Report of dialogue session with faith based organisations - christians

ATTENDANCE

1. Pastor Patrick Anidi                    2. Pastor Fred Igho                           3. Pastor E A Emmanuel                 4. Nike De Souza                              5. Tokunbo Johnson                         6. Dr Onuzo                                      7. Omooba Olusegun                     8. Olufunmilola Johnson               9. Pst Segun Omotosho                   10.Mrs Segun Omotosho               11. Pastor Isreal Ojo                         12. Rev. Seye Fatilewa                     13. Pst John Ikhidero                       14. Pst John Enelamah                     15. Pastor Wale Adefarasin

Liberty Army Church Lagos The king’s Church International Grace Missions International Christ Church Gbagada The Capstone Four Square Gospel Church Christ Lovers Christian Centre The Capstone Church Heartland Consulting Consulting RCCG Methodist Church Christ Life and Image Church Apostles in the Market Place Guiding Light Assembly/PFN

Dr Christopher Kolade, chairman of Integrity had sent his thoughts on the subject as he was unable to make it for the event. To flag off the session, these were read on his behalf by Ime Enang of CBI. The paper highlighted the following:

1. The effectiveness of the Church in performing the role of helping leaders to attain a clear understanding of their responsibility, and the debt of good performance, probity and accountability that they owe to God and the people of this nation. 2. Whether or not the Church itself is setting a good example in its own performance as a manager of resources and a faithful agent of the divine purpose and the divine agenda for Nigeria. 3. Is the Church giving credible attention to its obligation to be the champion of the people in securing their God-given right to good governance and productive transparency on the part of the leaders.

Dr Okey Onuzo, a renowned teacher on accountability among Christians set the foundation for the discussions. Among other things he emphasized the fact that, 1.  God demanded accountability, 2. That even though there was a presumed honesty, it did not preclude accountability and transparency. 3. References to the life of Paul, Timothy his protégée as models of stewardship, rendering accounts and so on. That Accountability was so much a requirement in the New Testament as it was in the Old.  4. Instances where a deviation from the standard of the bible has become popular were mentioned. 5. The Role of regulatory bodies like the Charity Commission in the UK. 6. That there was a high possibility that if churches do not become self regulatory, there might be need to regulate laws through civil laws. 6. Accountability should be encouraged as it makes one live by faith.

On the way things were presently, contributions from the participants centered around the following:

1. The Foundations of the society are faulty and so the church is not be wholly responsible to provide solutions to the problems that exist
2. There is a perpetuation of the wrong values because people have learnt the wrong things.  
3. There is a deviation from Jesus as the primary focus of any endeavour,
4. Lack  of discipleship and good role models
5. The church is the foundation of the society so if it is wrong, the society will be wrong.
6. Pastors are themselves being pressured by the environment
7. There is a lack of standards in the recruitment, appointment and conduct of pastors
8. There is an absence of structures and systems in place in some organizations leading to abuse of power.

Next Steps
Contributions taken from all those present include the need to recognize that:

1. The Church is the Foundation of the society where people are taught about life, manifest life skills from Mon-Sat,
2. The need to uphold standards in the conduct of pastors with simple concepts like those of BBB Better Business Bureau, the Convention on Business Integrity (CBI tick mark)
3. The need to provide Mentors for Pastors, holding other programs that have relevance to the conduct of the church in its environment e.g Anti-Corruption
4. The need to conduct Discipleship training.
5. The need to Model the Change personally and influence those in our smaller circles.
6. The need to place structures that allowed stakeholders audit the pastors
7. The need to include in the yearly slogan, an annual plan of reformation. Design a program for reforming the nation complete with an implementation plan, monitoring and evaluating the impact of such programs.
8. The need to train people assigned to do dangerous roles, so that they are courageous and well informed about the potentials in the work that they do.
9. The need to train church members to affect the society in which they live.
10. Start a discipleship program
11. The need to integrate the youths and teenagers into these programs
12. The need to sermonize more on the impact of Righteousness and how it exalts a Nation
13. The change can be achieved on diverse, multi-faceted approach.
14. All change will come through concerted prayers.

