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Fr. Mbaka's confession…
Written by PETRUS OBI, ENUGU
~The SUN Nigeria. Friday, December 16, 2016.
My transfer has brought about miracle explosion in my ministry
HIS transfer at a point became an issue as his followers saw it as a major distraction to his adoration ministry. They were afraid of the unknown but Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka, the fiery Enugu Catholic priest who prophesised the end of former President Goodluck Jonathan's era, may have had a premonition of what lay ahead of him.
Before he departed The Christ the King Parish GRA, for an ob- scure Our Lady Rosary Parish, Emene, earlier in the year, he told the congregation that God was about to lift the adoration ministry to greater heights.
He said; "God is wonderful. You can see that I am smiling, filled with cheers and the joy of the Lord. I have the feeling that God's hand is in my going out of GRA. I am seeing everything as the will of God. When I remem- ber that my providing God is with me and for me, I am filled with joy and I'm comforted. The ways of God are divine and mysterious and at times when he wants to do a thing, we humans may not understand it. We may be seeing the external but God who sees the future planned and packaged everything for us."
Few months after the trans- fer, Mbaka in an exclusive chat with our reporter last week at the permanent site of the adora- tion ground in Emene said, "the Journey to the adoration perma- nent site is a blessing in disguise and I welcomed it with joy even though I was misunderstood. Some people who thought I would disobey the church and the Bishop by saying I would not go out; but how can I dis- obey the bishop?
"Now we have packed in here and within few months, the number of people coming there has doubled more than 20 times and we have started a new par- sonage, Adoration parsonage, and it's nearing completion. God is 100 per cent on our side and the congregation is happy and I am exceedingly happy. I am grateful to the Bishop and the Church that moved me out oftheGRA;Iamjustlikeafish that was growing inside a bottle and now has been put inside the ocean. I thank the church for that move from the GRA for the Ministry is serving a larger role to the global universe; it is not just a parish per se, it is serving the whole Nigeria. It is inter cul- tural, it is inter denominational, it is also inter tribal. The adora- tion Ministry, Enugu, Nigeria is the grand parent to all the new adoration ministries that aregrowing and God has given us a home and made Umuchigbo, Nike land where we are, a glori- ous empire of the Holy Spirit.
Mbaka who had accommoda- tion issues when he was trans- ferred noted that apart from the parsonage that is almost com- pleted, other projects are in the pipeline expressing happiness with the worshippers, with the government of the day.
"The government of Enugu led by Governor Ifeanyi Ug- wuanyi is adoration friendly and we are enjoying the highest peace we have never enjoyed in the annals of the history of the ministry. So things are moving very well; and since we came in here God has been shocking us with goose-pimple-arousingmiracles; we have never expe- rienced such miracles as we are experiencing now. As He said in John 14:12 'for the works you did you shall be and do greater works;' the works are now be- ing made manifest and we are thanking Him for the massive miracles; many lame people have walked; many blind peo- ple have seen, by the power of God; I don't claim the glory. By the Blessed Sacrament many barren women conceive twins, triplets and at times dead peo- ple rise; like the last experience- a woman who worships in the Chosen Ministries came here with an 8-month pregnancy in which the unborn baby had been confirmed dead after an ul- tra sound. Two days after otherscans had confirmed the baby dead she came to the adoration ground, and as we were pray- ing I lifted the Blessed Sacra- ment before the woman with the dead child and the child came back to life and last week the child was delivered. We are having miracle explosion in the adoration ground since we got here; ministry where jobs are given to people miraculously and indiscriminately; under a week over 300 of our members will get jobs as if to say that the solution to the recession is here in the adoration ministry. And many prayers are being said here and we are hoping that through the adoration prayers Nigeria will have solution to re- cession. We are not waiting for the president or the economy; we are using our own supernat- ural formula through the power of the Blessed Sacrament to wage war against the recessions as we warred against Ebola. So we cannot praise God enough; many blind receive their sights here, many deaf people hear; there is no day that God does not record shocking miracles.
An elated Mbaka further said; "We are experiencing un- countable miracles as He did in His own time; what we are ex- periencing at the new site is the same type of miracle in John 20:30; John 21:25, uncountable miracles. Where do we start? Thousands of souls are com- ing back to Christ through the adoration ministry; and people will fly down from overseas to give their lives to God at the adoration ground; it is now a pilgrimage centre for life sav- ing, for soul saving, for spiritu- al blessings, financial blessings and otherwise. Even people with vocational hard luck we pray for their liberation. That is why, even this community we are staying, multiple mira- cles for the people. So we are very happy; we are excited; we are not regretting our journey from GRA to the new site. It is a blessing and we thank ev- erybody who supported us in prayers. The entire members of the adoration ministry are happy; now the programme has gone to a level beyond hu- man definition; we do things in ordinary way, God turns it into extra ordinary. We are not doing anything different from what others are doing but only God knows how He turns the little things we do into mira- cles. So He takes all the glory; I am just an instrument for the miracle and I am very happy; I am healthy; since we packed in here I have never suffered even headache; no malaria, nothing. I am strong, enthusiastic with high passion to do more for God. And I wish to remain for- ever for Christ; and I have no problem with the Church and to the glory of God things are go- ing well; we are flourishing like a palm tree and we are grow- ing like the Cedar of Lebanon. Things are working out fine and we thank God for the fresh anointing of the Holy Spirit be- cause since we packed in here we have been abiding under the canopy of fresh anointing of the Holy Spirit and that is the secret of the miracles."
-------------------------------------------------
Fr. Mbaka's bombshell on Buhari's govt
Written by Geoffrey Anyanwu, Awka
~The SUN Nigeria. Tuesday, September 13, 2016.
Enugu Catholic priest, and Spiritual Director of Adoration Ministry, Enugu State, Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka has said President Muhammadu Buhari currently works with some people who do not want him to succeed in office and are desperate to pull him down.
Mbaka has been one of Buhari's most vocal supporters since he asked Nigerians to reject former president Goodluck Jonathan in the run-up to the 2015 presidential election. The priest also said it was too early to give Buhari's regime a dispassionate assessment, saying Nigerians should give the President more time.
The Enugu-based cleric said the reason the country was yet to experience the real change being midwifed by Buhari was that some strategic positions were still manned by the same people who milked the country dry in the past.
He said the president was not totally free from the grip of those who ran the country aground in the past.
Mbaka, who spoke to newsmen in Enugu during the graduation of Niger Delta youths, who trained at Innoson Plastic Factory under Federal Government's Amnesty Programme, said: "The government we are experiencing is not yet a Buharinised government.
"Many people who are in different strategic positions are still the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) people and Buhari may not even know and even some people who are working around him are working to pull him down.
"Buhari means well, Buhari is a good man, Buhari is God-sent for this country but, I am telling you that there are crocodiles in the fish pond.
"Buhari may not know that he is feeding not the fish in the fishpond but crocodiles that are even feeding on the fishes!"
He urged Nigerians to be prayerful to counter the activities of those he said were plotting to break the country and take over power. Mbaka had, a month ago come down hard on the Buhari regime, saying there was hunger in the land and that the President may not get the nod of Nigerians to get another term in office if the trend continued.
He added: "Nigerians should go on their knees and pray for divine intervention because apart from God, we are going to see horrible things. The way these people are ganging up, they want to break Nigeria and take over power and take us back to where we were coming from. I pray it shall be well with Nigeria and it shall be well with Nigerians."
The cleric, who predicted the victory of Buhari in the 2015 presidential election, said he was yet to see the change he wants in Nigeria through the present government.
"I am talking about change from corruption to moral probity, a time Nigeria will become a country that is worthy of emulation, that internationally when you mention Nigeria, Nigerians shall begin to smile. I am talking about change that is beyond embezzlement of funds meant for the development of the people and country. Only few people who call themselves politicians will be stealing the money and whatever they are doing with it nobody knows.
"The poor masses are dying and they are enriching themselves wickedly calling themselves politicians, so, such team of people should be changed and if some of them are still remaining and they want to come back, I still pray that the broom of God will sweep them out because Nigeria must move forward.
"These people are wicked, they are not Nigerians per say, I don't know where their blood came from because they are not representing us; they are representing themselves and the devil that is using them.
"If you know the pattern of their regime, the way they move and the way they truncate the activities that will be for the wellness of the poor masses, you'll know that some of them are possessed and they need deliverance before they enter that seat."
He, however, said it was too early to assess President Buhari and asked Nigerians to give the Buhari government the chance to implement its change agenda.
Praying for the liberation of Nigeria, the Catholic clergyman said: "I pray that our authentic emancipation, what we call change will be supernaturally propelled because right now you can see the hand writing everywhere, many people are complaining of hunger but the hunger is not Buhari engendered.
"Many are complaining that Buhari has not started changing everything, Buhari is not a magician.
"Like I used to tell people, somebody had been cooking in the kitchen for six years and he did not feed us well and just few months ago, somebody entered the same kitchen and all of us want him to cook a very wonderful delicious soup whereby his water is still in the pot. He has not started putting ingredients and people are testing the water and saying he cannot cook well. Let us give him a chance to pour the whole ingredients into the pot and when he is done with cooking, we can now judge him.
"It is too early to judge a man who has just entered few months ago, remember, even the budget is being attacked, padding or no padding and some people want to baptise criminal fraudulent machination with the name padding as a non criminal offence. So, when you steal money that is in billions, it is padding and that one is a no offence?
"But catch a poor man that steals a phone of N20, 000, he will be burnt alive."
-----------------------------
His full name is Camillus Ejikemeuwa Mbaka. He is an ordained reverend father and therefore, a priest of the Catholic faith. What is known is that he is an only son of a widow, who defied culture and tradition to profess for the priestly vocation with its celibate conditionality. But what is not known is what alternate vocation the young man would have pursued if his ambition for priesthood had not clicked.
INDICATIONS have emerged that fiery priest and Director of Adoration Ministry, Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka may be transferred out of his station, Christ the King Parish in GRA, Enugu State.
The speculated transfer of Mbaka by Enugu Catholic Diocese is coming against the backdrop of his recent prophecies especially in the politics of Nigeria where he predicted the defeat of former president Goodluck Jonathan at the polls.
Reliable sources told Daily Sun that the decision to remove Mbaka was scheduled to affect other priests in an attempt to make it look like a routine church affair.
Another source, however, confirmed that the church is afraid of the possible reaction of his followers and the adoration faithful, who make up more than 80 per cent of the population of Enugu Catholic Diocese.
Mbaka was criticised extensively by the clergies in the South East when he backed President Muhammadu Buhari to beat Jonathan in the March 28, 2015 elections.
In his New Year message, Mbaka lambasted those who labeled him a false prophet and demanded to know who is the false prophet.
Speaking on the issue, Director of Social Communications of the Diocese, Rev. Fr. Joseph Offor noted that the Diocese embarks on postings of priests every six years.
Offor, who spoke to Daily Sun on phone, explained that there would be general posting and re-posting of priests this year.
"Yes, the postings will be announced this week. The bishop decides who should be posted where; it has nothing to do with a particular individual. It is a routine practice which is done every six years."
Also reacting, Mr. Val Nnadozie, a politician and adoration faithful said: "For me, I think it's just a rumour which is making the rounds. And it is my view that the bishop has the right to transfer any priest.
