My ambition at CAN was
to complete Ecumenical centre at Abuja which I did and bowed
out –Archbishop Akinola
Primate, Church of Nigeria (Anglican
Communion), Archbishop Peter Jasper Akinola, was in Lagos
during the week for the 2008 conference of Bishop of
missionary Dioceses where he gave a keynote address to the
conference delegates. He tells Innocent Okonkwo in this
interview the reason for the conference, and other issues.
Excerpts:
What is the essence of this conference,
Sir?
The conference is
organized to help our bishops come together to share their
stories and experiences so that they can be renewed,
re-equipped and empowered for a greater productivity in their
various dioceses.
They must have raised
the issue of finance as an important aspect of their work. How
do you intend to tackle that?
The earth is the Lord’s
and the fullness there of as far as I am concerned. I have no
money problem for God’s work. It is God’s church and God will
always provide the resources for his work.
What is your advice to
the youths, especially those who are facing some difficulties
in actualizing their dreams?
They should not resign
to what they call fate because, if your begin to bemoan your
fate by saying ‘what can I do I’m helpless’ that is
Unchristian and uncharitable. They should move on with life,
for instance, when the Israelites left Egypt, at a point they
came to the Red sea and they could not go through and behind
them was Pharaoh’s army, they were cut in between but God said
to them ‘move on’ so no matter what dangers or obstacles that
maybe on the way, God is saying to us at all times, ‘move on
with your life.’
God is always there to
take care of you. Don’t resign to fate by saying there is
nothing you can do. There is always a lot you can do. You must
move on to actualize your potentials and accomplish that which
God has deposited in you.
Are you satisfied with
the state of Christianity in Nigeria considering the rate of
church proliferation. Do you think these church founders have
the basic training for the work of the ministry?
The problem with the
society is that whoever picks the microphone and makes any
noise will have following but if you go through the Bible, you
realize that those who claimed to be apostles of Christ prayed
to God and commissioned people and sent them. Nobody went out
in his own right or his own power. All those who went out were
sent out.
Even Paul Barnabas and
Mark were all sent out. But who sent out these people you are
talking about. Who sent them?
We are about 60 bishops
who have gathered here, they were all sent, that is the
meaning of the word apostle and an apostle is one who is sent.
And God as we all know has not assumed any physical status for
us to say that this is God here. God is spirit and those who
worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.
But through His church
and revelation, He has empowered His church to carry on with
His ministry so the church has a duty to commission and send
people to go out and do God’s mission. However, when anybody
assumes and takes up that responsibility upon himself by
saying here am I, then you want to ask him where are you
coming from who sent you?
Those people who are
doing that have nobody to report to they are not accountable
to anybody. They are the alpha and omega but that cannot
happen in the Church of God.
What do you think should
be done to bring about sanity or checkmate the ugly
development?
I think that question
should go to the Christian Association of Nigeria CAN and not
the Anglican Primate.
But you were once the
national chairman of CAN?
That was then and not
now.
What did you do then to
check the ugly trend?
The building and
completion of the National Christian Centre, Abuja, was of
priority and I gave all my energy to that and that was what I
accomplished.
Accomplished, I pullout.
As a leader in bodies
like the council of Anglican Provinces of Africa, global South
and global Anglican future, is it not possible that your
commitment to these regional and international bodies may
likely affect your attention to the need f church of Nigeria
(Anglican Communion)?
Look, in this church we
have 10 archbishops, we also have 146 bishops. So I work
through the bishops and archbishops and we delegate a lot. We
delegate our work a lot. It can’t be done alone.
We learn from the master
himself how he called the apostles and sent them two by two,
so we are doing the same thing today.
Yes, I am a leader but
leader of the people and the people I lead are themselves
leaders, so we work together as brothers, as colleagues and as
friends. We also share our responsibility and everybody goes
to do his own work. I don’t have any problem.
What then is the most
difficult aspect of being the primate of Church of Nigeria?
What you do is to book
an appointment. I have had enough. I have had enough. Go to my
office and book an appointment. I have had enough.
