One Rape In The Cathedral, Too Many -By Isaac Asabor

It is not an exaggeration to say that when Foluke Daramola-Salako, Nollywood Actress and founder of Passion Against Rape and Abuse Africa, PARAA, ,during her conversation with Funmi Iyanda on a Talk Show, Public Eye Live, on Friday said that 75% of the perpetrators of the rape cases handled by her NGO are religious leaders, not a few apologists in the Christendom might have literarily felt their eyes popping out in sarcastic disbelief. 

Glad enough, not few people that are averse to rape, particularly when committed in the church; which is in this context being referred to as Cathedral, the actress was able to back her findings with statistical data when she said, “75% of the cases I have on my table are from religious leaders, and a lot of time, we don’t get to the end of it, because when we start, the family would come and tell us we should leave the religious leader to God.”

To those who are ignorant or rather naïve, one of the lessons in the Christendom is for them to understand the meaning of the idiomatic expression that says “The hood does not make the monk.” The idiomatic expression interpretatively means that people should not be judged based on their external appearances, as it does not always offer insight to the internal values of a person. For this reason it is frequently said that appearances deceive.

In the field of literature, Williams Shakespeare in his Magum Opus, Macbeth, said that, “There’s no art to find the mind’s construction in the face”. This line is spoken by King Duncan in Act I, Scene IV after he has been told that the Thane of Cawdor has been executed for his crimes of treason.

To those in the Christendom, they were also warned in Matthew chaper 7 verse 15 to “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.”

Not a few readers of this piece would ask, “What is the essence of this write-up?” They would reinforce the question with the scriptural injunction that says, “Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm”, as enshrined in 1Chronicles chapter 16 verse 22. In this part of the world, no one dare or has the effrontery to interrogate a man of God as both he and his followers have the predilection to fly off the handle at any slight provocation.

To me, it would have been good for men of God to be cautioned whenever the need arises, especially when they begin to teach and live within the context of heresy. Why? People are easily distracted by holy garbs, nice shoes, tailored clothes, and expensive cars and oratorical prowess of pastors. Without sounding hyperbolical, some Men of God in this part of the world need the foregoing somewhat paraphernalia and sanctimonious disposition for the public, particularly their followers, to be easily deceived and distracted.

However, it is expedient to caution the public at this juncture that they should not be distracted by the lifestyles of some men of God, a doctor’s white coat, or a judge’s black robe. They should always take note of the fact that one is not instantly infused with wisdom and understanding. Rather, it comes from years of listening to people, prayer, reflection and learning to recognize the wolf in sheep’s clothing.

Unarguably, one of the most attractive traits that endear a man of God to the people or rather his followers is his ability to cry out instead of uttering prayers. In some cases, when the atmosphere reaches its feverish peak, people scream out and faint in every corner. The preacher apart from uttering prayers that appear as if he is crying, actively move about within the congregation, keeps the microphone to his lips and makes the sound of the wind while he guides people ever deeper into religious fanaticism. He prays by speaking in strange tongues and jumps off stage to lay his hands on people’s heads”. To many, any pastor that is able to demonstrate the foregoing graphically illustrated holier-than-thou mode of worship automatically becomes the Real McCoy.

I must confess at this juncture that this piece was inspired by the news that has it that detective from the Nigeria Police Force, NPF, Area Command in Warri, Delta State arrested the Founder and General Overseer of the Victory Revival Fasting and Prayer Ministry, Bishop Elijah Orhonigbe for allegedly raping a nineteen-year-old girl (names withheld). As widely reported, the popular cleric was arrested on Friday, June 5, 2020.

The suspect was reported to be cooling off his feet at the police cell in “A” Division, Warri. Churches which are invariably referred to as Cathedral in this context are by each passing day being desecrated due to the conducts of their pastors or bishops that are ironically not “Born-Again”.

At this juncture, it is expedient to ask, “If our wives, sisters and daughters are not safe within the church premises, where will they be safe? It is not an exaggeration to say in African proverb that “There is danger when a dog resorts to chew the bone that is tied on its neck for identification purpose”. Similarly, “The gatekeeper that has the key in his custody does not steal as doing that will portray him to be foolish”. If I may ask, “Why would a truly called Shepherd of God decides to endanger the lives of the sheep in his custody?”

There is no denying the fact that rape perpetrated by men of God is a topic most of us would rather avoid. However, for those who have experienced abuse in this way, the effects can be devastating. What is more? Sexual abuse is often misunderstood and misnamed. Often, those who have been victims are blamed, rather than their perpetrators.

Be that as it may, Cara Balen, Amnesty International Student member in an article titled, “Let’s talk about rape”, and published on the webpage of Amnesty international on September 3, 2019 said, “It is not easy to speak about rape, to go into the horrific detail of what happens and the devastating trauma it leaves behind. It is so hard that, as individuals and as a society, we often shy away from the subject altogether. But, as hard as it is, we need to talk about rape.

As you read this piece, one may not be wrong to say that not few Nigerians are asking, “Does the Christian ministry attract sexual deviants, or mold them?” The foregoing question may be an unanswerable poser. When one look at the way some men of God have got themselves enmeshed in the quagmire of rape, one may surmise that the more they preached from the pulpits against the temptations of pornography and illicit sexual relations, the more they tried to overcome their collective impulses, and fighting their own nature. Or one may speculate that the deep sexual repressions of the fundamentalist religion, coupled with the unhealthy adulation they received as God’s chosen, corrupted what was once an innocent nature.

In either case, the mixture of ministerial power with religion’s social inequities and repressive doctrines is demonstrably explosive. At this conclusive stage of this piece, it is germane to say that one rape in the Cathedral is becoming too many as invariably reflected in the title of this piece speaks volume. To conclude this piece, not a few Nigerians would be gladdened in their hearts when the leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) rein in men of God who minister in churches as if the purpose of collective of their calling was to align with Satan in worsening the society.