13 Jan 2007 |
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The Fall, Not The End, Of Rev. King On Thursday, January 11, Chukwuemeka Ezeugo, also known as Rev. King uttered the ultimate blasphemy, when after his sentencing to death by hanging and additional 100 years in jail, by Justice Olubunmi Oyewole of the Lagos High Court, he decanted: "I am not afraid to die. It is a privilege and honour for me to die by hanging. I am following in the footsteps of our Lord Jesus Christ. After all, he died on the cross by hanging." The Lord Jesus Christ did not die by hanging; he was crucified. And in no way do the facts of the case of Rev. King's trial indicate that he is "following in the footsteps of Christ". King who is now in the condemned criminals section of the Kirikiri Maximum Prison, his trade mark beard finally shaved, a condemned man's prison uniform given to him, his Christian Praying Assembly in Isolo now deserted, is the victim of his own delusions. He is an archetype of the charlatanism that passes for religious worship in many parts of the country. Rev. King may have fallen, but his sentencing to death by hanging or whatever eventual fate awaits him after his case is heard on appeal, does not mark the end of the King phenomenon. The significance of the case lies not in King's present fortunes, but in the need for government to carry out a special audit of religious places of worship, the need to investigate modes of worship without necessarily interfering with the freedom of religion and association, and the need for the Church of Christ in Nigeria to educate the general congregation about the abuses that have overtaken the church in form of the rise of fake pastors, and the growth of a gullible followership. The seeds of religious violence and fundamentalism of the most heinous variety are sown by the likes of King, in both the Christian and Islamic religions, who stand the doctrines on their head and introduce unorthodox traditions through which they mislead the faithful. King who exhibited all the traces of a fanatic in the court of law will for long be remembered for his strange deployment of the word of God and his abuse of the pulpit. During his trial for murder, he spoke of persecution; he even slapped a trial witness, he refused to obey court procedures, he insisted on being addressed as "The Most Holiness Dr Reverend King". After his sentencing, he promised to meet his persecutors at "the gate of judgement", and proceeded to address a press conference. The presiding judge in giving his ruling had noted that the facts of the case had proven Rev King's guilt beyond reasonable doubt. His contempt in the face of the court could only further confirm the evidence that had been provided, for indeed Rev King threatened that he would burn the world if he is directed to do so by God. He reportedly added that it is nobody's business if he chooses to flog his followers. "If I beat people in my church, it is nobody's business. The Bible says spare the rod and spoil the child". Rev. King failed to realise that he could only run his church within the bounds of the law. There are many more like him who need to be unmasked and brought to trial. In his case, his followers were required to call him "Daddy" or "My Lord". They worshipped him as if he were God on earth. Young ladies were taken away from their families and made to live with Rev. King as sex slaves. One of them who is now jubilating that justice has caught up with Rev King, was required to serve him naked, and then warm his bed. She aborted three of his babies under instructions. Members of the congregation were hypnotised. They left the church only when the Reverend said so. They were not allowed to go to the toilet during church service, they were required to urinate or defecate on their seats. If they coughed during church service, they were required to pay a fine of N25, 000 or more. They knelt down before the Reverend. If they did anything wrong, he flogged them with rods, hit them on their heads with sticks, or assigned a bedroom punishment in the case of ladies. While his trial lasted, bearded followers of Rev King insisted that he was merely being persecuted and that he will triumph in the end. The man has been sentenced to death, many of them are still insisting that their master will live. For years, Rev. King and his followers terrorised the residents of Ajao estate. It is now obvious that the Christian Praying Assembly, where he plied his trade as Founder and General Overseer, was not involved in Christian worship but sorcery and hypnotism. This is one of the biggest problems with the church of God in Nigeria today. There are good pastors who genuinely teach the doctrines, but there are charlatans on the prowl who hide under religion to do all kinds of things including armed robbery, rape, al-Qaeda, and brazen misrepresentation of religion, including its use for the violation of the rule of law. The Lord Jesus Christ preached forgiveness of sins; King preached punishment and vengeance. Christ was the epitome of humility; King was arrogant in the extreme, Christ preached that we must love our neighbours, King was a "Jesus of our time" whom everyone feared. Examples of similar derangement have been cited from other countries (Jim Jones of Guyana, and David Koresh of Waco, Texas) but there are many local examples as well. In the past, there was a man in the Maryland area of Lagos who called himself the Jesus Christ of Oyingbo. Many believed him. Wives abandoned their husbands, daughters left their families, professionals resigned from their places of work and took up residence in a church where they pursued a life of sin and illusion. The bubble burst only after the man died. On the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, there is another religious leader who continues to call himself "the Perfect Living Master". There was another religious leader in Calabar who was regarded by his followers as God. Each time a related scandal is exposed, however, the people merely enjoy the entertainment that is provided; they have refused to learn the lessons that are highlighted. Why are Nigerians so gullible? Why would anyone go to a church and accept the kind of dehumanisation that has been described? We live in a country where there are too many people who are looking for miracles. Life is so difficult, you only need to call yourself a prophet, a man of God, an anointed