By Adesina Soyooye
For Rev. Fr Ejike Mbaka, the saying, “pride goes before a fall”, has come true.
The Catholic Church seems to have, finally, dealt with its wayward child. He has had his long tail cut short.
Mbaka has been banned from talking Politics in the Church. He has, also, been banned from prophesies on who would win, or fail, in an election. And as a final seal, the Adoration Ministry has been converted to a Chaplaincy.
These were contained in a letter to the Priest signed by the Bishop of Enugu Diocese, His Lordship, Bishop Callistus Onaga.
The letter was dated, June 3, 2021.
Here is the implications of converting the Adoration Ministry to a Chaplaincy:
*Mbaka will no longer be solely in charge of its activities. Until now, as the Spiritual Director of the Adoration Ministry which he founded, he reported to nobody. No longer, as his activities are now under the supervision of the Bishop, who he reports to.
*Even though he is still in charge of the Chaplaincy, he could be transferred out of it.
*Any other Priest could be sent to be in charge of the Chaplaincy.
These decisions are fatal blows to Mbaka.
He made his name by talking politics from the Pulpit which, atimes, many saw as bordering on blackmail. He made Political prophesies, a couple of which had come true. The most remarkable was his prophesy that Senator Hope Uzodimma would be the Governor of Imo State, even though the Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha had been sworn-in as the Governor, and won at both the Election Tribunal and the Court of Appeal. He, also, predicted President Muhammadu Buhari’s victory in 2015 and 2019.
But his prophesy on the former Governor of Enugu State, Dr Chimaroke Nnamani, was off the point.
He had said he would remove his Cassock if Nnamani was elected for a second term in office. Nnamani won, convincingly, but Mbaka never kept his words to remove his Cassock.
These prophesies, however, made Mbaka’s Adoration Ministry a must for politicians. They flocked there, and made him and his Church, rich.
He established a chain of businesses, and is reportedly, richer than the Enugu Diocese. But his wealth and prophetic tendencies also put him at cross-purposes with the Church. He felt he had become untouchable and played that role to the hilt.
When he was transferred from Enugu to Emene, he put it down to persecution and envy. He told Buhari that he was being persecuted because of his love and support for the President.
When the Vice Presidential Candidate of the PDP, Peter Obi, went to worship with him, he humiliated Obi because of Buhari, and confirmed it before the congregation and those who had come to represent Buhari, including Uzodimma and the Kano State Governor, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje.
Mbaka’s immediate problems began when he suddenly turned against both Buhari and Uzodimma, and literally laid curses on them. He accused Uzodimma of not coming back to his Church to say thank you after his prophesy on him came true.
On Buhari, he suddenly found out that he was no longer a good President, and asked him to resign, failing which Mbaka called for his impeachment by the National Assembly.
While Uzodimma kept a dignified silence, the Presidency gave it back to him. Using the President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, the Presidency said Mbaka’s beef stemmed from the fact that he was denied Contracts which he asked for. Garba called him a Contractor-Priest.
Mbaka did not deny. He claimed he took three foreigners there to help the Country in its fight against insecurity.
When Bishop Onaga wanted to discipline him, and asked him to keep off Adoration Ministry for a month, and go into prayers, he refused. When he went to see the Bishop, and did not appear for one day, his adherents turned violent. They invaded the Bishop’s Court and the Cathedral, destroying everything in sight.
When he eventually came out, he did not condemn the sacrilegious action, instead, he blamed the Bishop, and thanked his congregation for saving him.
He also told them that he was asked to go to Rome, but that he refused, seeing it was a ploy to take away the Adoration Ministry from him, something he swore he would never allow.
For the sacrilegious action of his people, the Catholic Diocese of Enugu declared a – seven day fasting period.
Later, a contrite Mbaka was forced to apologise to both the Church and the Bishop. He, also, shut down the Adoration Ministry for 30 days, so as to have a quiet time and pray.
Now, the chicken has come home to roost.
Mbaka has been humbled. In the letter, the Bishop said he can appoint “any Ministerial officer to assist the chaplains to oversee the Pastoral activities of the ministry.”
The letter continued: “There shall be no partisan politics either by way of active engagement, or by prophetic naming of candidates for position of power.”
The letter to Mbaka with the riot acts, came just at the end of his retreat when he is billed to resume, publicly, Church activities.
What is not known, for now, is how the new arrangement would affect Mbaka’s congregation and his many businesses, including his charity Foundation.
He had boasted, in his reply to the Presidency, that 23,000 people were under his employ, not to talk of the several students, home and abroad, whose tuition and welfare remain his responsibility.
Time will tell if Mbaka would remain in the Catholic Church, or convert the Adoration Ministry, Enugu, Nigeria, AMEN, into a separate Church -with him as the Founder and General Overseer.