"However, it won't be right if such a transfer is done with malice or as a punitive measure for holding an opinion on an issue."
Our source revealed that the transfer, which is due to be announced this week, may see Mbaka being posted to the adoration ground, Emene, which is not yet a parish.
He claimed his prediction was based on prophetic revelations, saying he was compelled by divine intuition and unsavoury socio-economic incidents in the country to voice out his concern.
Delivering a sermon titled "From good luck to bad luck" during the crossover night Adoration mass to usher in the New Year, the radical priest said he and millions of other Nigerians were disappointed by Jonathan's administration, arguing that it had failed to rescue the Chibok girls kidnapped by Boko Haram terrorists in April 2014.
Interestingly, Fr. Mbaka had earlier anointed former President Goodluck Jonathan's wife, Dame Patience Jonathan, as the next First Lady of Nigeria.
------------------------------------------------
THE controversy over the transfer of the outspoken Roman Catholic Priest, Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka, from Christ the King Parish, GRA, Enugu to Our Lady Parish, Emene, also in Enugu, is uncalled for considering the spiritual dimension of priesthood. What, ordinarily, should have been an internal administrative matter has been politicized, which is very wrong.
Written by BY FRANCIS IGATA - Vanguard, Nigeria.
The routine transfer of over 500 priests in the Catholic Diocese of Enugu, which saw fiery Fr. Ejike Mbaka leave Christ the King Parish,CKP,GRA, Enugu, for Our Lady of Rosary, OLR, Emene, Enugu, penultimate Saturday, elicited reactions from Mbaka,his flock, the All Progressives Congress,APC, and the national leadership of the Catholic Secretariat.
No, Father Mbaka's being persecuted -RCCG pastor, other clerics
~The SUN, Nigeria.
FATHER Mbaka over the course of his work as a priest and Director of the Adoration Ministry built up a large following that passionately believes in his apostolic manifestations. This much was shown on the day that he finally left the old parish to resume a t the new parish. Hundreds of the diehard Adoration Ministry supporters chartered over 30 lorries, which were filled to standing-space only, to escort him to the new place in a long motorcade that almost caused stand-still traffic in Enugu.
Mbaka: Priest, politician or renegade?
Written by Reuben Abati - TheGuadian, Nigeria.
CATHOLIC priests in Nigeria have always captured the public imagination. Some of them have served in government positions, some were prominent in the fight and struggle for democracy, some of them have proved their mettle as poets, teachers, musicians, social critics, and public affairs commentators, but Rev. Fr. Ejike Camillus Anthony Ebenezer Mbaka is a cut above the rest, not necessarily in terms of intellect or persona, but in terms of how he has been able to use the pulpit to acquire a rock star status.
Written by Petrus Obi, Enugu
TEARS flowed uncontrollably from parishioners and members of the Adoration Ministry as fiery Enugu Catholic priest and director of the ministry, Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka, yesterday bowed out of Christ the King Parish, GRA, Enugu, which he presided over as parish priest for 20 years.
The making of a fiery priest
Written by From Petrus Obi, Enugu
~The Sun.- Fr. Mbaka's confession…
- Fr. Mbaka's bombshell on Buhari's govt
- MBAKA HAS COME AGAIN
- Father Mbaka: Petulant priest or foul prophet
- Catholic Church plans to transfer Fr. Mbaka
- Mbaka: Priests are human
- Inside embattled Father Mbaka's new Parish!
- Father Mbaka under fire
- No, Father Mbaka's being persecuted -RCCG pastor, other clerics
- Mbaka: Priest, politician or renegade?
- I'm going to suffer -Fr Mbaka • Fiery priest moves from duplex to one room apartment.
- The making of a fiery priest
Fr. Mbaka's confession…
Written by PETRUS OBI, ENUGU
~The SUN Nigeria. Friday, December 16, 2016.
My transfer has brought about miracle explosion in my ministry
HIS transfer at a point became an issue as his followers saw it as a major distraction to his adoration ministry. They were afraid of the unknown but Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka, the fiery Enugu Catholic priest who prophesised the end of former President Goodluck Jonathan's era, may have had a premonition of what lay ahead of him.Before he departed The Christ the King Parish GRA, for an ob- scure Our Lady Rosary Parish, Emene, earlier in the year, he told the congregation that God was about to lift the adoration ministry to greater heights.
He said; "God is wonderful. You can see that I am smiling, filled with cheers and the joy of the Lord. I have the feeling that God's hand is in my going out of GRA. I am seeing everything as the will of God. When I remem- ber that my providing God is with me and for me, I am filled with joy and I'm comforted. The ways of God are divine and mysterious and at times when he wants to do a thing, we humans may not understand it. We may be seeing the external but God who sees the future planned and packaged everything for us."
Few months after the trans- fer, Mbaka in an exclusive chat with our reporter last week at the permanent site of the adora- tion ground in Emene said, "the Journey to the adoration perma- nent site is a blessing in disguise and I welcomed it with joy even though I was misunderstood. Some people who thought I would disobey the church and the Bishop by saying I would not go out; but how can I dis- obey the bishop?
"Now we have packed in here and within few months, the number of people coming there has doubled more than 20 times and we have started a new par- sonage, Adoration parsonage, and it's nearing completion. God is 100 per cent on our side and the congregation is happy and I am exceedingly happy. I am grateful to the Bishop and the Church that moved me out oftheGRA;Iamjustlikeafish that was growing inside a bottle and now has been put inside the ocean. I thank the church for that move from the GRA for the Ministry is serving a larger role to the global universe; it is not just a parish per se, it is serving the whole Nigeria. It is inter cul- tural, it is inter denominational, it is also inter tribal. The adora- tion Ministry, Enugu, Nigeria is the grand parent to all the new adoration ministries that aregrowing and God has given us a home and made Umuchigbo, Nike land where we are, a glori- ous empire of the Holy Spirit.
Mbaka who had accommoda- tion issues when he was trans- ferred noted that apart from the parsonage that is almost com- pleted, other projects are in the pipeline expressing happiness with the worshippers, with the government of the day.
"The government of Enugu led by Governor Ifeanyi Ug- wuanyi is adoration friendly and we are enjoying the highest peace we have never enjoyed in the annals of the history of the ministry. So things are moving very well; and since we came in here God has been shocking us with goose-pimple-arousingmiracles; we have never expe- rienced such miracles as we are experiencing now. As He said in John 14:12 'for the works you did you shall be and do greater works;' the works are now be- ing made manifest and we are thanking Him for the massive miracles; many lame people have walked; many blind peo- ple have seen, by the power of God; I don't claim the glory. By the Blessed Sacrament many barren women conceive twins, triplets and at times dead peo- ple rise; like the last experience- a woman who worships in the Chosen Ministries came here with an 8-month pregnancy in which the unborn baby had been confirmed dead after an ul- tra sound. Two days after otherscans had confirmed the baby dead she came to the adoration ground, and as we were pray- ing I lifted the Blessed Sacra- ment before the woman with the dead child and the child came back to life and last week the child was delivered. We are having miracle explosion in the adoration ground since we got here; ministry where jobs are given to people miraculously and indiscriminately; under a week over 300 of our members will get jobs as if to say that the solution to the recession is here in the adoration ministry. And many prayers are being said here and we are hoping that through the adoration prayers Nigeria will have solution to re- cession. We are not waiting for the president or the economy; we are using our own supernat- ural formula through the power of the Blessed Sacrament to wage war against the recessions as we warred against Ebola. So we cannot praise God enough; many blind receive their sights here, many deaf people hear; there is no day that God does not record shocking miracles.
An elated Mbaka further said; "We are experiencing un- countable miracles as He did in His own time; what we are ex- periencing at the new site is the same type of miracle in John 20:30; John 21:25, uncountable miracles. Where do we start? Thousands of souls are com- ing back to Christ through the adoration ministry; and people will fly down from overseas to give their lives to God at the adoration ground; it is now a pilgrimage centre for life sav- ing, for soul saving, for spiritu- al blessings, financial blessings and otherwise. Even people with vocational hard luck we pray for their liberation. That is why, even this community we are staying, multiple mira- cles for the people. So we are very happy; we are excited; we are not regretting our journey from GRA to the new site. It is a blessing and we thank ev- erybody who supported us in prayers. The entire members of the adoration ministry are happy; now the programme has gone to a level beyond hu- man definition; we do things in ordinary way, God turns it into extra ordinary. We are not doing anything different from what others are doing but only God knows how He turns the little things we do into mira- cles. So He takes all the glory; I am just an instrument for the miracle and I am very happy; I am healthy; since we packed in here I have never suffered even headache; no malaria, nothing. I am strong, enthusiastic with high passion to do more for God. And I wish to remain for- ever for Christ; and I have no problem with the Church and to the glory of God things are go- ing well; we are flourishing like a palm tree and we are grow- ing like the Cedar of Lebanon. Things are working out fine and we thank God for the fresh anointing of the Holy Spirit be- cause since we packed in here we have been abiding under the canopy of fresh anointing of the Holy Spirit and that is the secret of the miracles."
-------------------------------------------------
Fr. Mbaka's bombshell on Buhari's govt
Written by Geoffrey Anyanwu, Awka
~The SUN Nigeria. Tuesday, September 13, 2016.
Enugu Catholic priest, and Spiritual Director of Adoration Ministry, Enugu State, Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka has said President Muhammadu Buhari currently works with some people who do not want him to succeed in office and are desperate to pull him down.
Mbaka has been one of Buhari's most vocal supporters since he asked Nigerians to reject former president Goodluck Jonathan in the run-up to the 2015 presidential election. The priest also said it was too early to give Buhari's regime a dispassionate assessment, saying Nigerians should give the President more time.
The Enugu-based cleric said the reason the country was yet to experience the real change being midwifed by Buhari was that some strategic positions were still manned by the same people who milked the country dry in the past.
He said the president was not totally free from the grip of those who ran the country aground in the past.
Mbaka, who spoke to newsmen in Enugu during the graduation of Niger Delta youths, who trained at Innoson Plastic Factory under Federal Government's Amnesty Programme, said: "The government we are experiencing is not yet a Buharinised government.
"Many people who are in different strategic positions are still the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) people and Buhari may not even know and even some people who are working around him are working to pull him down.
"Buhari means well, Buhari is a good man, Buhari is God-sent for this country but, I am telling you that there are crocodiles in the fish pond.
"Buhari may not know that he is feeding not the fish in the fishpond but crocodiles that are even feeding on the fishes!"
He urged Nigerians to be prayerful to counter the activities of those he said were plotting to break the country and take over power. Mbaka had, a month ago come down hard on the Buhari regime, saying there was hunger in the land and that the President may not get the nod of Nigerians to get another term in office if the trend continued.
He added: "Nigerians should go on their knees and pray for divine intervention because apart from God, we are going to see horrible things. The way these people are ganging up, they want to break Nigeria and take over power and take us back to where we were coming from. I pray it shall be well with Nigeria and it shall be well with Nigerians."
The cleric, who predicted the victory of Buhari in the 2015 presidential election, said he was yet to see the change he wants in Nigeria through the present government.
