Nicholas Ibeawuchi Omenka - BETH 10: 21 The Winds of Change: The Church and the Transition to Civil Rule Programmes in Nigeria By Nicholas Ibeawuchi Omenka Abstract For more than a decade, military disengagement from African politics has been at the centre stage ofpolitical debate on the continent. While several African countries have recorded significant successes in this regard, the Nigerian experience has been one of a long succession of disappointments. This paper examines the various transition to civil rule programmes in Nigeria from. the perspective of the Church's reaction to them. It primarily establishes a synthesis of the various communiques and pronouncements of the Church leaders on the transition programmes and situates this within the Church's social teachings and the global insistence on human rights and free choice of governance. A central observation from this study is the fact that the transition programmes have transformed the otherwise politically passive Church leaders to a vocal and active political force. As often happens in totalitarian regimes, where opposition is rarely tolerated, the Church is looked upon as the only group capable of restoring democratic rule. The Nigerian Church, in its opposition to the continuation of military rule, in its insistence on a secular state and in its call for a renewed political witness of its faithful, is providing a leadership that is in line with international human rights efforts. The Imperatives ofPolitical Witness What the Church needs is not adulators to extol the status quo, but men whose humility and obedience are no less than their passion for truth; men who brave every misunderstanding and attack as they bear witness. (Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger) As the transition to civil rule moves on with a frustrating slow pace, Church leaders in Nigeria are becoming increasingly vocal in their 22 The Winds of Change - the Church and Transition Programmes criticism. Their courageous outspokenness,is, in itself, a new but exceedingly welcome development in the Church's involvement in the national debate. For many decades, especially during the nationalist struggle, the Church was often accused of political inertia. It does indeed appear that Church leaders needed the challenge oftyranny to awaken to the imperatives of their political witness. Ironically, it is the once most politically inactive group - the Catholic hierarchy - that is now vigorously providing leadership in the struggle for a just and peaceful political order in Nigeria. The wealth of social teachings of the Church undoubtedly underscores this outright demand for a proper political order in Nigeria. In the words of the Catholic Bishops' Conference ofNigeria (CBCN); these teachings form "a special and incomparable contribution of the Spirit-led Church to the search for a free, just and prosperous world community."} Dubbed the magna carta of social Catholicism, the Rerum Novarum of Pope Leo XIII (1891) induced a tremendous leap forward in the political and social consciousness of the masses during the industrial revolution. The moral vision of social ministry is the focus of the Vatican II "Constitution of the Church in the Modem World" (Gaudium et Spes - GS). Here the protection of human dignity and the promotion of human rights are 'defined as essentially ecclesial tasks.i The explication of social roles as theological imperatives is also undertaken in post-conciliar documents. In the introduction to "Justice in the World." the Synod of Bishops in 1971 described any action in defence, of justice ClS "a constitutive dimension of the ,,3 preaching ofthe Gospel, The document goes further to remind the Church that she has "a proper and specific responsibility which is identified with her mission of giving witness before the world of the ,,4 need for love and justice .contained in the Gospel message. More recently, the Pope's exhortation after the African synod, Ecclesia in Africa, says "The lay Christian engaged in democratic struggle according to the spirit of the Gospel is the sign of the Church which participates in the promotion of the rule of law everywhere in Africa.,,5 Thus, in the seemingly unending period oftransition to civil rule in The Winds of Change - the Church and Transition Programmes 23 Nigeria, Church leaders have been under pressure to carry out their prophetic mission as spelt out in the social teachings of the Church. They have faced this challenge with remarkable adroitness. The very first concerted effort in this direction, was the formation of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in 1976. As the Obasanjo instigated return to civil rule became imminent, the Christian Churches were literally compelled to come out as a unified body in defence oftheir common interests. Ever since then, CAN has never, if need be, shied away from the politicisation of religion, a trend ,,6 which has been described by some as "a dangerous awakening. But, given the political upheavals of the last two decades and the overt Islamisation of the country, the creation of CAN can be said to have a divine instigation. CAN itself represents a victory of a sort for the Christian Churches themselves. For many decades, the various Christian denominations have formed associations and pressure groups that were designed to act as foils and rivals to one another. In the 1950s, for instance, the Eastern Nigeria Catholic Council (ENCC) was conceived as a counter-balance to the Christian Council of Nigeria (CCN) and its sister organisation, the Convention of Protestant Citizens. The issue then was educational and political rivalry among the Christian Missions. Today the common threat is the military and Islam. This calls for a unified front and CAN has emerged as a force to reckon with in the struggle for a return to civil rule and the establishment of a secular state. As a member of CAN and as a separate body, the CBCN has, since the beginning of the transition programme in the 1970s, remained "fearless in its indictment and constructive in its admonition.'" On the eve of the 1979 transition, the Catholic Bishops issued a joint pastoral letter on the "Civic and Political Responsibility of the Christian." Subsequent titles of almost all the communiques of the CBCN since the 1980s underscore the seriousness and concern with which the bishops follow the transition to civil rule in Nigeria," Even communiques that are not given specific titles are often proceedings of deliberations necessitated by political crises resulting from the transition programme. A good example is the communique at the end 24 The Winds of Change - the Church and Transition Programmes of an emergency plenary meeting in Enugu in July 1993 following the annulment of the elections of June 12. The Church leaders spoke of "a nation adrift," and said that they had a prophetic mission "to warn...against dangerous trends in the affairs of the nation.?" Defending the Church's right to speak out on political issues, an editorial in The Leader entitled "Church and' Politics," makes the following observations: ...the Church's ministry and mission requires her to relate positively to the political order, not from the safety of sidelines but by active and effective involvement in the political process, since social injustice and the denial of human rights can often be remedied only through this process....The clergy are the official teachers of the Church entrusted with the responsibility of communicating the content of the Church's moral teachings and illustrating its moral relevance to social and political issues. When they do this, they are not dabbling in politics. They are simply calling attention tothe moral and religious dimensions of secular issues, keeping alive the values of the Gospel as a norm 10 for social and'political life. The involvement oftlie spiritual leaders in national affairs does not stop at verbal admonitions, but indeed includes some noteworthy practical propositions. In 1985, long before the government stumbled st upon visionary projections for the 21 century, the Church leaders announced a five-point Vision 2000. Termed the "Christian vision for the future," the forward glance stole the show from the secular prophets by virtue of the richness of its content and the practicability of its schemes. The Church's Vision 2000 includes concrete plans for: 1) the attainment of national unity, 2) humanitarian projects for the benefit of the weaker members of society, 3) the installation of a democratic culture, 4) the involvement of the private sector in the economic and . social spheres, and 5) Nigeria's leadership role in Africa.'! While the Church leaders are so sure of their specific role in the national debate, they have always felt the need to remind the The Winds of Change - the Church and Transition Programmes 25 Christians ofthe sacredness ofpolitical involvement. "When you hear the call of God to leadership," they advised in 1989� "answer with humility and generosity of spirit, accepting the risk of political involvement in the name of the Lord Jesus, and for the good of the Nation.,,12 This was in reiteration of a similar call made the previous year and which reads in part as follows: We remind Catholics and any others, who recognise our religious and moral leadership, that they have not only a right but also a duty to work for and ensure the establishment of a just and moral order in our nation. Good and honest people with God-given inclination and talent for political leadership should not hesitate to offer themselves for the service of the nation. In spite of the high risks of public office in our land, it must be assumed by honest people in the spirit of service and sacred mission, in order to· rescue our land from endemic moral corruption, political 13 instability and unjust socio-economic systems and policies.