To Save the Falling Nations

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

He was in prison. Not that he had been tried and sentenced, but he was still awaiting trial. He probably had been under this condition for more than a year. Guarded by soldiers, chained on both legs with a rough iron that weighed around seven kilograms, he was confined to a dungeon where he barely saw the light of day. Despite his dilapidating condition, he still hoped for a favorable verdict and his ultimate release. He was incarcerated not because he was a criminal, but for his conviction. A conviction so strong that he could not keep it to himself, rather, he gladly shared it with those he came in contact with. To limit the spread of his message, he had been held captive by the governing authority of his time. He, however, could not help but stay in touch with those who heard his testimony prior to his imprisonment, and had believed his message. Thus, while in Rome as a prisoner, he wrote numerous letters. Here is an excerpt from one of his letters:

I hope to send Timothy to you soon…I have no one else like Timothy, who genuinely cares about your welfare. All the others care only for themselves and not for what matters to Jesus Christ. Philippians 2:20–21 (NLT)

Is this not the condition of Africa today? A continent that has nations filled with millions of apostles, prophets, pastors, reverends, bishops, evangelists, deacons, deaconesses and a host of others with numerous hierarchical titles from the Church, yet it is sinking. The land is dying under the filthy hands of corruption with only a handful of God’s protagonists acting as voices in the wilderness. Many of our so-called men and women of God are merely after earthly treasures. Very few are like Paul or even Timothy in their Christ-centered loyalty to the Gospel, and commitment to the welfare of the flock.

Africa remains the poorest continent on earth though it is the second most-populous continent. It had an estimated population of 1.033 billion people in 2013, of which about 50 percent are Christians. In the 2013 report of Transparency International, around 80 percent of African people live on less than two US dollars a day. Poverty is killing Africa. These poor people have very low access to information, and they remain uneducated. They are not enlightened, and many do not know their rights. Their lack of exposure leaves them more vulnerable to be exploited, and this is one area in which the Church is most needed.

The Sting of Corruption

Africa is in a hopeless situation. Corruption in the continent is endemic and has made the continent the poorest in the world. Poverty is on the increase in every nook and cranny of the continent.

In Africa, our petty thieves are maimed and killed while the highly placed ones are usually celebrated and eventually elected or appointed into public offices. Nearly all African countries are bedeviled with decayed and decaying infrastructure. Our hospitals have become mortuaries, with children dying in the thousands daily. Our airlines, railways, shipping lines, and public road transportation system have collapsed and are majorly abandoned. There is no portable water in our towns and cities, not to talk of the rural areas. Our main source of power is diesel-powered, privately owned electricity generators. The nations are continually choked with rising international debts. Our schools have become rubbles and tutors are unpaid for several months. Cultism is on the rise in our high schools and post-secondary institutions. People are terrorized by armed robbers in their homes and on the roads. The economy is in shambles with exchange rates of African currencies to internationally accepted currencies plummeting drastically over the years. Ritual killing is the order of the day. Militant insurgency is getting strengthened while the nations` military are continually disarmed. Terrorism is claiming thousands of lives annually. The leaders in our Churches are becoming fatter at the expense of their vulnerable followers. Our courts are conscience dead and cannot uphold the rights of the citizens. Our police stations have turned to dens of robbers. Our refineries are grounded. Kidnapping is at its peak. Our narrow-minded young men have turned to fraud and armed robbery, while our susceptible young women are engaged in prostitution. Baby factories and human trafficking are now at great heights, while trade in human body parts is prevalent. The vast majority of the people are pauperized and life expectancy in Africa has dropped drastically.

Every sector of the continent is plagued by corruption, with the Churches not exempted. Our saints are being sidetracked, ridiculed and demonized, while the thieves in public offices are much-admired and canonized. The continent’s situation brings to light the word of Isaiah. He says: “Your princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves; everyone loves bribes and follows after rewards. They do not defend the fatherless, nor does the cause of the widow come before them” (Isaiah 1:23). In the midst of this pathetic situation, some writings are sanguine and profess with hope that Africa’s tomorrow will be alright while others portray discouragement that corruption is here to stay and no one can do anything about it. Some again opine that corruption is an essential part of growth – and every developed nation experienced it along the way.

However one views it, corruption in Africa is killing the continent. The love of money has boosted the upward movement of evil in the African nations and the continent is falling. Ethics is lacking in all institutions of the continent. Corruption is an epidemic in Africa, and the continent is gradually becoming a tragic icon. What can we do? How can we fight and conquer corruption that is killing us more than any other disease? Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, while talking about how the economic team which worked on the reforms of Nigeria did its work in her book – Reforming the Unreformable, posits:

That fighting corruption successfully would require four crucial and inseparable ingredients. The first was political will and commitment from very top. The second was specificity in terms of identifying the most damaging forms of corruption and focusing on these. The third was developing measurable indicators of success or other means of demonstrating success. We strongly believe that the more the Nigerian public could see a serious, successful fight against corruption, the more they would own the fight and demand that it continue. Finally, we needed the ability to withstand personal intimidation or threats, and to forge on with the fight.