"I am talking about change from corruption to moral probity, a time Nigeria will become a country that is worthy of emulation, that internationally when you mention Nigeria, Nigerians shall begin to smile. I am talking about change that is beyond embezzlement of funds meant for the development of the people and country. Only few people who call themselves politicians will be stealing the money and whatever they are doing with it nobody knows.
"The poor masses are dying and they are enriching themselves wickedly calling themselves politicians, so, such team of people should be changed and if some of them are still remaining and they want to come back, I still pray that the broom of God will sweep them out because Nigeria must move forward.
"These people are wicked, they are not Nigerians per say, I don't know where their blood came from because they are not representing us; they are representing themselves and the devil that is using them.
"If you know the pattern of their regime, the way they move and the way they truncate the activities that will be for the wellness of the poor masses, you'll know that some of them are possessed and they need deliverance before they enter that seat."
He, however, said it was too early to assess President Buhari and asked Nigerians to give the Buhari government the chance to implement its change agenda.
Praying for the liberation of Nigeria, the Catholic clergyman said: "I pray that our authentic emancipation, what we call change will be supernaturally propelled because right now you can see the hand writing everywhere, many people are complaining of hunger but the hunger is not Buhari engendered.
"Many are complaining that Buhari has not started changing everything, Buhari is not a magician.
"Like I used to tell people, somebody had been cooking in the kitchen for six years and he did not feed us well and just few months ago, somebody entered the same kitchen and all of us want him to cook a very wonderful delicious soup whereby his water is still in the pot. He has not started putting ingredients and people are testing the water and saying he cannot cook well. Let us give him a chance to pour the whole ingredients into the pot and when he is done with cooking, we can now judge him.
"It is too early to judge a man who has just entered few months ago, remember, even the budget is being attacked, padding or no padding and some people want to baptise criminal fraudulent machination with the name padding as a non criminal offence. So, when you steal money that is in billions, it is padding and that one is a no offence?
"But catch a poor man that steals a phone of N20, 000, he will be burnt alive."
-----------------------------
MBAKA HAS COME AGAIN
Written by Felix Amadi, Maputo, Mozambique
Email: amadifelix990@gmail.com
I admire Fr. Mbaka not because he is a catholic priest. I respect him not because he is a product of my alma mater, Seat of Wisdom Seminary, Owerri, Imo State. I hold this man of God in high esteem not because he is into the ministry of healing, deliverance, prophecy and philanthropy. My utmost regard for Fr. Mbaka stems from my subjective perception of him as a fearless individual who is ready to walk his words even when the odds are against him, because as Martin Luther King Jr. said, "If a man has not discovered something that he will die for, he isn't fit to live".
After Fr. Mbaka endorsed Mr. Buhari's presidential bid, many people attacked him and argued that as a religious personality, it was wrong for him to delve into political matters. Many made the case for the separation of religion and politics in the life and ministry of a Catholic priest. I am not a proponent of the school of thought that advocates that a Catholic priest should not comment on political matters or endorse a candidate for election because it is not part of his 'calling'. My point of view is strengthened by the fact that when the Ancient Greek Philosopher, Aristotle, defined man as a "Zoon politikon"(political animal), he didn't make an exemption of the clergy. The clergy are first and foremost human beings, who are affected by the same daily conditions and situations prevalent in their immediate environment. They don't live in the Moon or Mars, but in the same society where the increase in the price of fuel affects all and sundry. So Fr. Mbaka should not be cajoled into silence and passivity in the face of what he perceives as bad leadership and governance.
It is still my humble guess that Fr. Mbaka's endorsement of Mr. Buhari presidential bid was not for personal aggrandizement, but one done in good faith for the common good. But what I am at odds understanding is the barrage of mix messages emanating from his pulpit in recent times, that clarifications were deemed necessary by his spokesperson concerning his sermons. For the purpose of this write up, I will partly present the two sermons captioned,'Bless And Be Blessed' and 'Mega Change Of Conditions' respectively. The 'Bless And Be Blessed' message partly reads:" The issue is that Mbaka is speaking as the Spirit leads him- there is hunger everywhere. My job is to tell leaders the truth. The Landlords are crying, the tenants are lamenting, the sellers are crying, the buyers are lamenting- there is hunger on the streets".
"I can't keep quiet when things are going wrong".
"I am telling the President to look around him and know those who are advising him rightly and those who are telling him that there is no trouble"
"The President should know that there is trouble-if things continue like this, in the next election, nobody will vote him".
In the Second Sermon titled "Mega Change of Conditions", Fr. Mbaka said thus, "There is sword that is moving about in the country. People are dying like flies. The sword of hunger is eating the land. And as I have told you this is just the beginning. If anybody is telling you it going to be well very soon that person is deceiving you. This is because many of us were among those that were alive during the years of the past government. The past PDP government was a grasshopper and locust to Nigerians. The past government was a disaster to the land of Nigeria; the past government was cancer to this country. There is no need trying to cover their incalculable and iniquitous mess. If you don't feel it now, you will feel it later."
He continues, "Hunger is everywhere; the hunger was created before this new government came in. Buhari is not the maker of the hunger. The huger was created by the Jonathan PDP administration but Buhari should abate the long administration, bureaucracy and slow methods in tackling it".
From all indications, it seems clear to me that Fr. Mbaka, like many Nigerians. has a special dislike for PDP and Dr. Goodluck Jonathan as a person. His hatred for PDP is understandable, because for more than a decade in Nigerian political life, it steered the affairs of governance in our country, and as a result, many things ugly in nascent Nigeria are being traced back to its time in government including hunger. Let us for the sake of argument concur with Fr. Mbaka that the present hunger in Nigeria was created by the Jonathan/PDP government, but it has become evidently clear that the archaic and draconic economic policies of President Buhari have fuelled the fire of hunger and economic hardship to unbearable heights. The brazen removal of fuel subsidy in Nigeria is a clear example of economic action before thought.
At this juncture, I humbly want to take Fr. Mbaka and his adherents back to what one of President Buhari's staunchest supporters in the last presidential election, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, said about Mr. Buhari and his economic policies. Speaking earlier this year at the Platform, a public policy forum in Abuja, the former Minister of Education, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, observed that the economic policies of President Buhari were similar to those he promulgated during his reign as a military dictator in the 1980s. She described Buhari's economic policies as "opaque and archaic".
Dr. Ezekwesili observed thus; "During the first coming of this our new president, a command and control economic system was adopted". Ezekwesili continued; "Mr. Buhari was rehashing the same command and control approach towards economic issues which has left the country's economic indices worse off since he assumed office almost a year ago". She concluded that "In over one year, the president is still holding to the premise that command and control is the way out. In a year we have lost the single digit inflation status we maintained in past administration". At my last check, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili was not a PDP member.
It is also of great importance to remind Fr. Mbaka that Mr. Pete Hoekstra, a former Chairman of the U.S. House Intelligence Committee from 2004-2007, in an article published by the Wall Street Journal, observed that President Buhari was Nigeria's problem not the solution. He described President Buhari's economic policies as "damaging and outdated monetary policy". To this he wrote thus, "Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari writes of building an economic bridge to Nigeria future(The Three Changes Nigeria Needs", op-ed, June 14); it's hard to see how his administration's inflexibility, lack of vision and reactive approach will achieve this".
One will recall that the former president Olusegun Obasanjo was one of the prominent Nigerians who endorsed Buhari for the Nigerian Presidency. But during a conference on African Development at the Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State, Obasanjo remarked that President Buhari doesn't have a deep understanding of the economy. To this Obasanjo said thus, "PMB served under me and I know him a little bit. He hasn't deviated from what I knew him for...Buhari might not be grounded in both economy and foreign affairs; he is doing well in fighting Boko Haram and in his anti-corruption crusade".
So, for Fr. Mbaka to dump the whole pile of blame for the present hunger and economic hardship in Nigeria on the door steps of Jonathan and PDP when we have a President who has been implementing outdated economic policies because he is not grounded in economic affairs is hypocritical and misleading. And I am convinced that Nigeria recently lost her apex economic status in Africa partly because of the above mentioned reason.
One of the Online News Outlets in Nigeria, elombah.com, recently reported that pressure was mounted on Fr. Mbaka by the DSS and some powerful figures in Buhari's administration to recant his unadulterated criticism of Buhari's administration as contained in the his sermon 'Bless And Be Blessed'.
According to elombah.com, this pressure gave rise to Fr. Mbaka's second message titled 'Mega Change of Conditions' in which he exonerated President Buhari from any blame as it concerns the present hunger and economic hardship in Nigeria. I have no proof that elombah.com's allegation is true, and I don't want to believe it to be true. But the haste and 'unnecessary' clarification posited by the second Sermon leaves room for suspicion. In an era where freedom of speech is being threatened to the maximum, and many are forced to the tight corner of submission and fear (including cabinet ministers in Buhari's administration), nothing should be dismissed as an impossibility including an undue and unholy pressure on Fr. Mbaka by the DSS.
Fr. Mbaka could do a lot of favors to his teeming admirers by constantly presenting himself as that 'lonely voice of sanity' in a society that is bedeviled by ecclesiastical slumber and passivity. It is my humble suggestion that he rises above being a 'blind and uncritical supporter' of President Buhari into becoming an 'unbiased and objective umpire' in Nigeria current affairs. I am not asserting that for him to become an 'unbiased and objective umpire' in Nigeria current affairs, he must necessarily become anti-Buhari. No. What I am opining is that he should be that voice of morality and truth in Nigeria that he can praise and/or blame the government of the day, if the need arises, without fear of compromise. Remember, the same Jesus that called Peter 'the Rock' (Mathew16:18), was the same Jesus that called him Satan (Mathew16:23), when the need arose. A word is enough for the wise.
I Rest My Case.
TIT BITS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1RVyJiGYes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3mDGgTA3Us
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vaEjIFDACc&list=RD1vaEjIFDACc
THE THANX IS ALL YOURS!!!
-----------------------------------------
Written by Felix Amadi, Maputo, Mozambique
Email: amadifelix990@gmail.com
"You are the salt of the earth, but if salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven" (Mathew5: 13-16)I watched with thrill and captivation the drama that surrounded Rev. Fr. Camillus Ejike Mbaka's endorsement of Muhammadu Buhari shortly before the last presidential election in Nigeria. From his parable of the pigeons, through the Patience Jonathan's visit at the Adoration Ministry Enugu, the 5 million Naira offering and rejection, to the Cardinal Emeritus Okogie's outburst, the story remained intriguing and educative. There is no doubt that the events of the last presidential election pitched Fr. Mbaka against many powerful individuals and establishments in Nigeria. His act of courage of endorsing Muhammadu Buhari above the then incumbent president, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, elicited tones of messages of support from interested and affected parties. It also stirred an ocean of disenchantment from many of his teeming admirers, and provoked many messages of disassociation from some interest groups. His traditional base, the Catholic Church, was at pains of understanding the rationale behind his seemingly obstinate endorsement of the candidate Buhari. As a result, the leadership of the Catholic Church in Nigeria distanced the Mother Church from the Mbaka rhetoric and persuasion.
I admire Fr. Mbaka not because he is a catholic priest. I respect him not because he is a product of my alma mater, Seat of Wisdom Seminary, Owerri, Imo State. I hold this man of God in high esteem not because he is into the ministry of healing, deliverance, prophecy and philanthropy. My utmost regard for Fr. Mbaka stems from my subjective perception of him as a fearless individual who is ready to walk his words even when the odds are against him, because as Martin Luther King Jr. said, "If a man has not discovered something that he will die for, he isn't fit to live".
