THE authorities of the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, Benin Diocese, recently ordered the immediate closure of the Revd. William Payne Memorial Church, Upper Mission, in Benin City, in order to forestall the looming breakdown of law and order resulting from the ethnic feud rocking the church.

WORSHIPPERS of Igbo extraction, according to the clarification offered by the church authorities on Wednesday, October 16, 2008, through the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of Benin Diocese of the Church, Sir Blessing Osula, had insisted that the worship centre be exclusively designated “Igbo-speaking church”. They had in fact, gone ahead to inscribe same on both the signboard of the church and on the bus belonging to the church.

EXPECTEDLY, worshippers of other tribes who had spent a number of years serving God at the Church resisted their Igbo brothers and sisters and this resulted in a chain of reactions and counter-reactions, leading to the eventual closure of the Church through a circular by the Bishop of Benin Diocese, Rt. Revd. Peter Imasuen on September 24, 2008.

BEARING in mind the universality of God and the fact that He cannot be limited and reduced to a particular tribe or ethnic group, it becomes worrisome why a tribal group within the Anglican Church should take up arms in defence of an obviously non-issue in religious worship.

THE NIGERIAN OBSERVER is particularly alarmed at the degenerate level some Igbo leaders have decided to reduce the worship of God, more so as they have reportedly claimed to have built the church exclusively for worshippers of Igbo origin outside their birthplace. This is a clear pointer to the fact that some worshippers do not see beyond their immediate environment and ethnic group to locate God.

INDEED, the reasons advanced by those behind the ethnic crisis within the Benin Anglican Communion that 99 percent of the worshippers at the Revd. Payne Anglican Church are Igbo-speaking and that 97 percent of them are illiterates who do not understand worship of God outside their dialect, seems unfathomable. Even at that, one does not see anything wrong in conducting services in English to be translated in Igbo instead of outrightly asking that other tribes be excluded from the church, in terms of mode of communication.

MEANWHILE, as the ethnic crisis lingers, indications are that the religious cohesion and evangelical growth in the diocese have been seriously hampered, as mutual suspicion has taken the place of trust, unity and brotherliness. This certainly does not augur well for good neighbourliness and peaceful co-existence.

IN the interest of peace, we call on both Igbos and non-Igbos in the Anglican Communion to reconsider their stance, abide by the resolution of the church authorities to make the worship centre free for all interested worshippers.

AGAIN, the tenets of the Anglican Communion regarding worship should guide all adherents of the Anglican faith. We do not see any justifiable reason why the worship of God should be polarized along ethnic lines.

WE strongly believe in unity of faith and the need to worship God in an atmosphere devoid of rivalry, rancour, bitterness and ethnicity. Unless we eschew all these in our worship centers and practice love, we will not be justified to preach to others, the love of God.

FOR now, we urge the Benin Anglican Church authorities to urgently resolve the stalemate, by inviting the stakeholders and relevant interest groups for a genuine peace talk, where the matter will be resolved once and for all. A stitch in time, they say, saves nine.

Home | About Us | Advertising | Archives | Contact Us | Weekend OBSERVER | Sunday OBSERVER