Reorientation: a Need for a New Educational Agenda for Africans

The news that the former President of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo has enrolled at Nigeria’s National Open University is pleasing because there is no end to learning.  However, the report, on the other hand is disturbing because of one of the reasons the former Nigeria leader opted to go back to school to study for an MA and a Ph.D. degrees at this time in his life.

The report states that Chief Obasanjo has registered to study Christian Theology in the School of Arts and Social Sciences.  Further, the report reveals that Chief Obasanjo at 77, states that his primary reason is “to acquire knowledge, particularly in Christian Theology, not because I want to be a pastor but rather, to know God more and to be able to serve Him better.”  In other words, Retired General Olusegun Obasanjo is going back to school to study Christian religious theology to allow him to know God more in order to serve “HimHer” (God) better. 

To begin with, most of the Christian Theology is taken from the Bible. One is aware that the Bible, to most Nigerians is the word of God hence our former President want to study Christian Theology to know God more to help him serve God better. From historical records, we are able to state that the Bible is “Apart from its being a book of great historical and biographical interest, the Bible is, from Genesis to Revelation, in its inner or spiritual meaning, a record of the experiences and the development of the human soul and of the whole being of humankind; also it is a treatise on humanity’s relation to God, the Creator and Father.” (Read Charles Fillmore’s Metaphysical Bible Dictionary, 1931, and Joseph Wheless’ Is It God’s Word?).  So, the historical experiences as contained in the Bible will assist our Chief to know God more. Fine.

The purpose of this article is to show Nigerians that there is a serious need for an educational agenda that focuses on a new orientation of the minds of our people about what was before now. This is with a view to assisting in the development of new African perspectives of life as it relates to the type of Christianity that was brought to our land, Nigeria. Our effort here is not a criticism of any religion, rather the effort should be seen as trying to allow our people to see why   our African ideas and ideals including our products and endeavors as a people should be respected.

You see, there is nothing wrong about one’s desire to know God more with a view to relating and appreciating Him more.  The problem one is having with Chief Obasanjo’s choice is where he is channeling his focus to know more about the Divine nature of the Diffused Energies; the I Am that I Am; the Olorun Olodumare, and the Oluwa of the Yorubas; the Osinegba, Oghena, and the Omholua no ma mha kpo, of the Etsako people; the Chineke of the Igbos; the Ghanaians call HimHer, Mau; of course, the Egyptians call HimHer, Ra; the Chinese have their own name, the Jews call Jehovah or Yahweh, and the Indians have theirs.  I am sure the Russians have their own name for the Phenomenon which only the Europeans and Americans call, God.  They popularized their name which now makes it look as if their own name for HimHer is the only One true God.  One is aware that anyone should be able decide on where to find and interact with the One God of humanity, but it is not the high caliber of Chief Obasanjo’s personality who should be telling Nigerians, young and old that he was going back to school to understudy the Christian Theology to allow him know God more. 

Chief Obasanjo’s reason, as he explained is not helpful to the young ones who are at this point in time, trying very hard to escape the harsh hardship and unpleasant conditions of life in the country, partly inflicted on the population through the dogmas taught by the Christian Church.  At the level Chief Obasanjo has served Nigeria as its former Head of State and President, and with his maturity and dynamism, he had exhibited, he should have said or done something else to motivate the youths and people generally in the country; at least give a sense of direction.

When our rulers run away from what they are (our culture), what do we expect from the ordinary citizens?  It is the same Chief Obasanjo who should have allowed the world to know that it was never a sin to have more than one wife when he was President. But he did not.  Nigerians knew that the Chief was a true “Odape” a wealthy family man known in Etsako as Odape. The Moslems are able to marry four wives because they say that their Holy Book, the Quran decrees it.  The Quran and the Holy Book of the Christians, the Bible came from the same source; one is a replica of the other. France is Christendom. The French and their leaders marry one wife but have many mistresses or concubines known to everyone else; and it is not an offence or sin against God and humanity in France.  If this be the case, why should Nigerian rulers, some of who are Christians like Obasanjo continue to shy away from the truth, an apparent deception to destroy the Holistic cultural system of our African sub-region of the World?  One man and many wives, as one can maintain is not a crime or sin, and it shouldn’t be in Nigeria and Africa.

The Christian Church today in Nigeria could be said to be a curse. How else do we explain away the deceits, frauds, colluding with wrong dowers at the helm of affairs in the country, including the reported adulterous life of many of them? Some of the Church pastors ride about in private jets made of Gold.  The former President Olusegun Obasanjo has earned my praises and confidence over the years; he still earns my praise and confidence because in his time he attempted to bring Nigeria out of the doldrums it has been in; hence one is trying to advise him and those like him in the country through this medium. He is also, in our time, the first to recognize the need and worth of the Nigerians abroad, and the impact they could have on the Nigerian economy.  Another behavior one admires about Obasanjo is the fact that he remains as one of the Nigerian heads of state that have never put on a foreign dress such as English suite apart from when he wears his Military uniforms, in my opinion.  He is always on our admirable native dresses outside his home.  He deserves our advise like many other Nigerians on this type matters.

