandal. It is easy to transform villains to men of honour. The axiom, \u201cyou cannot carve an image from a rotten wood\u201d seems counterfactual. Very often, the embodiments of depravity are portrayed in public as champions of ethics. Surprisingly, the positive portrayals are mostly done by men of power and pen who are entrusted with the sacred responsibility of edifying society\u2019s conscience. It is hardly done by their uncritical fandom.
\nBrown envelope is now a critical determinant of newsworthiness. It is one of the downsides of the commercialisation of news. The need to inform the public is not accorded due priority compared with the need to make profit. Poorly paid journalists are likely to put self-interest above public interest. They are likely to compromise the news principles of accuracy, fairness, objectivity and timeliness when news sources induce them.
\nIf the alleged giving of brown envelope by T. B. Joshua is true, it would be right to say, he does not subscribe to the high ethical principles of the ex-Anglican primate, late Abiodun Adetiloye. Reports have it that some journalists once interviewed the late Archbishop at the Murtala Mohammed Airport, Lagos, on a range of topical national issues. At the end, the journalists requested for brown envelope. He blatantly refused to give them. Consequently, the interview was not published, even though, he made newsworthy comments.
\nThe spirit of investigative journalism is stifled where brown envelope syndrome rules. Brown envelope is a muffler of vital voices. It triggers half-hearted commitment to factual information dissemination. It is near impossible for a journalist to join the crusade against injustice and corruption, if he is a collector of hush money. Instead of being a watchdog, he would be a pet dog on the laps of people of affluence and influence, and thereby, lend support to the reign of impunity.
\nThe church and the media are vital institutions that should promote principled living, stem decadence, and guide government along ethical paths of sustainable and inclusive growth. When their operators are allegedly enmeshed in corrupt practices, they cannot perform these roles. Their commitment to the uplift of humanity will begin to wane.
\nThe above partly explains why the Nigerian church is not a potent force in the war against corruption. Again, there are few genuine pastors and too many self-serving church operators. Self-enrichment by bewitchment is their true mission statement. Twisted truth is their stock-in-trade and instrument of control. On the other hand, true pastors inspire people to follow their lead by harnessing the transformational power of love to create a better world for mankind.
\nThe subtext of the messages of a church operator that bewitches his followers with the splendour of material opulence would most likely be: \u201cGet rich or die trying.\u201d If you fail to experience \u201cfinancial breakthrough,\u201d his explanation would be, \u201cyou have not given your Isaac.\u201d
\nWealth-amassing church operators are the exact opposite of genuine pastors. They are everything a good pastor is not. A good pastor is committed to strengthening the ethical basis of people-centred progress, while religious entrepreneurs exploit ethical loopholes in society for their private gains. Church operators have no qualms giving brown envelope, if it will conceal facts and burnish their image.
\nReligious entrepreneurs lack functional understanding of the culture-transforming mandate of the church. Hence, they hardly play transformational roles in society, state and government. Rather, they collect money from government functionaries. Thereafter, fight shamelessly over how it will be shared. A good example is Governor Kayode Fayemi\u2019s five million naira donation to a church, which virtually led to its split. It is worth repeating: Transforming culture is a core task of the 21st century church, not filling stadia, consorting with men of power, creating star systems, or fighting over money.
\nA church that fails to rise beyond the extant culture of its environment will be loved by power-mongers, miracle and fun seekers; because, it does not disturb the status quo. Such a church at best will function like a refrigerator that preserves perishables; instead of an incubator where culture-changing leaders are developed and released to uplift humanity to higher spheres of meaning.
\nObviously, many churches fit into the refrigerator model as they strive to outdo each other in the art of whitewashing the decadent rich. Religious leaders are now the finest image-makers of pilferers of public treasuries. Thanksgiving services are often organised to enhance the political capital of integrity-deficient rulers. Televised prayer meetings are held to put seals of divine endorsement on the ambitions of political rascals.
\nIf the devil could run for an elective office in Nigeria, church operators would unhesitatingly anoint him as the people\u2019s messiah, and give brown envelope to their allies in the media to do the same.
\nIt is said that the battle for Nigeria\u2019s independence was fought and won on the pages of newspapers. Given the predominance of brown envelope syndrome, we cannot optimistically say that Nigeria\u2019s war against corruption will be fought and won on the pages of newspaper. It is difficult to say it will be fought and won on the pulpit, simply because, many religious leaders are enmeshed in corruption.
\nIf Nigeria will take her due place of glory in the comity of nations, church operators and media practitioners must leave the league of ethically compromised fortune hunters, and awaken to their social responsibilities of humanising savage politicians, edifying the public mind, fighting corruption and promoting equity, fairness and justice, which are the lifeblood of peaceful and prosperous coexistence.
\n@omozuwaspeaks (On Twitter)<\/p>\n
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