Rivers State: The Role Of The Church In Encouraging Cultism

My grandfather believed in God. In fact, Chief Daniel Makele Okocha was one of the very few people that the Anglican Communion allowed the rare privilege of being buried right inside the Church. The only reason why he was laid to rest at the door post of the Holy Trinity Anglican Church, Rumuigbo, was because of his immense effort in dragging the House of God, all the way from Port Harcourt main town, to the ancient community of Ekinigbo, at a time when voodoo held my people to ransom.

Very early in life, I was told how Chief Daniel woke up one morning, to the consternation of his entire family, and declared total submission to the will of the Father of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ - Jehovah.
The strong man of Ikwerre land told whoever cared to listen that he was given an urgent mandate to beam in God's incandescent light into a community that was then under bondage of diabolism. But it cost him a lot, he lost landed properties, relatives and friends due to his new found love. At a time when land cases were usually settled by swearing of oath and other rituals, Daniel Makele Okocha gave up almost all that he had because of Christianity; the Church meant everything to him.
Till date, the Holy Trinity Church remains the official Church of the Okocha family. We were taught that man was created specifically for the service of God and humanity; to us, the Church is the symbol of love, development, hope for a bountiful existence and a blissful eternity. Are these virtues still available in God's house these days? In Rivers State, has the Church been able to recreate the Kingdom of God on earth?
In the midst of the killings, beheadings, kidnappings, armed robbery and wanton violence, what particular stance has the body of our Lord Jesus Christ taken to show complete and public condemnation, unapologetic disapproval, and a ferocious fight against cultism?
The term 'cultism' is just a silly way of describing an ugly set of young men and women who have sold their soul to evil for the demonic rewards of violence, quick wealth, territorial control, peer supremacy, sexual slavery and other instruments of immorality. Let us say it exactly the way it is; cultism is the bane of underdevelopment in Rivers State and Niger Delta at large. The irony of the whole thing is that this same cultists are committed members of different churches littered everywhere in our towns and villages.
A typical Sunday morning in the oil-rich Rivers State is usually the most colourful day of the week. As early as 7am every Sunday, sons, daughters and residents of the supposed Treasure Base of Nigeria, file out en mass in well tailored apparels, beautifully crafted shoes, and excellently groomed bodies, all in a bid to pay homage to the creator of heaven and earth. The location is that building with the best architectural design in town. With interiors not less than Persian inspired works of art, Port Harcourt Churches are the best. Sundays are very fantastic in Rivers State.
Many have said that the main reason why they go to Church every Sunday is because they want to tap from the spiritual wisdom of their various men and women of God. To them, God speaks out through a certain man or woman every Sunday to his people. They can't miss service, never, it's not possible. But the questions that loom large are these; what do they hear in those Churches? What does the Man of God or the Woman of God preach every Sunday? Isn't your man of God or Woman of God concerned about the astronomical rate of killings, beheadings, kidnappings, armed robberies and other ills in Rivers State? What is the position of the Church?
The sad truth is that our Churches are as disconnected from the society just as an unplugged electric kettle is to a power source. Yes, power source. The Church is supposed to be the power source of the society. Pastors are supposed to be men and women of God who can manage the burden of uprightness, in order to preach same to their congregations.
The Church of Christ in Rivers State must step away from mediocrity; the body of Christ must understand that there cannot be earthly prosperity in the midst of cultism. Cultism represents everything about devil, hence the Church in Rivers State must come out with a definite and an aggressive approach towards the decimation of this very scourge that has pervaded the length and breadth of Rivers State. The Church must stop encouraging cultism with her deafening silence.