However, most of the Christian theological studies at any of our institutions, low and high, will be nothing more than the dogmas with which Africans have been deceived and held down over the years. This is not to say that there is no divinity in the Christianity. The facts are that the elements constituting the Divine nature of our Almighty Father, the I Am that I Am of us all, are omitted in the teachings of most of our Christian Churches who’s many members and adherents of the religion, constitute a greater part of the servants of instructions in all of the exoteric or mundane institutions of ours.  Our institutions and Theology are not where to learn to know God more.    

The Nigeria Christian Church dogmas are not near the quality and potency of the African cultures, spiritually speaking.  If Chief Obasanjo had opted for the studies on African cultures in any of our universities, it would have created some inspirations that bring about some attention to the need to streamline our cultural elements in our lives.  Awareness and the importance of our culture would have been assisted thereby.  It would have become something to emulate by many Nigerians including many of the youths who are roaming about in the country unable to obtain employment. Having not been equipped with the psychological tools of self value and confidence which is a case against our social institutions and the foreign religious dogmas fed to their psyche.

Authentic African history informs us that the original Christianity came out of Africa from the traditions, but came back refurbished into Africa, (read “The Destruction of Black Civilization, 1987” by Chancellor Williams). Christianity as was imported back into Africa by the colonial overlords which is largely practiced today is nothing like the original one.  The Christianity of today in Africa is a European culture refurbished from Africa’s cultural doctrines or traditions.  To acquire a wider knowledge of the world educationally is different from going to study Europeanized Christian doctrines that do not help an African to understand the world around him or her.  This is because Christian beliefs and doctrines are opium that tranquilizes the adherents. Nigerian rulers do not need to promote such teachings or evangelism.

A conscious person, who wants to know God more, should be in-tune with the precepts of his or her own culture and traditions.  If there are any of the cultural precepts that are no longer in tuned with the time they should be revised within the culture to meet the dictates of the time.  It is not to be replaced with foreign culture, traditions, and dogmas.  Take for an example, The Christian religious dogmas instruct Africans that the Ten Commandments in Christianity was handed to Moses by God atop Mountain Sinai.  This is definitely not correct as a fact and it is the kind of what exactly Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, our former President will be taught in Christian theological studies in our universities.  According to Chancellor Williams, “The great Lawgiver, Moses, was not only born in Africa but he was also married to the daughter of an African priest,”…. and  “The religious belief in sacrifice for the remission of sins was an African belief  and practice at least 2,000 years before Abraham.”  Williams Chancellor conclude further that “Practically all of the Ten Commandments were embedded in the African Constitution ages before Moses went up Mt. Sinai in Africa in 1491 B.C., a rather late date in African history,” page 135.  In his own historical account, Gerald Massey states that “the Mosaic commandments were borrowed from the wisdom of Egypt,” (see Egypt: The Light of the World, Vol. II)   Also, Maulana Karenga asserts that of the Ten Commandments, (9) were strictly African. This is because in my own opinion, the tenth of the Commandments was the one which says that “Thou shall not have another God before me.” Africans could not have authored the injunction of “Thou shall not have another God before me.”  This cannot be in doubt because early in ancient time, Egypt like in any other African Kingdom or Empire was known as the land of the Gods as it was the practice at the time that every household has their own Shrine, Deity or God which they adored and worshipped. This being the case, such an injunction could not be made part of the Egyptian Laws.

Also, the condemnation of ancient African many Gods, as devils by the then new Christian Church have been proved to be wrong.  We read “Instead of the plurality of Gods of the “pagan” religions it adopted the One God Yahweh as finally evolved from old Hebrew mythology, into Three-One-Christian Godhead. The other Pagan Gods became, in effect, the ‘saints’ of the new cult; or as quoted in the Catholic Encyclopedia: ‘the saints are the successors to the Gods’ (Vol. xv, 710).” (see Joseph Wheless’ Is It God’s Word? Or Jeremiah VIII, 8 Rev. Ver.)  Is it impossible that these historical facts are not known to our educators, therefore will not be taught to Chief Olusegun Obasanjo? The answer will be YES. 

Our leaders or rulers must become conscious enough to know that they need to be symbols for our emulation in our societies.  They need to know that to know God and serve Him better is to serve man and woman better in our societies.  When one serves man or woman, he or she is serving the One Supreme Being of the universe.  Man know Thyself is a spiritual mandate. Man is the Microcosm of the Macrocosm.  Our rulers should know this and if not, then they were not preparing to serve the people.  The inadequate preparation and the dogmas imbibed by those who should have serve the people better, is the result of some of the inhumanity to man that pervade our environment.  A reorientation to understand who we are as a distinct people is a greater prerequisite to solution sought by those Africans who have the need to expand their educational knowledge and human affairs. There is a need for a new educational agenda in Africa.