After Fr. Mbaka endorsed Mr. Buhari's presidential bid, many people attacked him and argued that as a religious personality, it was wrong for him to delve into political matters. Many made the case for the separation of religion and politics in the life and ministry of a Catholic priest. I am not a proponent of the school of thought that advocates that a Catholic priest should not comment on political matters or endorse a candidate for election because it is not part of his 'calling'. My point of view is strengthened by the fact that when the Ancient Greek Philosopher, Aristotle, defined man as a "Zoon politikon"(political animal), he didn't make an exemption of the clergy. The clergy are first and foremost human beings, who are affected by the same daily conditions and situations prevalent in their immediate environment. They don't live in the Moon or Mars, but in the same society where the increase in the price of fuel affects all and sundry. So Fr. Mbaka should not be cajoled into silence and passivity in the face of what he perceives as bad leadership and governance.
It is still my humble guess that Fr. Mbaka's endorsement of Mr. Buhari presidential bid was not for personal aggrandizement, but one done in good faith for the common good. But what I am at odds understanding is the barrage of mix messages emanating from his pulpit in recent times, that clarifications were deemed necessary by his spokesperson concerning his sermons. For the purpose of this write up, I will partly present the two sermons captioned,'Bless And Be Blessed' and 'Mega Change Of Conditions' respectively. The 'Bless And Be Blessed' message partly reads:" The issue is that Mbaka is speaking as the Spirit leads him- there is hunger everywhere. My job is to tell leaders the truth. The Landlords are crying, the tenants are lamenting, the sellers are crying, the buyers are lamenting- there is hunger on the streets".
"I can't keep quiet when things are going wrong".
"I am telling the President to look around him and know those who are advising him rightly and those who are telling him that there is no trouble"
"The President should know that there is trouble-if things continue like this, in the next election, nobody will vote him".
In the Second Sermon titled "Mega Change of Conditions", Fr. Mbaka said thus, "There is sword that is moving about in the country. People are dying like flies. The sword of hunger is eating the land. And as I have told you this is just the beginning. If anybody is telling you it going to be well very soon that person is deceiving you. This is because many of us were among those that were alive during the years of the past government. The past PDP government was a grasshopper and locust to Nigerians. The past government was a disaster to the land of Nigeria; the past government was cancer to this country. There is no need trying to cover their incalculable and iniquitous mess. If you don't feel it now, you will feel it later."
He continues, "Hunger is everywhere; the hunger was created before this new government came in. Buhari is not the maker of the hunger. The huger was created by the Jonathan PDP administration but Buhari should abate the long administration, bureaucracy and slow methods in tackling it".
From all indications, it seems clear to me that Fr. Mbaka, like many Nigerians. has a special dislike for PDP and Dr. Goodluck Jonathan as a person. His hatred for PDP is understandable, because for more than a decade in Nigerian political life, it steered the affairs of governance in our country, and as a result, many things ugly in nascent Nigeria are being traced back to its time in government including hunger. Let us for the sake of argument concur with Fr. Mbaka that the present hunger in Nigeria was created by the Jonathan/PDP government, but it has become evidently clear that the archaic and draconic economic policies of President Buhari have fuelled the fire of hunger and economic hardship to unbearable heights. The brazen removal of fuel subsidy in Nigeria is a clear example of economic action before thought.
At this juncture, I humbly want to take Fr. Mbaka and his adherents back to what one of President Buhari's staunchest supporters in the last presidential election, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, said about Mr. Buhari and his economic policies. Speaking earlier this year at the Platform, a public policy forum in Abuja, the former Minister of Education, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, observed that the economic policies of President Buhari were similar to those he promulgated during his reign as a military dictator in the 1980s. She described Buhari's economic policies as "opaque and archaic".
Dr. Ezekwesili observed thus; "During the first coming of this our new president, a command and control economic system was adopted". Ezekwesili continued; "Mr. Buhari was rehashing the same command and control approach towards economic issues which has left the country's economic indices worse off since he assumed office almost a year ago". She concluded that "In over one year, the president is still holding to the premise that command and control is the way out. In a year we have lost the single digit inflation status we maintained in past administration". At my last check, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili was not a PDP member.
It is also of great importance to remind Fr. Mbaka that Mr. Pete Hoekstra, a former Chairman of the U.S. House Intelligence Committee from 2004-2007, in an article published by the Wall Street Journal, observed that President Buhari was Nigeria's problem not the solution. He described President Buhari's economic policies as "damaging and outdated monetary policy". To this he wrote thus, "Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari writes of building an economic bridge to Nigeria future(The Three Changes Nigeria Needs", op-ed, June 14); it's hard to see how his administration's inflexibility, lack of vision and reactive approach will achieve this".
One will recall that the former president Olusegun Obasanjo was one of the prominent Nigerians who endorsed Buhari for the Nigerian Presidency. But during a conference on African Development at the Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State, Obasanjo remarked that President Buhari doesn't have a deep understanding of the economy. To this Obasanjo said thus, "PMB served under me and I know him a little bit. He hasn't deviated from what I knew him for...Buhari might not be grounded in both economy and foreign affairs; he is doing well in fighting Boko Haram and in his anti-corruption crusade".
So, for Fr. Mbaka to dump the whole pile of blame for the present hunger and economic hardship in Nigeria on the door steps of Jonathan and PDP when we have a President who has been implementing outdated economic policies because he is not grounded in economic affairs is hypocritical and misleading. And I am convinced that Nigeria recently lost her apex economic status in Africa partly because of the above mentioned reason.
One of the Online News Outlets in Nigeria, elombah.com, recently reported that pressure was mounted on Fr. Mbaka by the DSS and some powerful figures in Buhari's administration to recant his unadulterated criticism of Buhari's administration as contained in the his sermon 'Bless And Be Blessed'.
According to elombah.com, this pressure gave rise to Fr. Mbaka's second message titled 'Mega Change of Conditions' in which he exonerated President Buhari from any blame as it concerns the present hunger and economic hardship in Nigeria. I have no proof that elombah.com's allegation is true, and I don't want to believe it to be true. But the haste and 'unnecessary' clarification posited by the second Sermon leaves room for suspicion. In an era where freedom of speech is being threatened to the maximum, and many are forced to the tight corner of submission and fear (including cabinet ministers in Buhari's administration), nothing should be dismissed as an impossibility including an undue and unholy pressure on Fr. Mbaka by the DSS.
Fr. Mbaka could do a lot of favors to his teeming admirers by constantly presenting himself as that 'lonely voice of sanity' in a society that is bedeviled by ecclesiastical slumber and passivity. It is my humble suggestion that he rises above being a 'blind and uncritical supporter' of President Buhari into becoming an 'unbiased and objective umpire' in Nigeria current affairs. I am not asserting that for him to become an 'unbiased and objective umpire' in Nigeria current affairs, he must necessarily become anti-Buhari. No. What I am opining is that he should be that voice of morality and truth in Nigeria that he can praise and/or blame the government of the day, if the need arises, without fear of compromise. Remember, the same Jesus that called Peter 'the Rock' (Mathew16:18), was the same Jesus that called him Satan (Mathew16:23), when the need arose. A word is enough for the wise.
I Rest My Case.
TIT BITS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1RVyJiGYes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3mDGgTA3Us
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vaEjIFDACc&list=RD1vaEjIFDACc
THE THANX IS ALL YOURS!!!
-----------------------------------------
Father Mbaka: Petulant priest or foul prophet
~TheGuardian.
His full name is Camillus Ejikemeuwa Mbaka. He is an ordained reverend father and therefore, a priest of the Catholic faith. What is known is that he is an only son of a widow, who defied culture and tradition to profess for the priestly vocation with its celibate conditionality. But what is not known is what alternate vocation the young man would have pursued if his ambition for priesthood had not clicked.
Father Mbaka, as he came to be known; pursued his priestly office with zeal. He founded the Adoration Ministry in Enugu, Southeast Nigeria, first as a forum to reach out to the youth with the gospel message, and as a means to revive the Catholic Church that was being depleted by the Pentecostal persuasion.
From a handful of worshippers at the Government Technical College (GTC) football field along Abakaliki Road Enugu, the weekly (Friday nights) "adoration of the Holy Eucharist" grew into hundreds and thousands. Young people and those with flailing faith thronged the vigils to sing, clap, dance and listen to the fiery homilies of the young priest. As father presided over the weekly adoration meetings, he was equally prosecuting the development of the Christ the King Parish of the Government Reservation Area (GRA), where he doubles as the parish priest.
But after establishing the Adoration Ministry Enugu almost beyond measures, Father Mbaka started dinning with kings, queens and princes of commerce, industry and politics. And so, unlike other young reverend fathers of his pedigree that usually got transferred from one parish to another in strict catholic administration, Mbaka was allowed to get entrenched. He was for the greater part of his pastoral ministry in CKC, a thorn in the flesh of the political leaders of the day. Indeed Mbaka became renowned based on his weekly tirades against the former governor of Enugu State, Dr. Chimaroke Nnamani. By siding with the civil servants that were victims of the State Government's downsizing of the labour force, AMEN (Adoration Ministry Enugu Nigeria) became a sort of refuge for disengaged staff that thronged the Friday vigils to frustration. When the priest perceived that his messages of hate were well received by the masses, he fired on. The parish grew and with the increase in number, revenue surged!
It is not impossible that with the prodigious remittances to the Enugu Diocese, the Bishop, perhaps out of fear that not being an indigene of Enugu and given the schisms that preceded his Bishopric; started seeing Mbaka as an untouchable. What was more, most politicians began to court the priest because of the number of faithful that thronged his services, especially the Friday night vigils. As tension rose in the buildup to the 2003 governorship election, Father Mbaka gravitated towards one of the candidates, Ugo Agballah, who on account of his resignation from the cabinet of Governor Chimaroke Nnamani, became the rallying point of opposition in the state. Irked by the nature of hate messages being spewed by the reverend father against the government of the day, the Anglican Archbishop of Enugu Diocese, Dr. Emmanuel Chukwuma, on a chance meeting with the Adoration pastor, urged him to remember Christ's injunction on Christians to pray for leaders.
Either on account of the number of political heavyweights that visited CKC Parish and Adoration meetings or the sprawling business empire, which he controls, ranging from printing, food processing and manufacturing, Father Mbaka sort of transformed into a mini-Bishop and prince of Enugu. He rode on the naivety and gullibility of his impoverished followers to even greater heights. Father Mbaka's influence expanded exponentially, so much so that in 2007, he sponsored a governorship candidate on the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) platform. It was either that his mission was not backed up by God or he did not back up his candidate with sufficient prayers, the governorship candidate did not make it. Despite the level of rigging that characterised the election, it was obvious from the outcome that most voters were divided in their preference for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Sullivan Chime and his kinsman, Agballah of the Accord Party!
