Anglican Bishop Onyia Vs Candidate Peter Mbah

By Comfort Obi

I don’t know if the Primate of All Nigeria, Anglican Communion, His Grace, The Most Reverend Henry Ndukuba has seen the viral video of the unexplainable behavior of one of his Bishops, His Lordship, The Rt. Rev. Christian Onyia, the Bishop of Nike Diocese, Enugu State. I ask this in case he didn’t quite take notice of the baffling incident that happened before him.

His Grace was present at the Church Service. But as you know, he may have, at the time, been sitting right inside the Alter, and may have been, inadvertently, blocked from the incident by dozens of Priests at the Church Service. When His Grace is present at a Church Service, it is flooded by Priests, including Bishops from nearby Dioceses. It is, usually, a big do. And this very Church Service of the Sunday of January 29, 2023, was special and high profile.

Professor Chinedu Nebo, former Vice Chancellor of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, former Minister for Power under President Goodluck Jonathan, and on top of all that, an Archdeacon in the Anglican Church, was having a triple celebration. So, the Thanksgiving Service was in his honour.

It was his 70th birthday, his retirement from Service in the Lord’s Vineyard after 40 years of meritorious service, and his 45th wedding anniversary.  So, you can imagine the caliber of dignitaries present. That’s what makes this incident confounding and strange.

And it is why I think the Primate needs to urgently watch the viral video so as not to miss anything. When he does, His Grace owes the Church an urgent duty. I have watched it for over seven times. And, at each new time, I become more embarrassed than before.

The Primate, given his office, especially, in a very stressed Country, which has over-stressed millions of his flock, is a very busy man. He does not need distractions. He needs to concentrate on the number of people who look up to him for hope, for words of comfort, for assurance that tomorrow will be better, and that God does not abandon His people. Yet, he needs to perform this urgent duty to retain the dignity of the office of Anglican Bishops (no less).

I am conscious of the injunction: “touch not my anointed”. And to tell you the truth, dear readers, this is difficult for me to write. But when an anointed person reduces himself to the level of the unanoited, and basically desecrates the House of God, for our sanity, it should be pointed out. And in the instant case, there is no better person to call His Lordship to order, and restore our sanity and faith and the dignity of the Clergy  than the Primate – the overall Leader of the Anglican Church, Nigeria.

Here’s what this is all about.

The Governorship Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP), Peter Mbah, a calm, brilliant young man, was at that Thanksgiving Service. He needed to. Aside from the fact that Nebo is his Party man, election is near. Politicians, even of Mbah’s unobtrusive type, usually need such crowd.

They need the prayers of the children of God and God’s blessings to realise their ambition. And for that day, to get the blessings of the Primate and other members of the  Clergy in one fell swoop, is a bumper harvest of blessings.

But, perhaps, Mbah arrived late and did the most sensible thing any decent person should do.

He quietly sat down somewhere among other worshippers.

A quiet operator, Mbah has no airs about him. He does not flaunt his status and/or accomplishments. Which is why he did not behave like a typical  Nigerian big man. You know, a typical Nigerian big man would arrive late to a Church Service, and instead of sitting quietly, somewhere, to commune with his God, he would disrupt the Church  Service and distract the worshippers. He would  walk straight  to a front row seat. If no space is available, he would expect somebody to stand up for him, or beckon to Church ushers who would quickly arrange a seat for him to squeeze in. The Nigerian big man takes this as a right, and with the support of the leadership of the Church, forgets that before God, and in His House, everybody is equal.

But Bishop Onyia thought differently. He wouldn’t allow Mbah his quiet moment with God. He wouldn’t allow him  concentrate and enjoy the beautiful hymn that was being rendered at the time.

He wanted Mbah to be the typical Nigerian big man.

So, along with a Priest and one other dignitary, Bishop Onyia went to Mbah and asked him to leave his seat for the front row. But Mbah felt that would be inappropriate. For one, the Primate was present. For another, he would disrupt the Service and distract the congregation. But Bishop Onyia insisted. Mbah pleaded with him to leave it alone. Onyia held Mbah’s hand and made to “uproot” him. Mbah still said no.

Then, His Lordship, The Rt. Rev. Christian Onyia, did the unbelievable. The Bishop knelt down before Mbah, knelt down for Mbah, to plead with him to relocate. This was in the House of God!  Strange. Disheartening.

Obviously embarrassed and taken aback, Mbah quickly went down on his knees, too, before the Bishop. In Mbah’s shoes, I would do the same.  I would think the Bishop was placing a curse on me by kneeling down for me. God forbid. I would have collapsed, almost. What was the big deal?

I have thought about the Bishop’s strange behavior,  and my conclusion is that Bishop Onyia seems to have, please forgive me, desecrated the House of God by kneeling down for Mbah. My conclusion is that he disrespected the House of God. My conclusion is that His Lordship ridiculed himself and his office as a Bishop. My conclusion is that by so doing, he, also, ridiculed his brother-Bishops, and demeaned the Clergy.  I am not judging him, but this incident shakes the faith, and weakens the spirit.

I know Bishops are trained to be humble. That’s what the Holy Book teaches. And most Bishops are. But it should not be to the extent of ridiculing oneself. At that level, one’s dignity must be intact. To many of us, our Bishops are our ultimate. They are the representatives of God that we see here. We run to them in times of pain and sorrow and helplessness.. We find succor in their words. They comfort us. And scold us when we go wrong and/or fall below their expectations.

Now, tell me, Bishop Onyia, having knelt down before Mbah in public, and in the presence of his Parishioners, how will he correct him if he becomes Governor? Can he, then, publicly and fearlessly preach against any bad policy of Mbah’s Government. Having knelt down for him, as a Candidate, will Bishop Onyia  lie flat on the ground for him if/when he becomes the Governor?

That is part of the problem we have in Nigeria. A number of institutions we should look up to have been compromised. The Church is not an exception. It has been infiltrated and corrupted by Politicians. Many Church Leaders can no longer look our Political leaders in the face and tell them the truth. And, the sad thing:  we know why.

I don’t know how His Grace intends to handle this situation since he was present at the Church Service.  But I recommend the behavior of the late Bishop of Lagos West Diocese, His Lordship, The Rt. Rev. Peter A. Adebiyi, to His Lordship, The Rt. Rev. Christian Onyia of Nike Diocese.

During his first tenure as Governor of Ekiti State, former Governor Ayo Fayose encountered  Bishop Adebiyi in Church.

Newly sworn into office, Fayose’s uncle, who worships at  Archbishop Vining Memorial Church Cathedral, booked  a Thanksgiving Service for him. Wrong day!

The Church Service had gone more than half-way when Fayose sauntered in with his security details and more.

Instead of sitting quietly at the back of the Church until  called up for his Thanksgiving, he and his entourage walked straight  to the front, the whole length of the Cathedral, and disrupted the Service. Not a few eyes were focused on the young, new, Governor who defeated an incumbent. And Adebiyi hit the roof, literally.

As Fayose sat down, Adebiyi descended on him. He asked him what and/or who gave him the temerity to disrupt the Church Service by walking straight to the front when he came late. Next time, he told him, keep off. And, turning to the Governor’s uncle, Adebiyi told him: “Don’t arrange any more Thanksgiving for him here in future if he would come late. This is the House of God.”

That is the spirit. That’s what it should be.

Obi is the Editor-in-Chief/CEO of The Source (Magazine), https://thesourceng.com.  Email: [email protected], [email protected]