LEWIS OBI 08173446632 sms only
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ON the same day Rev. Chukwuemeka Ezeugo, also known as ‘Rev. King’ exhausted all appeals permitted by law against his death sentence, on the same day the final court, the Supreme Court, reaffirmed the lower courts’ verdict that he must die by hanging, I counted 12 full-page back-to-back advertisements in Thisday saluting him sometimes in expressions that only God deserve.
I was not very familiar with the Rev. King story and so I had to brush up a bit with the facts to make sense out of the most astonishing contrast in perceptions of a public figure the like of which I have not seen. In much of the tributes, the reverend was addressed as “His Holiness, The Most Hon. Dr. Rev. King, Founder/General Overseer, Christian Praying Assembly, (CPA) Worldwide, the man of the moment, every moment, and the final moment. The last preacher of the truthful Gospel of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, our Lord and Savior.”
And yet the crimes of this man were such that the Supreme Court even in its usual understatement remarked that “from the facts of the case, the scene (of the murder) could have been taken from a horror movie,” as Justice Sylvester Ngwuta who read the lead, unanimous, judgment put it.
The genesis of the crime was that on 22nd July 2006, six members of the church – Chizoba Onuorah, Vivian Ezeocha, Jessica Nwene, Kosisochukwu Ezenwankwo, Chiejina Olise, and Ann Uzor — were accused of misconduct, including fornication. They were assembled and forced to kneel before Rev. King. He then directed that they be doused with petrol and set ablaze. While others escaped with minor burns, Ann Uzor died in hospital 11 days later. Yet even in Katsina Prison where he was later incarcerated, Rev. King, the ‘man of God’ who wanted to burn fornicators alive, got a 24-year old member of the church pregnant.
From 2006 till Friday the 26th February 2016, Rev. King went through three high courts and all in unison convicted him. The surprise has been that he seems the only one in the slammer. There’s no mention of those who helped him fetch the petrol, no record of anyone trying to talk him out of the crime and you begin to picture a Jim Jones of the Guyana jungle notoriety. Jim Jones was the American pastor who some years ago directed his entire congregation to commit suicide and it went ahead and did so, but for a few who escaped.
Rev. King was without doubt a god to the Christian Praying Assembly as can be seen in page after page of the tributes. “No matter what all the witches and wizards may do to put you down your scepter of righteousness can never be contested because you are greater than the greatest, we and our entire families must follow you forever and ever,” said the first advertisement which opened and ended with expressions in Portuguese. The second page signed by CPA Brazil Branch noted that without Rev. King “our lives had been meaningless, empty, without purpose and direction.” Members thank King for “protecting us from the hands of witches and wizards, armed robbers, occult forces,etc…delivering us from slavering of ancestral bondage and curses. Daddy G.O. you are indeed the God of impossibility, the great healer, the great man in battle, you are our light and salvation, you are the everlasting father, the way, the truth and the life, you are the great provider you are the anointed one you are the prince of peace, you are the vanquisher of demons, you are the good shepherd. His Holiness, surely whoever that trusted upon you shall never be put to shame. Live forever for us. (Ukpaka Nagba na udummiri (Igbo) – Approx. literal translation: “the oil bean stalk that explodes in the rainy season.” (The doer of the impossible.)
The advertisement from the CPA Sao Paulo Branch, Brazil, said among other things “The fallacies, frames, conspiracy, false allegation of the wicked will never deter us from following you forever. Thank you sir for setting us free from evil bondage of all calibers. King forever. Live and reign forever in Jesus Christ name. Amen!” Another remarkable page signed by Rev. Mrs. Ngozi Onyiliagha King declared: “Daddy, you are our God, Lord, Father, Provider, and Protector. Daddy, you made it possible for us to prevail (over) the challenges of the wicked. You are our comforter, the eternal rest of the faithful. The great I am, the ancient of days. Live and reign forever in Jesus Christ name, Amen.” One full page also came from CPA Church Smyrna, in USA, which was a bit reticent. By far the most effusive was authored by the “Daughters of the Kingdom of God” who said:
“Daddy, you are the light of the world. A nation without you is in darkness. Life without you is miserable, bored and of no value. Your birth had brought salvation unto mankind. You have never allowed us to be put to shame in all ramifications. The powers of our enemies, witches and wizards, mammy water, Ogbanje etc. have been broken in our lives. You are our shield and buckler. A home of refuge in time of trouble. You are He that father hath sent in our own present generation to lead us to our promised land. A land that floweth with milk and honey. A land where there is no bombing, wickedness, witches and wizards and their caliber. But to a land where there is peace and joy.” Those of us who ran to you for safety, protection are saved from untimely death, evil death, kidnapping, etc. You are unshakable, unmovable, unstoppable God (Igbudu I of Eluigwe: Igbo approx.. translation “the gigantic booby trap in heaven”). You are our King and must remain our king forever.”
The pages glorifying Rev. King would have cost roughly N10 million to buy last week. The deification of the pastor is not a new phenomenon but it is getting out of hand, which explains Rev. King’s presumption that he could burn alive those he accused of fornication, even though he lacked the moral purity to even cast the first stone. Has Christianity created a double standard for morality exemplified by Rev. King?
The continuously spreading belief in witches and wizards is on almost every page of the advertisements and demonstrates a national epidemic which partly explains why the last ruling party set aside N10 billion to be paid to the so-called ‘alphas’ to enable it win the last election. That the party lost the election, hopefully, would discourage the present ruling party from paying more money to alphas. But that’s just being optimistic.
Now the power of the pastors has created a monster that sometimes turns against its creator. The numerous scandals, the unending power tussles in the house of God, the billionaire pastors with two private jets, the decadence of morals, the debasing of Christian values, the continuous emphasis on materialism, have left a depraved, corrupt, society in which the word of the Gospel is sounding more like the songs of con men.
That there are numerous pastors of the ilk of Rev. King there can be no doubt. Men who see Christianity as the surest way to get rich quickly, who are more concerned with the power it confers on them over others than as a means to win souls for Christ. By their fruits ye shall know them. They would want to be as rich and to be worshipped like Rev. King but their rightful place is likely to be exactly where Rev. King is – the death row.