No doubt, Mbaka must have been touched by the disappointing outing. He must have discovered also that the multitudes that throng Adoration in search of beatitude and catharsis could have a mind of their own when it came to casting of votes. He tried to regain his voice when Dr. Okwy Nwodo was removed from office as national chairman of PDP. In 2011, Mbaka did not bother introducing any governorship candidate because he sensed that the masses were with Chime. And feeling that the political space in Enugu had become too small for him, Mbaka decided to look up, at least to influence things at the centre and 2015 became the opportune moment. APC had succeeded in mobilizing the citizens against PDP and its presidential candidate, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan. Mbaka had some issues with a commercial bank over facilities granted his firm. At a point the bank had to involve the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Accounts were sealed and there was need to have a voice from above to charm the ferocious dogs at EFCC to sleep. What seemed an auspicious opening came when the wife of candidate Jonathan, visited AMEN in the company of the Deputy President of Senate, Ike Ekweremadu. Attempt to get Mama Peace's number flopped. Instead of madam's phone number that of the special assistant on religious affairs was handed to father by the security aide. Father Mbaka's anger knew no limit.
While the priest was silently grieving for the foxy display of the first lady's aides, some stalwarts of APC visited him. The meeting was facilitated by a governorship candidate of the party in one of the Southeast states. The present Minister for Labour and Employment was to be on the delegation, but he declined at the last minute, raising concerns that "it does not take that small boy anything to start insulting anybody." In the end, two APC chieftains, one from Southeast and South-South, met with the priest in Enugu. And what was on the evangelical menu the following Friday? What did the masses go to Adoration to hear? Father Mbaka, waxing bold in the power of information received from his APC visitors, narrated how a spiritual experiment he carried out with pigeons, convinced him that Jonathan would lose the presidential election. The rest is history, but the manner of his delivery, including the mendacity that President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua and the naira died just because they came in contact with Jonathan, remained a stain on the father's cassock.
Twelve months later, at another end of year adoration, Father Mbaka dropped another prophecy from God. Again the way he communicated his message from above, showed that the priest loves to touch people that are seated above. Who would want to kill an old soldier? Of course those being accused of corruption!
"Fellow Nigerians, let us wait upon God; I have a new message. I'm blessing and covering the message we are giving now in the prophetic name of Jesus. Father, speak now as your servant listens: My beloved Nigerians, those who led us from last year downwards, they have killed this country; none of them is qualified to stay in this country by now, both the president, the Senators, the House of Representatives members, the chairmen of local governments, the governors, they are wicked. It doesn't matter the man of God they worship with; I tell you, before God and man, all of them are wicked; they hate this country, they succeeded in removing the liver, kidney and cardiovascular system of this country and handed over to President Buhari the shambles, skeletal organs of this country; a nation that is in coma.
"Nigeria, as we speak now, economically and security-wise, is in the intensive care unit; if the oxygen is removed, Nigeria will die. People of God prayed from here and there and God gave us Buhari. God has told us that Buhari is prayer answered; President Buhari is an answered prayer; whether you hate him or like him, Buhari is prayer answered. .. I am not a sycophant; but I want to tell you that so far God is happy and he who God has blessed none can curse. Many people are planning to kill Buhari; there are many plans on how to eliminate his life so that corruption will continue; so that embezzlement will continue." That was part of the message Father Mbaka transmitted.
But coming days after the young priest visited Aso Rock; it may not be outlandish to conclude the he must have received inspiration from the reception he got at the feet of the six foot president! And watching him in a wry smile that seemed to suggest a fitting reward for his exploits of preaching defeat for an incumbent, perhaps another priest may need to be hired to pray that this priest of our time would have cause to hold a contrary view should the retired general decide to go 'astray'. The Mbaka phenomenon has become a yearly ritual of sensational predictions that mirror the gross limitations of Nigeria as a modern state. Any upstart can scale up overnight using dubious means to become inevitable in national calculations. Perhaps Mbaka's emulation of the Pentecostal tradition has taken a life of its own and threatening to dislodge what is known of Catholicism. it could also be time for the catholic establishment to call him to order.
While he preached in Enugu, in faraway Ughelli, a layman, in what seemed a direct message to Mbaka; was preaching to priests. Speaking during the consecration of three Bishops by the Primate of the Anglican Communion, Most Reverend Nicholas Okoh, at the Cathedral of All Saints, Ughelli, Delta State; Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, urged ministers of the gospel to "resist the temptation to seek fame, fortune, and power at all costs." He noted that the temptation of flirting with politicians for pecuniary gains could make ordained men of God to lose their dignity as moral conscience of the society.
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Catholic Church plans to transfer Fr. Mbaka
Written by Petrus Obi, Enugu.
- It's routine to reshuffle postings after 6 years
INDICATIONS have emerged that fiery priest and Director of Adoration Ministry, Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka may be transferred out of his station, Christ the King Parish in GRA, Enugu State.
The speculated transfer of Mbaka by Enugu Catholic Diocese is coming against the backdrop of his recent prophecies especially in the politics of Nigeria where he predicted the defeat of former president Goodluck Jonathan at the polls.
Reliable sources told Daily Sun that the decision to remove Mbaka was scheduled to affect other priests in an attempt to make it look like a routine church affair.
Another source, however, confirmed that the church is afraid of the possible reaction of his followers and the adoration faithful, who make up more than 80 per cent of the population of Enugu Catholic Diocese.
Mbaka was criticised extensively by the clergies in the South East when he backed President Muhammadu Buhari to beat Jonathan in the March 28, 2015 elections.
In his New Year message, Mbaka lambasted those who labeled him a false prophet and demanded to know who is the false prophet.
Speaking on the issue, Director of Social Communications of the Diocese, Rev. Fr. Joseph Offor noted that the Diocese embarks on postings of priests every six years.
Offor, who spoke to Daily Sun on phone, explained that there would be general posting and re-posting of priests this year.
"Yes, the postings will be announced this week. The bishop decides who should be posted where; it has nothing to do with a particular individual. It is a routine practice which is done every six years."
Also reacting, Mr. Val Nnadozie, a politician and adoration faithful said: "For me, I think it's just a rumour which is making the rounds. And it is my view that the bishop has the right to transfer any priest.
"However, it won't be right if such a transfer is done with malice or as a punitive measure for holding an opinion on an issue."
Our source revealed that the transfer, which is due to be announced this week, may see Mbaka being posted to the adoration ground, Emene, which is not yet a parish.
He claimed his prediction was based on prophetic revelations, saying he was compelled by divine intuition and unsavoury socio-economic incidents in the country to voice out his concern.
Delivering a sermon titled "From good luck to bad luck" during the crossover night Adoration mass to usher in the New Year, the radical priest said he and millions of other Nigerians were disappointed by Jonathan's administration, arguing that it had failed to rescue the Chibok girls kidnapped by Boko Haram terrorists in April 2014.
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Mbaka: Priests are human
~TheGuardian, Nigeria.
THE controversy over the transfer of the outspoken Roman Catholic Priest, Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka, from Christ the King Parish, GRA, Enugu to Our Lady Parish, Emene, also in Enugu, is uncalled for considering the spiritual dimension of priesthood. What, ordinarily, should have been an internal administrative matter has been politicized, which is very wrong.
Apostle Paul wrote to the Hebrew Christians that priests were taken from among men and appointed in things pertaining to God. He said no man takes this honour to himself, except by God, just as Aaron was, Heb. 5:1-4. Therefore, a priest is prone to error and subject to human weakness.
Viewed from this angle, it is needless wondering whether Fr. Mbaka is a priest, politician or villain, as some commentators had done. Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka is squarely a priest of the Roman Catholic Church. Whatever he does must be viewed from the perspective of a priest. He may be wrong in one dimension the same way other priests may have been equally wrong in other dimensions. The fact that he is outspoken and fearless does not in any way make him a villain. Jeremiah and all the prophets of old were outspoken and fearless to confront kings and emperors of their time. Didn't Moses confront Pharaoh?
Having said that, the bone of contention was the transfer of Fr. Mbaka to Emene, which many say is a rural area. Emene is not a rural area. It is an elite suburb of Enugu metropolis. As a matter of fact, the Enugu International Airport is located at Emene. The Our Lady Parish, Emene, is a walking distance from the airport, meaning that Fr. Mbaka does not have to stress himself any longer if he wishes to travel by air.
As a young lecturer at the Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT) in mid 80s, I lived at Emene, in fact, directly opposite the Our Lady Catholic Church, where I served as choirmaster with my friend Charles Nnorom, who now lives in Owerri. Emene provided the venue each time the popular Fr. Edeh, of the Holy Ghost congregation, came to Enugu for ministration. Fr. Mbaka's Adoration Ministry would find Emene to be suitable for the ministry.
On whether or not the transfer was punitive, first and foremost, there is no contention that the bishop of every Catholic diocese is the overall superior that has control over both the clergy and laity in all church matters. The bishop has the prerogative to post any priest anywhere. From that angle, the transfer of Fr. Mbaka to Emene was absolutely in order.
Following the transfer, the newspapers were awash with photographs of Fr. Mbaka shedding tears and lamenting that he had been sent to Emene to go and suffer, which portrayed the transfer as punitive.
The shedding of tears by Fr. Mbaka, for me, was purely emotional and never meant that he was opposed to his transfer. The tears were not in any way different from the tears a bride sheds when she is being handed over to her new husband. Tears doesn't mean that she is not going but mere expression of emotional outburst for leaving a family that nurtured her to a different family.
After spending 20 years in one parish, and planting a very large and successful ministry, one should not expect Fr. Mbaka to simply pack his bag and baggage and leave; smiling at the faithful he had become body and soul with. Many of the faithful he was leaving behind equally cried. Did Jesus not weep when Lazarus his friend left them in death? John 11:35. Fr. Mbaka did what every natural human being would do in the circumstance.
As for going to Emene to suffer, from one angle, this is where I have grouse with the transfer. Fr. Mbaka, who was the parish priest of Christ the King Parish, GRA, Enugu and Spiritual Director of the Adoration Ministry, Enugu for 20 years reportedly was sent to Emene as a curate. That is punitive, if it is true. It amounts to demotion. Fr. Mbaka's ministry has been a blessing to the church. He ought to get promotion and not demotion.
Fr. Mbaka's outstanding performance and success, no doubt, has attracted envy and jealousy among the Catholic clergy in Enugu diocese. That informed the punitive posting to Emene as curate to kill his ministry. There is no love in that posting for either Fr. Mbaka or the host of Christian faithful that he leads. The architects of this transfer want to silence Fr. Mbaka, extinguish the fire of the Holy Spirit and close a flourishing ministry that should be supported by the church.
I don't agree with Fr. Mbaka that he's going to Emene to suffer on the ground that he is moving from a duplex to a one-room apartment. A priest should be ready to serve under any circumstance even in the war front as many have done. Jesus said, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head," Matt. 8:20. Jesus, our Lord and Master, did not have a room, yet he persevered in his ministry.
Fr. Mbaka may have overstepped his bounds by delving into burning political issues of the day. For instance, it was absolutely senseless for him to have bluntly told former President Goodluck Jonathan that he was going to lose the 2015 presidential election. That, of course, brought him to a collision course with the President and the then ruling party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Again, recently, the same Fr. Mbaka was reported to have said that some people were planning to assassinate the incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari. Igbo has a saying that you don't take what is used to poke the ear to poke the eyes. How can any person in his right senses say that considering the implications for the country?
