By Akintunde E. Akinade
“The Lord is good and His mercy endures forever.” Psalm 100:5. “Let us not love with words or speech but with actions and truth.” 1 John 3:18
I can affirm without any equivocation that the sultry spirit of serendipity had a remarkable role in my first encounter with Iya Adura, Rev. Esther Abimbola Ajayi. The experience was surreal and sated with the solemn realization that God works in mysterious ways. The story simply confirms that an event that borders on happenstance can actually engender impressive results. The tender hand of providence has an uncanny way of shaping an innocuous encounter into something loftier and grander.
This encounter firmly affirmed my faith in fate. In the summer of 2018, I had gone to the Hyatt Plaza in downtown New York to speak to His Royal Highness, Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, (Ojaja II), the 51st and current Ooni of Ife about educational empowerment for young people in Ile-Ife and Osun State as a whole. As I patiently and anxiously waited in the lobby for Sarun Oodua, one of the assistants to Kabiyesi, lo and behold, a woman dressed in a white garment, tastefully embroidered in gold, with a matching buoyant white cap, with a cool countenance to boot came through the expansive lobby. The colors, coordination, and cadence of her attire drew on deep aesthetics and allure. She was obviously in a joyous mood. She chatted with people all around with great ease. Her incandescent glow was real and radiant. She took the time to talk to everyone, smiling, and visibly overflowing with real exuberance. Her energy was contagious and comforting. Her presence within that grand space was purposeful and powerful. Maurice Merleau-Ponty would conveniently attribute her impressive presence in this auspicious space as part of the visible. The ambiance of the Grand Hyatt was warm and welcoming. This salutary space signals signs and spirit of ease and embrace. It seemed to me that a strong sense of purpose layed behind her charming appeal. She was not in a rush to abandon her captivated audience. Sarun Oodua finally emerged, also wearing a white garb. After we exchanged our usual banter and greetings, I immediately asked him: who is that woman? He gently responded: that is Iya Adura, Esther Ajayi. He added that Kabiyesi and former President Olusegun Obasanjo came to New York with other royal fathers to participate in a program initiated and funded by her. The program was appropriately dubbed: “Celebrate the Comforter.” No doubt, the movement that she has engendered calls for deep theological, phenomenological, and contextual analysis. Her spiritual movement, mission, and moments underscore the imperative of auspcious space and succour under a salutary sacred canopy. This is an unmitigated refuge in the “monumental Rock of Ages” to borrow a phrase by James Baldwin.
The transcendental gaze of a loving God sounds fitting and comforting in a world torn apart by many centrifugal forces and tendencies. Any pragmatic prognostication concerning credible antidotes for our global crisis cannot ignore the positive contributions of the sacred. The brazen callousness and self-centeredness of the elites in most African countries can be tempered and softened by the tender messages of compassion, justice, and mercy that are deeply embedded in religious traditions. God’s grandiose generosity truly transcends our limited human understanding. Hence, out of the darkness of our divided world, we must continue to petition for God’s goodness and glory. The words of another popular hymn: “O God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come, our shelter from the stormy blast” are mysteriously real and powerful. The prophetic projects, particularly in Christianity are stupendous and they must be celebrated and acknowledged. Afterall, it is not practical to light a candle and put it under a bushel. God is consistently compassionate and comforting in the midst of our current global circumstances and contexts. These encounter and experience constituted the genesis of my intellectual curiosity concerning the global ministry and mission of Iya Adura, Rev. Mother Esther Abimbola Ajayi. A gentle stream of theological eureka sipped into my consciousness as soon as I settled in my room at Union Theological Seminary in New York. The exquisite sensation concerning the lures and persistence of African agency in religious transmission and transformation stirred my spirit and soul. It dawned on me that I have just encountered an auspicious paradigm in the global outreach of an African ecclesia. The epiphany came like a strident gong and it kept ringing in my mind with the utmost precision and power. The more I ruminated on this fortuitous encounter, the more a book project on an African church with a concerted global outreach became clearer to me. Interestingly, this is one of those intellectual pulsations that is obsessively lodged in one’s psyche. Such is the compelling strides of the currents of an exciting intellectual zeitgeist. It doesn’t dissipate; rather, the waves keep getting stronger. Truly, the soothing and seductive sweetness of a new theological inquiry on the resilience of African Christianity captivates and captures the mind. Naturally, I humbly plunged myself into the sublime ocean of this new theological project. In a manner analogous to the experience of Jacob in the Scripture, this new sublime discovery also called for constant wrestling with many competing constellations concerning the non-negotiable theological tools that are needed for making the project a fait accompli. Slowly but surely, I started teasing out the theological tools for a book on the global impact of a church with an African provenance and an ecumenical message. This is about the paradigms of Christian mission in our own tongue. The mission of God, missio Dei gained considerable traction in Africa because of sustained creativity and contextualization. As the torrential stream of exciting theological and missiological ideas started flowing in my mind and marrow, I began putting my ideas concerning the book on paper. I was also inspired by her unalloyed commitment to philanthrophy. Corolyn Forché has remarked that “the heart is the toughest part of the body. Tenderness is in the hands” It seems to me that philanthrophy should be appraised as a theological category. Daniel Caner’s book, The Rich and the Pure: Philanthrophy and the Making of Christian Society in Early Byzantium is very instructive in this particular regard. My book on Iya Adura’s prophetic mandate, movement, and mission will be published in December 2024.