Call to action:
As background to the happenings, CBI made a call to be joined by those present in the work of ensuring that the change desired for the transformation of Nigeria. Pastor Wale Adefarasin welcomed CBI’s 5-star rating system and is willing to work with CBI to make PFN a reputable body, and in the organization of an anti-corruption program. All those presented indicated their interest to join the Coalition.

Welcome to women at the financial management workshop holding on the 31st january 2008 in spaces businessconnect edo house abuja

Good Morning, ladies and the few courageous gentlemen in our midst.

You probably have heard about Poor Dad, Rich Dad! You have either read or heard about “Play Like a man, Win like a woman” and so many other notions that seem to give credence to the fact that it is a man’s world that we live in and they set the pace for everything good. I am almost certain that no woman in this room is in doubt of this fact but the reality is that we live in the same world as men and share in these challenges if not more. As such, we cannot afford to be by standers in the scheme of things particularly those that have the potential to threaten our future. To enable us rise to the responsibility of shaping our future we need two attributes. Vision of the kind of future that we would like for ourselves and the future we would be happy to bequeath to our children. We would also require knowledge; knowledge of the context within which we operate, the opportunities and threats within this context alongside our strengths and weaknesses.  

Mrs Nimi Akinkugbe
is very passionate about empowering women to be able to grow their finances in a way that helps secure their future. She also guides parents on how to bring up children with the right values for money. If anyone has heard Nimi speak before, you will not be surprised why she was our choice. She is one of the most persuasive and practical teachers in the subject of women and investment in the Country today. Nimi has maintained her enthusiasm all through the change of dates. The cost for her presence at this event was borne by her bank, IBTC Chartered.

Mrs Modupe Dada
is CEO of Prominent Securities, with her experience in the stock market, I have heard her provide insights to the stock markets that average stock brokers do not share, I have heard her give investment options to people that they would never knew existed, she is also passionate about how much women need to grow their finances because as she puts it, “women need more money as they grow older” Mrs Dada has also been very patient with us. She also bore her costs to be here this morning.

Mr Olusoji Apampa
is not a stranger to many and has spoken at many events of this sort on the roles that women need to play to safeguard our economy and build the kind of future that we want to live in and bequeath to our children. He will speak about the current state of our economy, the risks that are inherent there and what we can do in our spheres of influence to add voice to some other existing efforts of people that are likeminded to mitigate against those risks becoming a reality.

I would like to seize this opportunity to thank Coalitions for Change (c4c) for agreeing to underwrite the costs of this event. That is why it became free thus providing a lot more women the motivation to attend this morning. We knew January always was a sensitive month but it also happens to be that time of the year when resolutions are made. Halima, thanks for giving us the opportunity to learn at all costs. I must thank acknowledge the efforts of Mrs Ayokanmi Ayuba, Mrs Deola Apampa and Mrs Hurera Attah at recruiting participants for this event. Above all, I must thank you for consciously making out the time to be present at this event, without you here, we would be here ourselves.

At this workshop today, we will take steps towards ensuring that we set a course for both knowledge sharing through our first two speakers and vision by accepting the responsibility to be more active builders, moderators and intuitive managers in the discharge of our responsibility as citizens of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Altogether, all three sessions will be practical and as interactive as possible. The speakers are free to use the time in the way they consider most effective.

We thank you for making the time to attend this training and believe that it will be worth your while. You might just be the reason why the book with the title, Rich Mum, Wise Mum will be written!

