by Phoenis Owen
Tufia in English means, God forbid. Some may think otherwise. But I am entitled to my opinion no matter how positive or negative. Tufia is a simple way an average Igbo person curses out evil away from himself. It is a word that does not stand alone. When spoken, it must be followed by a landing prayer. For example, tufia, God forbid: tufia evil should not find me; tufia my enemy will not succeed.
I have chosen it to begin my discussion today because, a lot is happening in the society. Imo wide, but Nigeria wider. But, charity they say, begins at home. If we want to clean the Nigerian society, we will begin in my State. If we wish our country good, we will wish Imo State better. So, it is not out of selfishness that Imo State, my State of birth and residence to be the focal point of my discussion.
Recently, I overheard some people in the market not quite long ago talking of the power of money and its influence. Surprisingly but truthfully, they asserted that although God owns the world and he created it according to Christian religion, but that money is ruling the world today. They were three discussants and they three agreed that “money is the root of all evils.” That means that money is a satanic property.
Let us look at it this way. The population of the world is said to be over eight billion people. Half of the world population lives in China and India. But both the Chinese and Indians are not mostly Christians. They are Hindus, Buddhists, Voodooists or to a significant extent, ethiests. But no matter their faith, every one of them is pursuing money. Of all the people of the world that are out there at this moment in air, sea, homes, houses, offices, playing fields, etc, everybody needs money. Is it not so?
It is for this reason that evil has taken over our society beginning from our home. It is in the pursuit of this satanic instrument called money that evil is thriving and thriving strongly. Although every aspect of the society is monetarily saturated, it is important for the purpose of today’s discussion to begin with religion in our society today.
Those who were born before nineteen seventy could still remember that before the civil war, there were just a handful of churches in today’s south Eastern zone of Nigeria. The churches then were the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Methodist, Assemblies, Presbyterian, Apostolic and Baptist. Understandably, except the Roman Catholic, others are quite similar in their doctrinal orientation. Then and only then, membership of any Christian faith was a very serious affair which demanded strict obligation and strict adherence to the faith’s doctrines. Then, there were countable numbers of churches in towns and villages with the result that some people might trek few kilometers in order to attend church service. Similarly, there were few priests and they were highly respected and sometimes thought that they were earthly angels. On the part of the Catholic Church, there were not more than two or three Bishops in charge of a vast area in the then eastern region.
On its part, the Anglican Church did not have more than two or three Bishops located at Onitsha, Enugu and Owerri. It was the same pattern with the Catholic. The most interesting was that the then Bishops were foreigners. Even among Catholic Priests of different categories, over ninety
Percent were foreigners mostly from the Irish Republic (Ireland). Among the Anglicans, their Bishop and other hierarchy were foreigners. Then before the civil war, Christianity was a highly revered religious faith. And Christians were looked upto for moral guardianship and leadership. There used to be a general belief that then any agreement with a Christian, no witness was necessary because such a Christian knew nothing but to speak, “the gospel truth.”
But after the civil war, the entire social and religious order was dislocated to the effect that today, it has become almost a mockery for one to say that one is a Christian. In fact, membership or the toga of Christianity today is too formal. Because, people often and more so, first introduced themselves as “child of God” or “born again.”
By nineteen ninety six during the Otokoto Saga in Owerri, there were just very few Penticostal Churches. The most prominent was the Overcomers Ministry hence it was attacked by zealots and fanatics belonging to the Orthodox.
It is no longer secret that for every one Muslim prisoner in a prison yard, there may be six Christians. In some States the figure could go as high as ten. Hence one journalist of foreign extraction once wrote, “Nigeria is a church going nation as well as prison going.” What an incompatibility.
It is a well known fact that throughout South East, accommodation for residential purpose is in acute short supply. In Imo State, it is horrible as well as in Aba and Onitsha. Here in Imo State, particularly in the State Capital, Churches and Churches of every description have continued to confiscate every available accommodation.
Unfortunately, the so called pastors who have little or no training continue to gather these thirty-miracle seekers. They gather in a flat, or even one room, shouting, drumming and praying for more members. Before long the number has exploded.
Using their sugar and honey-coated tongues they promised their members everything. To the sick they promise miraculous recovery, to the blind, they promise bright vision restoration, to the cripple they promise “arise and walk,” to a barren woman, they promise “fruit of the womb,” to a lady anxious to marry, they promise the arrival of Mr. Right, to unemployed, they promise an executive job in an oil company, to a visa seeker, they promise visa issuance. For every problem, they have answer. They are now comparable to “trado medicine men who promise to cure every ailment.”
Unfortunately, people surge into these churches even when they could see the emptiness of the promises. They tend to believe everything out of the mouth of a pastor. Why, because they are highly credulous people who believe to see a miracle that can never come unless Christ comes again.
Painfully, these Pastors abuse their members, dupe them, rape them, steal from them and sometimes elope with those they see that are too desperate. Some promise removal of ancestral curses to a point that one illiterate pastor recently promised removal of curse number 77. Oh, no. where are we, where are we going. Although we may claim the prevalence of unemployment, on a serious note, there is no unemployment among pastors who verily verily smile to the bank on daily basis while their members are crushed to perpetual impoverishment. I make bold to say loud and clear that old street magicians are now in the churches as pastors while mediocre four one nineners are using the church to perfect their activities. In addition, we have three categories of public thieves, arm robbers, penrobbers and later day so called pastors. The three are dangerous to the society.
One can properly asked, why are all these things happening? The answer is simple in search of money and truly not to help people to salvation. And I as this State of affairs continues, one can say that Satan has taken over. But as faithful Christians, we must spit out, tufia, God forbid.