Notwithstanding the errors that in no way demeaned his successes. Fr. Mbaka is pro people. It is difficult to recount the number of people under his charity – the students, the sick and discharged, the homeless, the widows and orphans, the jobless and many more. His free housing and scholarship programmes, the Ozala Parish he built and numerous people he has trained. His generosity knows no bounds.
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Inside embattled Father Mbaka's new Parish!Written by BY FRANCIS IGATA - Vanguard, Nigeria.
The routine transfer of over 500 priests in the Catholic Diocese of Enugu, which saw fiery Fr. Ejike Mbaka leave Christ the King Parish,CKP,GRA, Enugu, for Our Lady of Rosary, OLR, Emene, Enugu, penultimate Saturday, elicited reactions from Mbaka,his flock, the All Progressives Congress,APC, and the national leadership of the Catholic Secretariat.
After holding the forte at Christ the King Parish, CKP, of the Catholic Church since 1996,Fr. Ejike Mbaka, received his transfer notice with effect from January 30. He had established the famous Adoration Ministry renowned for charity,healing,deliverance and pastoral efficacy over the 20 years stint at the parish including other beverage product brands that earned consumer acceptance following the belief that its consumption had healing powers.
The Adoration Ministry, since inception, grew in leaps and bounds with torrents of testimonies which transformed it to a Mecca of sorts for individuals and groups including politicians who sought Mbaka's blessings at election periods.
Consequently, the KP became the most popular parish in the Enugu Diocese.
No wonder, when the time came for him to leave the parish for the OLR parish, Mbaka, in an exercise laced with emotions,was escorted by thousands of the Catholic faithful.
Several vehicles the road in what could be dubbed a triumphal exit that halted economic and other activities along major streets where the long convoy passed.
With music provided by some groups, the journey began, amid emotions by members, apparently unsatisfied with the transfer that removed Mbaka from the CKP.
The priest had, while addressing the crowd ahead of the movement, expressed reservations over the transfer, which, he said, was calculated to make him suffer by certain leaders of Catholic Church.
His words:"I know we are going to suffer between now and few months to come. I am going to suffer and suffer; I know that. I'm going to suffer because I have no place to put my head. I am going to suffer because I have no place to keep the Adoration Ministry's assets. I know I'm going to suffer. Fortunately, it is going to happen in the month of Lent. So, I am going to use my exit here as a Lenten observance but Jesus said it all in John 16:20 to his apostles that you will be sorrowful and the world will be rejoicing but very soon I will turn your sorrow to joy.
"But, for now, I know you are going to suffer. The Adoration Ministry is passing through suffering right now even though I've accepted that is the will of God. It is a mega suffering.
"The quantum of the assets of the Adoration Ministry is the only thing I am bothered about. Where am I going to keep them? I am going to stay in one small room that has only one small bed, one small table, little toilet and bathroom. So where am I going to keep all the Adoration assets? My clothing and books I can keep in the car or somebody's house, but where will I keep these assets that I have given to the Catholic Church of Enugu? But I say, may God take the glory and whoever that has offended me, I have forgiven. I won't fight anybody or even dream of battling anybody. If anybody allows the devil to use him, the same that advised you to make a mistake will laugh at you when you cry over the error. The baby is born, there is no going back. We are moving out. We have been doing it and we will do it again. Moses was going out with a rod in his hand, Mbaka is moving out with his Bible and this nobody can take away from me".
Decrying what he described as "attempt by some persons to politicize the Church", by feeding the bishop with false information, he noted: " I am giving God the glory and I welcome the Church's choice and action with absolute acceptance and obedience. So there is no negation to what God has approved and what the Church suggested. Nobody should see me as a recalcitrant priest.
I am not. I have taken an oath of obedience and I stand on it. I pray God to bless all of you who, in one way or the other, have supported the work of God here and those who have sincerely allowed God to use them for the jobs we did here all these years. God will bless the people of God here and reward you according to your labours. The parish is not going to collapse, it is the Church that will continue to grow".
He told the members that their journey to OLR,Emene, where he has been posted as Resident Priest serving fewer than two priests, should be seen as the "journey of the Israelites out of Egypt".
"God has planned a future and hope out of disaster and, where I am going, He will go before me to level the mountain. The Bible says that He will deliver me from all evil; He will keep my going out and coming in both now and forever... I am praying that God will keep His Church and my fellow Adorers so that our journey to Emene will be a journey of Israelites out of Egypt. Some of them were grumbling leaving Egyptian soil because they were having the phobia for the unknown, but I am telling you people as a courageous leader, do not be afraid. We are moving and, in not distant time, you people are going to smile".
The All Progressives Congress, APC, in the meantime, faulted Mbaka's transfer even as it warned of its security implication.
A statement by the South-East APC Caucus spokesman,Osita Okechukwu, alleged that "unseen hands acted on Bishop Callitus Onaga's discretion that culminated in the decision".
The statement went on: "Whereas we accept that the transfer of priests is a routine exercise of the great Catholic Church, however we do not wholly accept a situation where the Church allows external forces to influence transfer as the Mbaka's case suggests. Otherwise, future liberation clergy who speak truth to power will be hamstrung to the detriment of the society.
"Our major concern is the security implications and the fate of his flocks who are mostly the down trodden who may find it difficult to go to Emene for salvation and healing. We frown at anything which will put Fr. Mbaka in harms way or deny his flocks healing. As a party we have watched with concern and trepidation the criticism, the attack, assault and unpleasant comments hurled against Fr. Mbaka since he providentially prophesied that President Buhari would win the 2015 elections. Even the church did not spare him; he was called unprintable names, yet his prophecy came true. We are happy that Fr Mbaka was vindicated. "It must be pointed out that accusing fingers were pointed at the direction of some anti-Buhari elements like Ohanaeze Ndigbo, a group that didn't want to hear the name of Buhari; even though Ohanaeze denied the allegation, doubts still persist.
For we are still at a loss why a senior priest will be degraded to an assistant parish priest. "We repeat that we are in solidarity with Fr. Mbaka and our major concern is the security of Fr. Mbaka and the suffering of his flocks mostly the poor who need his healing powers. We had thought that His Lordship Bishop Calistus Onaga could have retained him at the Adoration Ground, as the Bishop Emeritus Gbuji did because of security of his life and easy access by his flocks".
When Sunday Vanguard visited the OLR Parish, Emene, Mbaka's new parish, construction work was ongoing on the road leading to the church by Enugu State Ministry of Works.
OLR,situated along the major road,was built in 1997 with a capacity for about 2,000 worshippers. Two duplexes stood as the parish house for priests, fitted with a 500KVA generator, apart from two small generators seen at the engine room. OLR building is about the same size with the CKP. Sunday Vanguard learn that Mbaka's belongings were already in place at the parish house. But, the question that comes to mind readily, when,juxtaposed with Mbaka's comment describing the OLR Parish house as one room,with a little bed is, would he be sleeping in all the rooms in the duplexes at the same time?
We were raised to believe that Reverend Fathers lead a life of selflessness and celibacy devoid of an eye for material acquisition. How come Mbaka was crying that he was being transferred from his CKP mansion to the OLR Parish with a one room apartment? What happens to his priestly vow of selflessness at ordination?
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Father Mbaka under fire
Written by Enyeribe Ejiogu - The SUN.
With Reports From Emmanuel Uzor (Abakaliki), Dom Ekpunobi (Onitsha), Chuks Onuoha (Umuahia), Jeff Amechi Agbodo (Abakaliki), Geoffrey Anyanwu (Awka), George Onyejiuwa (Owerri)
- Catholic, Anglican, Pentecostal clerics tell controversial priest to submit to authority
FIRECRACKERS set off by fiery priest of the Catholic Church and Spiritual Director of the Adoration Ministry, Enugu, Rev Father Ejike Mbaka, in his remarks at the formal handover ceremony of the parish, where he presided for over a decade to another priest, following his transfer to a different parish, are still exploding, and building an expanding shockwave of conflicting opinions across Igboland and elsewhere.
On that eventful day, Rev Fr Mbaka who will be under another priest, lamented that his transfer to the new parish would unleash a period of suffering given that he was moving from a duplex to a small one-room apartment. He recalled his great toil to raise millions of naira to build massive structures, which housed the assets of the Adoration Ministry. A huge amount of the funds raised by him over the years were also committed to enormous charity works that saw him sponsoring the education of countless number of young boys and girls, as well as orphans from primary school to university level. He also built houses for widows and was even said to have bought cars for several other priests to support them in the ministry of the gospel.
The dust raised by the emotional remarks Rev Fr Ejike Mbaka made while handing over the parish he worked hard to develop and expand over a period of 20 years, has continued to swirl and grow on the perceived controversial transfer.
Mbaka indicated that his descent from the Olympian height of living in the 'luxury' of a duplex, built under his watch as parish priest, to the punitive measure implied by his moving to a small one-room apartment in the new parish, to be under another priest, represents for him an introduction to suffering. Even more agonizing for the fiery priest, who many perceive as "controversial" is the enormous burden of finding space to store and preserve the assets of the Adoration Ministry, which he heads as director. It was against this background that he lamented over his transfer and set off firecrackers that rankled several Catholic, Anglican, Pentecostal clerics and other non-clergy.
From Ebonyi State, Pastor Freeman Nwonu of the New Life Foundation Church, Abakaliki, fired a salvo and said that there was no big deal in transferring Mbaka from his former parish to another, arguing that the administrative action of the Catholic bishop should not have warranted the statements made by the fiery priest.
He said transfer is part of the routine checks on men of God by their superiors, which, he said, are aimed at bringing the gospel to the hinterlands, adding: "Fr. Mbaka to the best of my knowledge has been in Christ the King Church, GRA, Enugu for many years and I believed it was the right time to move."
He spoke further: "I am not dabbling into his prophecies and lifestyle, every man of God has his or her own distinct lifestyle and Mbaka is no exception, so, if he decides to dabble into politics that is his own business. My only concern is that his transfer should not have generated any controversy at all because he is also a priest and there is no sacred cow."
"I am not a Catholic but I believe the Bishop of Enugu Diocese has been very tolerant of him unlike other bishops that will even help to put off the fire of the Holy Spirit in him."
Rev Fr Ben Ogu of Ahiara Mbaise Catholic Diocese, echoing the view of Pastor Nwonu, said that there was nothing punitive about Mbaka's transfer because the posting of any priest in the Catholic Church is the prerogative and exclusive right of the bishop of that diocese.
"I have nothing against his political statements or prophecy because anybody can make political statements, provided he is not sentimentally and sensationally defending the evil leaders of this country against the suffering, oppressed, alienated and marginalised South-South and South-East and the entire Nigerian common citizens. The transfer of any priest is between him and his bishop and does not need our attention because nobody is above transfer," Ogu said.
Expressing similar view, Director of Communication, Egbu Anglican Diocese, Imo State, George Best Okoroh, said: "Every priest is under canonical oaths which should guide them in all they do. In the case of Rev Mbaka, his transfer is by providence. No matter what people say or try to interprete the motives behind the transfer, if God did not approve of it , it would not have materialised. If one appreciated the fact that Rev. Mbaka, not minding his dabbling in to the murky field of politics, still remains an anointed man of God and priest to minister and prepare mankind to see the glory of God.