“Who are authorities in Islam accountable to?” Wednesday, 13th February 2008 Board Room 2 MUSON Centre Onikan

Present

1. Dr A J Oyekan                              Islamic Education Trust
2. Justice Wale Abiru                         Movement for Islamic Culture and Awareness - MICA
3. Dr Ishaq Akintola                          Muslim Rights Concern
4. Alhaja R M Bashir                          LHF
5. Mr. Bello Mustapha Ade                 NASFAT
6. Aisha Bello Tukur                          Interested Party
7. Alhaji Abduljaleel Olori aje             Association of Muslim Professionals
8. Mr. Zakariyau Ajiboye                   Association of Muslim Professionals
9. Mr O Olatunji                                Arico Pension Managers

Opening
Dialogue Session began with a brief background of why it was necessary to convene the meeting at this particular time.  Prayers were said by Dr Oyekan.
The current state was analyzed as follows:

1. Moral Problems are not to be blamed on religion.
2. A betrayal of the tenets of religion to hypocrisy is what has led the country its current state.
3. Islam seeks to influence the totality of humanity
4. Secularity of the state has impeded sharia
5. Religion is a rail that keeps people in check since the society is permissive
6. Ignorance of the laws of the quran
7. Deviation from the set standards
8. Systemic Problem
9. Problems with  the way that leaders of the Islamic faith emerge
10. Poverty, greed and fear
11. Inequal representation of Islam in the media and in the school curriculum.

The Resolutions at the end of the session were as follows:

1. Human beings must be ready to start the change
2. Institution of the Sharia Law with stipulated sanctions
3. The inclusion of Islamic Instruction in schools
4. Access to media to enable those in the Islamic faith also disseminate the teachings of the quran to broaden the understanding and change the perception that others have of Islam as a rival religion.
5. Recognition of the fact that human beings are representing an authority to whom they would be accountable.
6. A reform in the way that leaders emerge in Mosques
7. Continuity in relationship between elected leaders and those who seek political office upon assumption of office.
8. The ruled should confront the leaders when there is wrong doing.
9. Accountability is expected of every citizen
10. CBI could consider creating a platform through the use of online chat rooms for discussions on the subject
11. Evolution of a system that ensures the participation of the electorate.

Call to action:

At least 9 members accepted to work with a coalition that sought to bring change to the current situation in the country. Those present were also happy to work with CBI on any areas of mutual benefit. CBI on its own, expressed its willingness to work with the group should they come up with programs of mutual interest. The group had raised the issue of non-inclusion of any muslim on the board of Integrity. CBI welcomed nominations of eligible members of the society from the group.

To whom is the church accountable?

It is, indeed, a pleasure and an honour for me, as chairman of INTEGRITY, to welcome the leaders of our faith-based community to this important forum.  I regret my inability to be with you this morning, but I hope you will permit me to.  write the thoughts that I would have articulated to you if I had been able to attend the forum in person.

One of the great challenges of our time is how to restore the culture of true accountability to our nation.  It seems that people who hold positions of responsibility are focussed on securing the advantages of power, influence and access for themselves at the expense of the people for whose benefit they hold office.  Even where the ‘leaders’ are required by law to give an account of their stewardship (assets declaration; legislative houses), they evade such provisions because the populace does not have a voice that is loud enough to command faithful accounting from the office holder.  Even where government appears willing to tackle the evil of corruption, we are led to wonder if changes of administration will always threaten the sustainability of the effort!

In this situation, people must appeal for help from the institutions that they can still trust – the Judiciary, the Church, some parts of civil society, and the pockets of indigenous cultural behaviour that continue to survive.  Your particular concern at this forum is to consider the role that the church needs to play in order to fulfil its mandate and continue to merit the confidence of the people of our nation.

I am moved to plead with all participants at the forum to arrive at clear and realistic answers to three questions, in addition to the thoughts that you already had in your minds as you came here today.

• Is the church in Nigeria performing the role of helping leaders to attain a clear understanding of their responsibility, and the debt of good performance, probity and accountability that they owe to God and the people of this nation?
• Is the church itself setting a good example in its own performance, as a manager of resources and a faithful agent of the divine purpose and the divine agenda for Nigeria?
• Is the church giving credible attention to its obligation to be the champion of the people in securing their God-given right to good governance and productive transparency on the part of their leaders?

I have no doubt that you have a ready answer to the question - to whom is the church itself accountable?  However, perhaps the leaders of the church would accept a suggestion that their accountability duty is not fully done until they are truly meeting the expectations of their constituency – the people of the church.  I wish you fruitful deliberations.

Christopher Kolade, 11 February 2008