Retired Bishop of Ibadan Diocese, Most Rev. Joseph Akinfenwa, has challenged the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) to remain fearless in speaking truth to power, warning it must never become a “zombie” or allow itself to be intimidated by those in authority.
Akinfenwa spoke on Tuesday at the ongoing 15th General Synod of the Church of Nigeria and the consecration of four new bishops at Our Saviour’s Anglican Church, Ikenne Remo, in Ogun State.
He said the church carries a prophetic responsibility to hold government and political leaders accountable, both by praising them when they perform well and confronting them when they fail the people.
Church Must Not Reduce Its Response to Prayer Alone
Akinfenwa said prayer must not become an excuse for the church to abandon its civic responsibility.
“The church must continue to pray for this great nation. Prayer does not mean abandoning our responsibility as citizens. The church must pray, the church must think, and when necessary, the church must speak truth to power,” he said.
Referencing a recent intervention by the Primate of the Church of Nigeria on an election-related issue, Akinfenwa said he was proud the church’s leadership had shown courage in speaking out.
“We must speak! In your various locations, speak against ills, call the attention of people to what they should be doing… The church must not become zombie or be afraid. God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind,” he said.
He raised concerns over worsening hardship, hunger, unemployment and insecurity across Nigeria, warning against using the country’s resilience as an excuse to ignore suffering.
“There’s hardship in the land. There’s hunger in the land. There’s unemployment in the land, and talk about insecurity; there is so much in the land. There’s anxiety about the future,” he said, urging church leaders to take people’s testimonies of hardship seriously rather than dismiss them.
“When the people cry, the church must not merely say, ‘Let us pray.’ Yes, let us pray, but after we pray, let us ask, ‘Lord, what do You want us to do?’ Prayers must lead to action. Faith must produce works,” Akinfenwa said.
He also urged political leaders to surround themselves with truth-tellers rather than loyalists, arguing that some leaders may not be receiving accurate information about the hardship facing citizens because those close to them shield them from uncomfortable realities.
New Bishops Consecrated At Ceremony
Akinfenwa also charged the four newly consecrated bishops — Ven. Godwin Terso Yakela of Makurdi Diocese, Ven. Kingsley Ogbonda of Uyo Diocese, Ven. Julius Oyediran of Ekiti-Oke Diocese, and Ven. Oluyemi Fatusi of Awori Diocese — to treat their elevation as a call to service rather than status.
“You are not being consecrated for personal honour. You are not being consecrated for ecclesiastical status… You are being consecrated for the service of God and His church,” he told them, noting that their journey to the episcopate began with their election at the Episcopal Synod at the University of Port Harcourt in July.
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