The immediate Past Provost of Federal College of Education, Abeokuta, Dr Ayodele Adetayo Ajayi, decried the failure of the contemporary church in providing the right actions for members and the community as a whole in the face of current economic hardship and hunger ravaging the nation.
Ajayi spoke on Thursday while delivering the 11th Inaugural Lecture titled Growth and Decay in the Dawn to Dusk Trajectory of Christianity: Yoruba Land Experience. In the Lecture,
Speaking on decay and dusk within the institution of the Church, Ajayi opined that the certainty of imminent decay in life should serve as caution concerning man’s attitude towards attraction and greedy accumulation of wealth especially when dubious means were involved.
He stated that billions and trillions of naira looted from the treasury would amount to nothing once the dusk sets in the lives of the rogues.
According to him, the crux of the Lecture was to sound an alarm to correct what was considered an anomaly, call the attention of Christian fathers and leaders to the destructive cankerworm of moral bankruptcy that was becoming rampantly striking the lives of Christians in our days.
He therefore charged all stakeholders to return to the drawing board and do the needful to redirect the pendulum and swing it towards the right direction of moral rejuvenation in Yoruba land.
The former Provost thereafter urged ministers of the word to be committed to emphasizing messages via teachings that would address and promote the ethical development of worshippers and not just encourage things that deal with the earthly needs of the individual or with societal structures.
The Inaugural Lecturer stressed that Churches in Nigeria have been less retrospective in dealing with socio-religious problems like institutionalised corruption, the plight of prisoners, commercialization of religions, schism and disunity, as well as mushrooming of churches which according to him accounted for the excessive emphasis on prosperity, prophecies and deliverance that were in vogue.
“It has consequently resulted in an unbalanced view or exaggeration of part of the truth of the faith or doctrine while some parts have become adversely reduced”, he emphasized.
Ajayi thereafter raised some fundamental issues to curb the decays ravaging the Church in Nigeria, a quick and immediate review and re-examination of the doctrinal stress, practices and priorities held dear by Christian bodies and leaders at personal and corporate levels;
” A return to the teaching of sound doctrines with strong emphasis on Christian ethics should be given the first place in churches and ministries henceforth; organisation of colloquiums for church leaders under the auspices of the umbrella bodies for Christian organisation in Yoruba land to address the issue of moral deficit.
” Continuous Professional Development courses for all Church Pastors, Ministers and Sunday School Teachers with contents that should be closely regulated by the Christian Association of Nigeria; institution of Monitoring and Supervision Team by CAN to keep tap on what is taught and emphasized in the various brands of Christian movements that spring up on daily basis among others.
Earlier, the Provost, Dr Rafiu Adekola Soyele, stated that Dr Ajayi was an eminent scholar who would do justice to the topic of the Lecture, adding that he had paid his dues in and outside the College.
He noted that Ajayi joined the services of the College in 1986 as a Part Time Assistant Lecturer in the Department of Christian Religious Studies rose through the ranks to become a Dean, Director, Deputy Provost and ultimately the 5th substantive Provost of the College from 2012 to 2021.