Aregbesola’s Misguided Church Project—Punch

RAUF Aregbesola, the Governor of Osun State, appears impervious to moderation in matters religious. His latest misadventure is to purchase a piece of land to build a church as part of his queer concept of “development.” But building a church, by whatever name, should not be the responsibility of a government in a secular or multi-religious society. It is another disturbing example of poor public finance management. This obvious insult to the people’s intelligence should be rejected outright.

It was reported that the Osun State Government had paid N51 million compensation to farmers on a large expanse of land where the state is building an interdenominational worship arena known as “Open Heaven Worship Centre.” The obtuse thinking behind this oddity is gleaned from one of Aregbesola’s aides, Lani Baderinwa, who said, “The governor…saw the kind of crowd the Redemption Camp of the Redeemed Christian Church of God attracts to the area and decided to build an interdenominational centre here. This will boost the standard of living of the area and the economy of the state. For example, worshippers who would come to the place would eat, buy souvenirs and some would even lodge in hotels….”

That is not all. Gboyega Famodun, the state secretary of the ruling party, went further, “…any far-sighted individual will see the potential economic advantage such a structure with about 200,000-person seating capacity will be to those who put that centre to use.”  It is also argued in some quarters that the planned church will weaken the criticism that the governor is desperate to Islamise the state. This is hogwash.

But let us be clear. This is not about Christianity or Islam. It is about a shocking lack of understanding of what constitute the core functions of government.  The Redemption Camp is a private religious organisation, benefitting only from the enabling environment rightly provided by the more circumspect successive Ogun State governments for individuals and groups to practise their faith unhindered. That is why, along that Lagos-Ibadan highway, there are numerous sprawling religious camp sites, including Deeper Life, Nasfat, Foursquare, Assemblies of God, Ahmaddiyya and even sects such as Guru Maharaji’s commune. None was built by any state government. Will he now go ahead to spend Osun’s public funds on mosques, shrines, kingdom halls (for Jehovah’s Witnesses), chapels for Mormons, gardens for Hindus or communes for Maharaji faithful? All have a right to demand equity. It is about basic fairness.

The harsh truth is that the Greek gift is a mere political stunt. Osun does not need this divisive wedge along sectarian lines and it is incumbent on his party, the All Progressives Congress, Osun elders and the legislature to stop Aregbesola’s serial misadventures into religion. While previous governments in Osun have sought to expand farmlands for production and encourage farmers, Osun State in 2014 is acquiring farmlands to build an interdenominational centre. Having declared a holiday to mark the beginning of the Islamic calendar, he was obliged then to declare an Isese Day holiday for adherents of traditional faiths. Recently, Pentecostal Christians were heard asking for a public holiday to mark “Pentecost Day.” Where will this end?

This is certainly out of sync with development. The Christian Association of Nigeria and its affiliates should realise that if they accept this Greek gift, they will permanently lose the moral right to protest against any government policy that unduly favours any other faith. This is time to stand on principle. It is no coincidence that the democracies of the world that have the highest standards of living, the most functional political systems and lowest crime rates are those that clearly separate state from religion. While countries such as Norway, Sweden, South Korea and Germany are prospering, Pakistan and Central African Republic are in self-destructive turmoil. Northern Nigeria today has some of the worst human development indices on account of the divisive dabbling in religion that has polarised its population, spurned sectarian violence, extremist religious groups and ruined its economy.

Aregbesola’s church project is not in tune with modern governance. We have always warned that it is dangerous for governments to dabble in religion because of its tendency to create caustic division in the society. We are persuaded that this misguided church project is a bribe, a baleful political gimmick, lacking in all subtlety, to the Christian community, just as Isese Day was to the traditionalists. The 1999 Constitution clearly forbids the promotion of any faith or faiths as state religion. It is not the business of a government to build places of worship as many unfocused Nigerian governments have done. There are yawning areas of development that require urgent attention from the government – health, education, infrastructure, job creation, agriculture and industrialisation. The governor has publicly stated his desire to raise internal revenues to meet these development needs. He should pursue this doggedly and not fritter away the little available on religion. If Aregbesola desires to attract tourists to the state, it should not be by building churches.

Our country is facing serious developmental problems and, definitely, building a worship centre is not one of them.  The people of Osun State want to be free from hunger and have access to medical care and safe shelter; expect their daily lives, their residences and their workplaces to be safe; demand a creative and diverse education that enhances human life, spirit and physical well-being. They are looking forward to a robust physical infrastructure and public utilities that allow safe and efficient travel, deliver electricity and water for personal comfort and safety, at reasonable rates and in sufficient supply for residential, public, commercial and industrial purposes.

Nigerian governments should stop this hypocritical dalliance in religion and concentrate on their core mandate.  This change should start with Aregbesola.