"He must have made very good impact in his old parish, including his Adoration Ministry, and would no doubt impact well in his new station, for what is good for Congregation 'A' must be good for 'B.' Let the diocese and the new congregation grant him an even playing ground to serve God. Let him diminish while God increases in him. That's my prayer for this priest of God.
"The present Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Egbu, Rt. Rev Geoffrey Okoroafor was the Vicar and Archdeacon of Okpala for nine years. He remained there all these years because the then Bishop appreciated his efforts at building church within the precept of the canonical responsibilities. The transfer of Mbaka should not be politicized."
Mbaka got more tackles from Chief Rommy Ezeonwuka, spiritual head of the Igbo, who pointedly said: "Mbaka should stop whipping up unnecessary sentiment and stop embarrassing the Catholic Church. His posting is normal and not punitive. It is like every other posting of a Catholic priest which is done on regular basis. He should stop playing politics and face his priesthood which he was ordained for.
Every priest is under the control of the church and Fr. Mbaka cannot be an island. Like a masquerade, one should move around to watch it, so Fr. Mbaka cannot be static in a place. I advise him to stop partisan politics and leave politics for politicians. It is not his duty to say who wins or who will not win any election. His is going beyond the bounds of a priest and playing politics. He should remember that he took an oath of chastity, poverty and obedience which he is going against by his pronouncement and complaints.
Vicar General of the Catholic Church of the East, Rev, Fr Modestus Chilaka advised Mbaka to respect the decision of his bishop and refrain from viewing his transfer as punishment. He added: "Every priest is a missionary and there must be a purpose for God to permit his transfer. Whether he is going to be under another priest in his new parish is immaterial because the will of God must be done. So, those who are giving his transfer a wrong interpretation don't really know how the spirit of God works.
Administrator of the Madonna Catholic Hospital, Umuahia, Abia State, Rev. Fr Christian Anokwuru said: "For me any day a priest is transferred to any particular parish or given any assignment, that is also the day he has ended that assignment. It is something he has started and ended, because he could be transferred from that particular day he was given that assignment to another place according to the discretion of the Bishop. For him to have stayed for 20 years in one parish is an act of pure grace, which is the more reason he should be thankful to the Bishop for allowing him to stay that long.T he fact that he said that he was going to suffer in his new parish is not negative, suffering here is part and parcel of this ministry, suffering in the worldly sense is not negative for us, the priest; it is part of identifying with the suffering ministry of Jesus Christ, it is not negative. the worldly sense is not negative for "For instance, in his new place of duty, he has limited space where he can store the ministry's property which does not belong to him, anyway; that is a kind of suffering because he is going to face the fact of trying to create the space for all those property and it is part of suffering, it is not negative at all.
"If the Bishop had wanted to punish Fr Mbaka for his political utterances, he had various ways of doing it, not just by transferring him, transferring him has nothing to do with punitive measures, because if you transfer him as part of punitive measure, does it stop him from making political utterances?"
A former top government official in Anambra State and a knight of the Catholic Church who pleaded anonymity expressed sadness that Fr. Mbaka made an ordinary routine transfer of priests an issue for public discourse, warning that he should refrain from politicizing everything.
"It is a pity that this type of thing is happening in the church. Fr. Mbaka is one of the priests I respect but his recent conduct is beginning to worry me. A priest is ordained by the bishop and posted to the parish of the bishop's choice and is transferred at the bishop's wish. Why is Fr. Mbaka's own different? Why is he making it a media issue?
"When priests begin to hobnob with politicians at will, there is the tendency for them to begin to act and talk like the politicians. The action of Mbaka in making his transfer an issue of public discourse and his outburst is to say the least unfortunate and I hope he realizes himself sooner than later.
"I think this is also a lesson for our church to take another look at some unguarded privileges some priests get in the light of what is happening now and the image issue for the church. Our priests should be careful and watch it when they begin to progress because the Bible even said that pride goes before a fall.
Anglican priest, Venerable John Akahara opined that Mbaka should display canonical obedience and see his transfer as a "new opportunity God has given him to shine as light in another area. Even if the congregation there is two persons or even one, they are important to God, hence the Lord sent him there. It would be arrogance and disobedience for any priest to reject posting, it is ecclesiastically wrong."
As if to put the icing on the cake, a Pentecostal pastor who simply identified himself as Pastor Emma summed up Mbaka's case this way: "He likes controversy and so every little thing he will like to blow it up just like the politicians do. What is the big deal in transferring a priest from one station to another? How many years was he in the former parish or was he ordained just to be a priest in that particular station?
"I think the young man should take it easy and ask God for the grace to continue to serve him with greater anointing anywhere he finds himself and not to talk of how he will suffer in the new place as if other priests who serve in similar stations are fools. It is not the right way to go."
-----------------------------------------------------------------No, Father Mbaka's being persecuted -RCCG pastor, other clerics
~The SUN, Nigeria.
FATHER Mbaka over the course of his work as a priest and Director of the Adoration Ministry built up a large following that passionately believes in his apostolic manifestations. This much was shown on the day that he finally left the old parish to resume a t the new parish. Hundreds of the diehard Adoration Ministry supporters chartered over 30 lorries, which were filled to standing-space only, to escort him to the new place in a long motorcade that almost caused stand-still traffic in Enugu.
Several other individuals who are not members of the Adoration Ministry, but are on his side of the great debate over the seemingly controversial transfer were equally quick to criticize the decision of the Enugu Catholic Diocese, to transfer him soon after he visited President Muhammadu Buhari at Aso Rock. They aligned with the view that his transfer was punitive.
One such person is the senior pastor of Gospel Fire Church, Ogidi in Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra State, Prophet Chinedu Strongson who opined that what is happening to Mbaka right now is persecution, noting that his prophecies come from God.
His words: "The prophecies of Mbaka are 90 per cent direct from God, which he cannot hide. They are real and I believe that God speaks through him to his people. He is suffering persecution just like Christ suffered persecution because of our sin. Mbaka sacrificed his time, money and energy to do the work of God and to help the less privileged in the society.
"The Bible says in Gospel of John Chapter 16 verse 2-3 'They will put you out of the Synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. And they will do these things because they have not known the Father or me. Mbaka is being persecuted because he is doing what other Catholic priests cannot do; he preaches what other revered fathers cannot preach."
In the same vein, senior pastor of Power of God Gospel Assembly, Onitsha, Pastor Joel Chukwubueze condemned the transfer of Mbaka from his former parish to a new parish, saying it was a punitive measure, which, he said, churches should not do.
"We all started from Catholic Church and know how they do things. We are aware that Catholic Church transfers their priests from time to time but my question is this: why the sudden transfer after Mbaka gave a prophesy about the 2015 election, when he said that the Holy Spirit rejected Jonathan and his subsequent meetings with President Buhari last month that the church now decided to transfer him. We as human beings, it is painful but God knows the best for the man of God."
"As a senior pastor in my church, there have been times I attended his adoration programmes. If you listen to Fr. Mbaka preach, you will know that God speaks through him. We are all men of God but we have different gifts from God. Mbaka has about three to four gifts out of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. He knows how to preach, pray, prophesy and sing very well too. No one can stop whom God has ordained and blessed; so even if they post him out of the country he will still continue with the gifts of the Holy Spirit."
No less concerned is the pastor Holy Spirit Parish of the of Redeemed Christian Church of God, Onitsha, Anambra State, Pastor Godsgift Prosper Akin who saw nothing wrong in men of God preaching about the odds in the society as servants of God.
He explained: "Bible says we should pray for those in authority. The bible did not say we should not talk about the wrong things in the society. Who are the church members? Are they not the political office holders from the local government to the state and federal levels? So if we fail to preach about righteousness and salvation what else should we preach as priests, clergy and pastors?
"I say strongly that they should not torment and suffer Fr. Mbaka for doing his job as a priest. Nigeria today needs someone like him who is radical in preaching the truth. You know that truth is always bitter. For me his prophecy is real, his preaching and prophecy last year came to pass."
He spoke further: "Remember that God clearly warned in the bible: 'touch not my anointed and my prophets do him no harm.' This is to avert the wrath of God. I'm not condemning the transfer of Mbaka by the Catholic Church but their conscience should judge them whether it is routine transfer or punitive transfer; I know that God is watching. To Mbaka, my advice is this: you should not be deterred because The Lord is your strength and no one will transfer the gift from you. What you are going through is part of the tribulation children of God pass through in course of their vocations and callings."
For Prophet Hephzibah Uchenwafor of Light of Mission International (LOGMI), the decision of the Catholic Church, Enugu Diocese to transfer Mbaka amounted is exhibition of ignorance.
His words: "The transfer is an exhibition of ignorance by the Catholic Church based on the reason they gave. The Church should only transfer any priest based on the leading of the Holy Spirit and not on any policy of the Church. The work done by the priest is the work of God and not of the Church.
"Mbaka has right to complain if he feels that his transfer was not based on the leading of the Holy Spirit or if he feels that it was not time for him to leave that place. Hence he can cry out. The church is generally exhibiting ignorance in their method of transfer and promotion. It is not the Catholic Church alone that is found wanting in that regard.
A member of the Catholic laity and a young mother, Mrs. Kate Ekekwe frowned at what she called hatred for Mbaka by some people and said the man of God should be allowed to do his things the way he wants.
She said, "Let them leave Father Mbaka alone. Why are they envious of him? How can they take him out from a big church he built and take him to a very small church? It is not good now. We love him; God is using him mightily, so they should let him be."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------Mbaka: Priest, politician or renegade?
Written by Reuben Abati - TheGuadian, Nigeria.
CATHOLIC priests in Nigeria have always captured the public imagination. Some of them have served in government positions, some were prominent in the fight and struggle for democracy, some of them have proved their mettle as poets, teachers, musicians, social critics, and public affairs commentators, but Rev. Fr. Ejike Camillus Anthony Ebenezer Mbaka is a cut above the rest, not necessarily in terms of intellect or persona, but in terms of how he has been able to use the pulpit to acquire a rock star status.
It is therefore not surprising that everything about him is with a touch of the histrionic. This is exactly what happened when he was transferred, last week, from a parish where he had served for 20 years: from Christ the King Parish, GRA Enugu, to Our Lady of the Rosary Parish, Umuchigbo, Njinike, Enugu. Characteristically, this radical priest and social activist turned what should be a routine administrative posting by his Bishop into a melodrama and an assault on the authority of the Church. You would think he had been sentenced to a jail term, the way he whined and wept and appealed to sympathy.
"I'm going to suffer because I have no place to put my head. I am going to suffer because I have no place to keep the Adoration Ministry's assets...The Adoration Ministry is passing through suffering right now even though I've accepted that it is the will of God. Is the will of God through suffering? It is a mega suffering. The quantum of the assets of the Adoration Ministry is the only thing I am bothered about for now. Where am I going to keep them? I am going to stay in one small room that has only one small bed, one small table, little toilet and bathroom. So where am I going to keep all the Adoration assets?" I couldn't believe that this was a Catholic Priest.
