It is well over two weeks now that more than 40 pupils and their teachers were kidnapped in Oyo state. Masked armed men attacked multiple schools, including the Community High School and Baptist Nursery and Primary School, in the Ahoro-Esinele and Yawota communities of Oriire Local Government Area, taking away young pupils of different ages. Efforts have reportedly been made by both the state and federal government but no meaningful result has been achieved yet. The agony the children and their teachers must be enduring at the moment can only best be imagined. Shockingly, one of the teachers was also beheaded shortly after they were taken away by the kidnappers. It is a deeply harrowing situation that has plunged the entire state into one of gloom and grief. But not the entire country. It has been business as usual. The people of Oyo state have been left to carry their cross alone. And they are saddened that Nigerians are not rising up to cry for the safe return of these poor innocent children who are spending their third week in captivity inside a thick dangerous forest.
One man who has been terribly shattered by the unfortunate situation is the founder of Celica Church of Christ Worldwide, Reverend (Dr.) Adetunji Adeonigbagbe. Though he has been away to the United States for a while now, but still, despite being thousands of miles away from home, the news of the kidnap severely had him broken down when the news first hit him. For days, he was battling to get his body temperature under control. The reality of the condition of the parents and the trauma the children will be going through inside those thick forests brought tears to his eyes. And, more than anything else, he is also visibly unhappy with the government for not doing enough to secure the release of the kidnapped children and their teachers.
In this very engaging interview with Publisher of the Prime Citizens.com.ng, WALE LAWAL (08037209290), Reverend Adeonigbagbe not only expressed his disappointment with the government but also with religious leaders and traditional rulers who have chosen to stay quiet over the kidnap incident. Enjoy the conversation.
You have been in the
US for some time now, sir, share with us, how did the news of the kidnap first
hit you when you heard it in far away United States of America, considering
that Oyo state has been your base for decades now?
I broke down completely. My entire being was shattered. My system shut down. In fact, I must tell you, ever since this kidnap incident happened, the temperature of my legs have gone up. They feel hot. It’s strange, isn’t it? Instead of my body temperature to go up, it’s my legs that the temperature has gone up. You know, when you rub your feet repeatedly with oil, including your toes, and you do that for some minutes, you feel slight hotness in every part of your body up to your brain. The same way if you experience a sudden pain in your heart, you feel the weight down to your legs. That kidnap incident shattered me so badly that my legs suddenly grew hot. In fact, I have never experienced such shock and fear in my life, it was as though I was one of the kidnapped victims.
But perhaps the part that shattered me the most is the innocent children that were involved. Kids that have no idea what the problem is with us in Nigeria, kids that have no knowledge of the sins of their parents and the sins of the nation, they are right there inside the thick forests, suffering for sins they know nothing about. What do you think might become the future of these children? Will they ever be able to overcome the fear, the anguish, this traumatic experience might cause them? Won’t they grow up hating humanity for what we have put them through?
And what about the teachers, the builders of tomorrow, that were also kidnapped? Not only that, one of them was also beheaded. Ha, I completely broke down inside. I had tears running down my face and that has been the case since these children were kidnapped. Even now as I speak to you, I have tears in my eyes. It’s so painful. It’s one of the saddest days of my life. I lack words to describe how I feel right now.
As a father who has
once endured the anguish of losing a child yourself, you certainly can feel
what the parents of these kids are going through right now, not knowing whether
their kids would return home alive or not, what can you say to these
unfortunate parents at this time? How can they be consoled?
Hummmnnn….it’s a difficult one. The question is, have you been faced with the same situation before? Have you encountered such in your life? If not, how then can anyone truly console them? It’s only those who have been hit by this tragedy that can tell what they’re passing through. The only thing I can say is that there is nothing one can tell anyone of these parents other than to ask God almighty to comfort them and strengthen them enough to survive this storm. And for God to rise up on their behalf and fight for them and return their children safely back to them. Otherwise, this is not the kind of situation you tell the mothers and fathers to take it easy, how can any parent take this easy? The truth is, no matter what anybody is telling them right now, they are barely listening because its not making any sense to them. The only thing that will make sense is to see their children return safely back home to them. It’s such a terrible thing.
Even as a man of God, when I lost my wife, I know what I went through. I know how difficult that period was for me. People were talking to me and I would just be looking at them and saying, okay, okay. But I was really not hearing most of what they were saying. My only consolation was that God had told me she was going to heaven. And for about five years now after she passed away, I still cry for her. Not to talk about children who woke up in the morning and went to school, teachers who left home and went to work, and are yet to return home, what words of consolation do you offer such family?