I am writing this piece at a time when religious sensibilties and assembies are facing serious assault in Nigeria. The social media space is sated with vitrolic criticisms and condemnation of religion. Spiritual sentiments are linked with misguided naivete, unscrupulous misdemenours, and unrelenting underdevelopment. These representations are fantastically portrayed in the literary domain. The story of Brother Jero in Wole Soyinka’s play The Trials of Brother Jero underscores the pervasive nature of religious devotion and the dysfunctional role of religion in the public space. Literary imaginations can unearth some of the postcolonial predicaments concerning sacred sensibilities and structures. The unmitigated manipulations of the protagonist in this play, Brother Jero is very hard to ignore by any discerning mind. His unscrupulous impositions and pronouncements offer the substance for a bold critique of prophecy and the art of clairvoyance. They provide a sound heuristic device for delving into the depths of religious inquiry and experience. The narrative is neither other-worldly nor exoteric; rather, it provides a vivid account of people’s existential predicaments, anxieties, and aspirations in relation to the sacred canopy. Such a narrative can only come from someone like Soyinka who is an ardent critic of organized religions, especially Christianity and Islam in Africa. His creation, Brother Jero represents the ambiguities surrounding piety and prophecy. Soyinka, in his characteristic blunt and daring manner, presents in this play, a resounding appraisal of the pitfalls of religious assemblies in Africa. He playfully, no pun intended, interrogates the ambivalence of the sacred in an African context. In the play, Brother Jero’s knack for manipulative pronouncements and unbridled arrogance fit the description of J. Cole’s “false prophets.” The play is a vivid display of the irony of religious commitment and devotion. It straddles the intersection of acceptance and rejection of religious fervor. Soyinka creates a plot of devoted followers seeking for power and affirmation, but at the same time, displaying unrealistic expectations and goals. As the narrative progresses, one begins to question the validity of human freewill and the capacity to reason. The beguiling actions of a marauding prophet do not help matters. Such is the perplexing conundrum surrounding the interactions between people and prophetic agencies.
In January 2023, my wife and I visited the Love of Christ Generation Church C&S (LOC) in Lagos. The Church is an architectural masterpiece. It is fitted and curated with designs from all over the world. It’s ecumenical spirit and profile are truly remarkable. Iya Adura received us with great gusto and grace. She was energetic and in full control of the entire Church service. The atmosphere was radiant and loaded with what William James would describe as the “varieties of religious experience.” Church members were extremely confident because their eyes have seen and their ears have heard God’s incredible wonders in time and space. The sin creepily crouching at the door has been seriously subdued by ceaseless prayer and the colossal clouds of buoyant joy overwhelm people of faith with enchanting exuberance. They are boisterous and energized. They know that if they have one thousand tongues, they would not be enough to glorify and praise the Almighty God. Indeed, their cup of divine blessings runs over. Rudolf Otto’s description of the experience of the Holy as a “mysterium tremendum et fascinans” (a mystery that is fearful and awe-inspiring) was palpable in this sacred setting. In complete submission, they humbly fall on their knees and lift up their voices to glorify and exalt to most High God. In this soul-lifting moment of stunning effervescence, people dance, march, scream, cry, jump, and roll on the floor. They were fired- up and totally consumed by the Holy Spirit. The blazing Spirit sets people’s hearts on fire. On this particular day that the Lord had made, devout people of God are wholly wrapped in the wonders of God’s limitless and abundant love. The energy of this mercy-clad moment is contagious and strong. The visions of splendid and incredible breakthroughs unfold with alarming tempo. In this season of ample grace and favor, all the semblance of ennui, lethargy, and pretense are condemned and rejected. In this daring divine dispensation, sins are summarily expunged and whispers of redemption turn into loud proclamations and praise. The devout and vivacious children of God are redeemed, ransomed, healed, and forgiven. The ambiguities of religious conviction fade away and people offer mighty testimonies of the miracle working God. God is qualitatively Agbanilagbatan (He is the God that delivers completely). God is also acknowledged as Ijinle ninu ijinle (Depth inside depth and deeper than the deepest). The irruption of charismatic imaginations in post-colonial Africa has generated creative theological paradigms that have persistently energized people’s piety, prophetic proclamations, and practices.
The discourses and narratives about the relevance of spiritual sensibilities within the Nigerian landscape must be tempered with informed empathy and reasonable caveats. When all is said and done, religion, when properly practiced, professed, and proclaimed, can actually act as a formidable antidote to injustice, inequality, terror, and moral laxity. Religious and prophetic leaders must realize that God’s sovereignty is not for sale! It is also imperative for them to initiate and facilitate programs that would contribute to societal transformation. In the final scheme of things, I submit that God is neither dead nor a Deus absconditus (hidden God). The mighty and the massive mercy of the Almighty God permeates the entire universe with stupendous majesty and God reigns from glory to glory. In the Christian faith, God is love. God’s abundant grace transcends futile abracadabras and supine hegemonic standards. God’s obituary is the careless condition of a mind that is consumed by grandiose delusions and fantasies. God’s glory and mystery surpass humanity’s finite and often facile understanding. God is quintessentially radiant, real, and robust.
I rest my case!
• Akinade is an ordained minister in the Anglican Church of Nigeria and a Professor of Comparative Theology at Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service in Doha, Qatar.