servant of the Most High, and people will begin to worship you. The more miracles you promise, the bigger the followership. In a country where there is so much unemployment, one of the easiest ways to earn a living is to become a Pastor or an alfa, add some mysteries to your personal style, do something creative with the Bible and mode of worship; dress in a peculiar manner, speak in tongues, promise miracles in the lives of your followers: job for the unemployed, help for widows, husbands for spinsters, promotion for employees, more wealth for entrepreneurs.. and you are in good business. Some churches even serve free food at the end of every session in order to attract worshippers. Rev King is a product of this miracle-making form of religion. A university graduate, he chose to lead a Prayer Assembly. There are many young men of his type still on the streets who are waiting to step into his shoes. Justice Oyewole was right when he spoke, obiter, as follows: "I have considered the entire circumstances of this case. Religious fundamentalism of the basest type that gave rise to the offences for which the accused was found guilty has never done any society any good. The variant demonstrated by the accused is a throw-back to the dark ages and an assault to the gains attained by humanity in the areas of respect for human dignity, freedom and liberty. The Nigerian society is already bogged down with myriads of problems ranging from poverty to corruption which has rendered many of its vulnerable elements susceptible to the wares of religious highway men such as the accused person here, who offer them stone for bread and scorpion when they demand fish". Rev King offered something worse than stone and scorpion. On July 22, 2006, he sprayed six members of his congregation with petrol and set them on fire. He was jealous that one of his sex slaves, Vivian, had been unfaithful to him, and he had asked her to bring to him everyone who knew about the misdemeanor. He did not listen to their plea for forgiveness. He set them on fire. One of them Ann Uzor died. It is for this act of murder that Rev King has now been sentenced to death by hanging and 100 years imprisonment for the other five-count charge of attempted murder in line with Sections 319 and 320 of the Criminal Code respectively. Other leaders of religious cults must learn an important lesson from this case, namely that claims of their direct link with the Almighty, do not grant them any immunity from the laws of the land. Speaking in tongues, affecting a queer style, pretending to be holy, all these do not place them above the law. The Christian Association of Nigeria and the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria must embark on the important task of educating the public about the antics of end-time pastors. They must set standards, and draw attention to warning signs. There are churches for example where the members are encouraged to steal from their employers and donate to the church! There are pastors who offer prayers of intercession for drug dealers and armed robbers! It is not enough to say that this is "end-time" or that these manifestations have long been predicted; the Church of God must put its house in order and check the spread of the King phenomenon. The state must also become vigilant: reports of any form of criminality under the guise of religion must be closely investigated and treated accordingly. Neighbours must be vigilant too, and help report any unusual practices under the cover of religion, and above all, parents must watch their children closely. Two of Rev King's victims were educated young ladies, Vivian Ezeocha (HND, Federal Polytechnic, Oko, Anambra state) and Jessica Nwere (B. Sc Accountancy, University of Lagos).
Adeyemi-Bero And Lagos State Govt. The story appeared in The Guardian newspaper of December 29. Chief J. O Adeyemi-Bero, 80-plus has now been honoured by the Lagos State Government, with the main auditorium at the Alausa Secretariat now to be known as Adeyemi-Bero Auditorium. Pa Bero, an active, strong and mentally alert octogenarian is the number one civil servant in the history of Lagos state. When Lagos state was established in May1967, he was seconded from the Federal Civil Service to work with then Lt.Col Mobolaji Johnson to set up the new state. They had a marching grant of only ten thousand pounds. It was the responsibility of Adeyemi-Bero as Secretary to the Military Administration to help set up the state civil service. He was a loyal and diligent member of the Mobolaji Johnson administration to which the credit must go eternally for building Lagos state from the scratch, from nothing actually and in spite of the cynicism of those who saw the new state as a threat to the Western region government at the time. The recognition by Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and Lagos state must mean a lot to Pa Adeyemi-Bero who incidentally is in court with the same state government over an unresolved matter. In 1976, the Murtala Muhammed administration had confiscated his property at 25 Cooper Road, Ikoyi which he bought from Shell with a loan from Barclays Bank. The Babangida administration later returned the property and the properties of 14 others (including Ogbemudia and Ojukwu), and it was so gazetted, but the Olagunsoye Oyinlola government in Lagos at the time, refused to return Adeyemi-Bero's property. In more than one newspaper article, the old man has cried out against this injustice. For him, it is a matter of honour and integrity. Adeyemi-Bero belongs to a different generation of civil servants. He was responsible for the allocation of plots of lands in Ikoyi and Victoria Island. But he didn't grab some for himself as is now standard practice. He even took a loan to buy a property in the area. But even that was taken from him. This matter deserves a second look by the Tinubu administration. Otherwise Pa Adeyemi-Bero, also known as "Mr Lagos state", could say of the auditorium in the words of Dr Samuel Johnson to Lord Chesterfield: "the notice that you have been pleased to take of my labours, had it been early, had been kind. But it has been delayed until I am indifferent, and cannot enjoy it; till I am solitary and cannot impart it; till I am known and do not want it. I hope it is no very cynical asperity not to confess obligations where no benefit has been received..."
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