I will only urge them to read Psalm 42 verse 11 which says, “So, I say to my soul, don’t be discouraged, don’t be disturbed, for I know my God will break through for me. Then I will have plenty of reasons to praise him all over again. Yes, He is my saving grace.” That’s my own way of consoling them they should not be discouraged. They should know that God will fight for them. They should know that God exists and that God is the creator of heaven and earth.
Are you pleased, sir,
with the efforts the government has been making so far to have these children
rescued? Lots of Nigerians are upset that the governor of the state, and the
federal government, have been busy going about their political pursuits and
aspirations for 2027, not minding that we still have these children held in
captivity deep inside the thick forests where they have been for over two weeks
running now, what is your take on this, sir?
Let me be frank with you, I want to believe that all that is going on is politics. If some people are saying they have not seen sufficient or convincing efforts on the part of the federal government to ensure the release of these children, I want to believe that it’s all politics in my own opinion. I may be wrong, but let me explain something to you. Not long ago in Rivers state, President Tinubu declared state of Emergency in Rivers state because they cited security concerns and the need to forestall the breakdown of law and order in the state, right? Why hasn’t the President decleared state of Emergency in other states that have been having very serious cases of banditry, kidnapping and terrorism? Why haven’t we seen heavy involvement of the federal government in the kidnapping of these children in Oyo state? Is it because the governor is not in good terms with the government at the centre? It is okay to declare state of Emergencies in states where there are chaos, but I am saying that there have been cries to declare state of Emergencies in several parts of the country owing to the rising cases of insecurity but the government turned deaf ears. I believe the government can do much better but there is a lot of politics going on but I want President Tinubu to do much more than he is doing. A lot is expected from him and he is not meeting the expectations of the people.
For instance, by now, government should’ve given the Amotekun license to carry sophisticated ammunition to enable them fight these terrorists and bandits, what else are they waiting for before they do that? I do not agree that the government is doing enough at all. There is a limit to what the state governors can do because they do not have full control over the security agencies. Everything about insecurity in the country lies firmly in the hands of the federal government. And I believe without a doubt that if the government is truly sincere about fighting insecurity, they will do it in a matter of weeks. They will wipe out all these killers within the twinkle of an eye, but for reasons best known to then, they are not doing that.
What will you say to
religious leaders and traditional rulers who are not speaking out about the
unfortunate situation in Oyo state? Why are they keeping quiet? You did a video
last Sunday, calling out people to come out and call the attention of the world
to what's going on in Oyo state, why are those who are close to the corridors of
power not doing same thing?
I sang a particular song in my last video. The song reflects my deep concern about us, the people and our attitude, and that if we look at the conduct of some people, many will decline to serve Jesus. The truth is, everybody has become corrupt. There is serious corruption in the country. Many of us, the religious leaders and traditional rulers have compromised our positions. I have often said that if my son or any close relative of mine gets to a position of power, I will minimise my closeness with that person and watch from afar how he or she will run that office and serve the people that voted for him or her. But what you find now is that religious and traditional leaders are the ones campaigning for politicians. That is not right. As a religious leader, you cannot compel your followers to vote for any candidate. They can come to you for prayers and you pray for all of them, not that you single one of them out for prayers. When you lord a particular candidate over your members then that means you have turned yourself to their god. Same with the traditional rulers, they are not supposed to take sides with a candidate, our own role as religious leaders and traditional rulers is to serve as mediators but, sadly, we have lost that role. So, how will the politicians and government listen to us if we have compromised our role as mediators and authentic voice of the people?
We have made ourselves servants to these people simply because we accept from them things that we shouldn’t accept and it is said that he who pays the piper dictates the tune. My children, for instance, are the one feeding me today and giving me money, but does that now mean that I will not speak the truth to them when I need to? When they are wrong I tell them they’re wrong. But we the religious leaders and traditional rulers can no longer do that because we need money to build big mansions, we want to be associated with the people in power so that we can become popular, everybody is looking for money! So, tell me, how will the government take us seriously when we talk to them? Our primary role has been neglected. Even among the traditional rulers, there is battle for supremacy, one wants to claim he is bigger than the other. Is that the reason they were made Obas in the first place? All they are clamouring for is how to be close to power. We need to retrace our steps, the religious leaders and traditional rulers because we have totally disappointed the people. This is primarily the reason why many of them are not speaking out and it’s a big shame to all of us! I am not happy at all about this, it really saddens me very deeply, but I believe God is watching all of us. He is the only who can save those children and take them back home safely to their parents.
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