His pain was so palpable. He even took a shot at the Church: "I won't fight anybody or even dream of battling anybody. If anybody allows the devil to use him, the same that advised you to make a mistake will laugh at you when you cry over the error." This was a clear suggestion that the devil was using his boss, the Diocesan Bishop of Enugu, His Lordship Calistus Onaga, against him, Mbaka and the Adoration Ministry. Rev Fr. Mbaka further spoke with a touch of vanity about how he single-handedly built the Christ the King Parish, Enugu, with proceeds from the sale of his music albums. This priest is certainly special. He objects to suffering even if the Lord Jesus Christ, whose disciple he is, is the embodiment of sacrifice and suffering. He talks about assets in a capitalistic sense and yet his reputation rests on his commitment to the poor. He finally says he accepts the "suffering", sounding like a victim.
Mbaka's melodrama was nothing short of an act of protest and incitement. It didn't take long before a mob-like group trooped to the GRA, Enugu to help him move his things to the new church where it is said he will be an assistant priest. If his followers had laid their hands on the Diocesan Bishop, only God knows what they would have done to him for allegedly demoting their hero. It also didn't take long before the spokesperson for the All Progressives Congress (APC), Southeast Caucus, Osita Okechukwu issued a statement alleging that Mbaka was being victimised because he is pro-Buhari and pro-APC.
Okechukwu's intervention was a needless busybody act. He only stopped short of asking the Diocesan Bishop to reverse himself or get labeled as an enemy of the government of the day. Nor did it take long before the Catholic Church also put its feet down, stating clearly that no priest is above the Church. Mbaka definitely needed that reality check. But he had succeeded in politicizing his transfer and dragging the Catholic Church into mainstream, partisan politics with the Church holding the short end of the stick.
It is perhaps for this reason that the Catholic Bishop of Abuja Metropolitan See, Cardinal John Onaiyekan once asked that Rev. Fr. Mbaka should be sanctioned. He actually accused him of talking "rubbish" when he openly condemned President Goodluck Jonathan and insisted that the electorate should vote for Muhammadu Buhari, then Presidential candidate of the APC, who according to him, was destined to win the 2015 Presidential election. "I do not believe in my mind that the way things are in Nigeria, any Catholic priest has the mandate to decide which of the political contestants should be voted for... I don't believe a priest should be doing that…If he was in my archdiocese, I will have sanctioned him long ago for the kind of utterances he makes."
Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama, president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), also similarly disowned him. Even with those protestations, Mbaka remained untouchable. He is on record as having declared in a secessionist mood, for example, that the sovereignty of Nigeria is not sacrosanct. "If we must be one Nigeria, let it be one Nigeria, but if it can't be one Nigeria, let us divide...let us tell ourselves the truth." He has also since the 2015 elections, made a high profile visit to the Presidential Villa to see President Buhari. He was actually shown arriving in a private jet, waving to the crowd as if he was on a Papal visit to the seat of power! How did one priest, out of over 30 million Nigerian Catholics, become so powerful and untouchable?
Rev. Fr. Mbaka's seeming invincibility lies in his significance and relevance. His Ministry is a loud comment on the relationship between the Church and the congregation. Mbaka is the founder and Spiritual Director of a Ministry within the Catholic Church known as Adoration Ministry Enugu Nigeria (AMEN). Gifted, creative and clever; he is without any doubt a liberation theologian. He runs a prophetic church, a church that believes strongly in the power of the Eucharist, and which in every sense is a church of the poor. His source of inspiration must be those liberation theologians and other radical priests who have proven that for the church to be relevant, it must be relevant to the interests, concerns and expectations of the congregation, particularly the underprivileged poor.
More than any other catholic priest in Nigeria, Mbaka has taken the Catholic Church beyond the confines of liberal conservatism to the ordinary man in the market place. He speaks the poor man's language, he appeals to their imagination. He is the bridge between the Pentecostal churches and the Catholic Church in Nigeria. He has mastered the tricks, the rhetoric, the antics and the persona of the former, and he applies this with a touch of sassiness that is original. He urges members of his ministry to "Pray Until Something Happens" (PUSH). In an overtly religious and superstitious country like Nigeria, there is never a shortage of persons who are ready to push until the impossible happens.
He organises vigils titled: "E no dey again". That is precisely what the people want to hear. They want to hear that problems, disease, unemployment- "e no dey again!". Mbaka also has a Foundation, the Multi-Life Savers Foundation. Note the emphasis on the saving of lives! He pays hospital bills, he gives out cars, he builds houses for people, he pays school fees, and he sponsors events. He sings. He dances. He is not your typical Catholic priest. He is rich. He talks about assets. Other priests go to him for financial assistance. He is an all-round entrepreneur in church garments. He provides hope. With all this, Fr. Mbaka is far ahead of his bosses within the Catholic hierarchy. Persons of other faiths and Christian denominations troop to his Ministry to seek spiritual counselling. Politicians seek his endorsement. He controls the mind of multitudes. The Catholic Church is probably in need of reinvention, and the seeds of that process may well lie in the example and eclecticism of Mbaka and his likes in other parts of the Catholic world.
The plain truth is that the average church-goer today is looking for something different which the orthodox churches and their mode of worship do not offer. The poor who make up the congregation are as impatient as the politicians who have made them poor. They want immediate salvation, practical solutions to their problems; they want their blessings here and now, not in a world to come. Mbaka and the Pentecostal pastors understand this and so they bring the church closer to the people's needs. But there is a flipside and it is hubris.
Hubris is risky and pernicious. It is what makes Fr. Mbaka appear so contradictory. It is what has distanced him from his original vows as a priest, making him talk of cash and assets as if he were an investor on Broad Street. It is what makes him complain of suffering and see his transfer as a punishment, rather than as an opportunity for further evangelism of The Word. He must have started out as a humble priest, but today, he has mastered the use of the media for self-projection and he is not contented with being a priest, he is now enjoying the life of a celebrity, hugging the limelight, seeking personal glory. He runs a ministry of miracles, of wonders and signs and he sees visions of possible assassinations, either of himself or the politicians that he supports. No one should be surprised if this Pentecostal Catholic priest goes about with bodyguards. He shares this hubris with many other religious figures who seek to share power with politicians and co-govern Nigeria. They see visions about everything: from elections to diseases and foreign exchange rates. They have created a New Order under which they command the electorate, political parties and governments.
It is this hubris that has blinded Fr. Mbaka to the fact that the souls to be won for Christ are not only in GRA, Enugu, but in all places as well. His transfer to a smaller parish should remind him of the essence of his priestly vows: humility, simplicity, obedience, sacrifice, as well as commitment to the good of the church rather than individual heroism, values which can truly make him a priest in the Order of Melchizedek. Let him therefore, suffer if he must, and let his suffering be a blessing upon the poor and the Church, and if he as much as whimpers again, let him be posted post-haste to Sambisa Forest, where the poor are in urgent need of miracles.
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I'm going to suffer -Fr Mbaka • Fiery priest moves from duplex to one room apartmentWritten by Petrus Obi, Enugu
- Fiery priest moves from duplex to one room apartment
- Parishioners weep
TEARS flowed uncontrollably from parishioners and members of the Adoration Ministry as fiery Enugu Catholic priest and director of the ministry, Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka, yesterday bowed out of Christ the King Parish, GRA, Enugu, which he presided over as parish priest for 20 years.
The entire Enugu capital city also stood still as over 30 lorries accompanied by thousands of his adoration faithful escorted him in a motorcade to his new parish, Our Lady Parish, Emene, a suburb of the capital city.
Mbaka's transfer became a topical issue as a section of the society saw it as a punitive measure for his recent prophecies especially that of December 31st 2014, when he predicted that former President Goodluck Jonathan would be defeated in the 2015 elections. This has however been dismissed by the church who explained that the transfer is a routine exercise done every six years by the bishop.
But Mbaka's transfer as a parish priest to a resident priest, where he will serve under another priest, has raised eyebrows eliciting further comments from close observers.
Mbaka himself while handing over formally to his successor yesterday told those around that he was going to suffer, moving from a duplex to a room in his new parish but asked them not to worry that God has bigger plans for him.
Hear him: "I know we are going to suffer; between now and few months to come, I am going to suffer; I am going to suffer because I have no place to lay my head; I am going to suffer because I have no place to keep the Ministry's assets; I know I am going to suffer;
fortunately it's going to happen in the month of Lent; so I am going to use my exit here to observe the Lent. But Jesus said it to His apostles in John 16:20, 'You will be sorrowful and the world will be rejoicing but very soon I will turn your sorrows to joy.' So I am waiting for that moment because for now I know we are going to suffer.
The Adoration Ministry is passing through suffering right now; even though I have accepted it as the will of God; it is the will of God through suffering; it is a mega suffering. But however, the grace of God will carry us all; even though some of you may pray that God should remove this thorn from us, the scripture says 'His grace is sufficient for us; for its even in your weakness that the power of God is demonstrated. So we are moving but don't forget the scriptures, 'my brothers they make me keeper of vineyards, my own vineyard I keepeth not. All these while we have been keeping vineyards, building for Christ The King Parish...Bishop Gbuji asked them, how much ...but because I don't want to disclose my charity, they can't keep that account. How many trailer loads of cement came here? All the monies I made from my cassette and other private crusades all of them were used to build this church. We cannot quantify it but let God be glorified."
"It is the will of God; and when the will of God either permissive or however, happens, nobody should question it. All you have today is Amen; so to the will of God Fr. Mbaka has said Amen."
Mbaka said he welcomed the decision of the church leadership with absolute acceptance and obedience, stating that nobody should see him as a recalcitrant priest. He assured that the parish would not collapse due to his exit, and urged the members to treat his successor, Rev. Fr. Theodore Ozoamalu, well, and to assist him in any way he needs help and not allow him to cry.
His words: "Don't starve him; don't allow him to suffer; in my own time I didn't need your help because God blessed me in my own unique way and I am happy. God will keep the parish because we have fought the good fight; I am not regretting anything and the highest gift God has given here is his Holy Spirit who assisted me up till now."
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The making of a fiery priest
Written by From Petrus Obi, Enugu
From obscurity to limelight
FROM childhood, Rev. Fr. Camillus Ejike Mbaka, the spiritual director of Adoration Ministry, Enugu, Nigeria (AMEN), showed traces of one that would be unique.
Born into a poor family of a palm wine tapper of a father, Fr. Mbaka was not discouraged as he helped out his father in his vocation with which the family was sustained.
A search into the humble beginning and make-up of the stature of Fr. Mbaka took Saturday Sun to his ancestral home in Amata, Ituku, in Awgu Local Government Area of Enugu State.
Amata is a sleepy village tucked behind the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Ituku/Ozalla and hidden from the Enugu-Port Harcourt expressway.
At Amata, nobody talks anything bad of Fr. Mbaka who the villagers see as their shining light.
Thus, they view with suspicion anybody who comes to make enquiry about the fiery Catholic priest whose popularity has soared in the country and beyond because of his uncommon prophecies and philanthropy.
Therefore, when this reporter came into Amata, the youths quickly gathered on learning that Fr. Mbaka was the reason for the journey and demanded pronto, what the enquiry was all about.
Subsequent discussions revealed why Fr Mbaka was loved by his people, from the young to the old, the traditional institution to the church, his family members and close associates: whose lives he had touched positively in one way or the other.
To some of them, Fr. Mbaka is not only a prophet of God, but also a mystery man. Mbaka had become very popular as he had never spared any erring government in power, starting from his home state, Enugu.
He once had a running battle with a former governor of the state, Dr Chimaroke Nnamani even as he did not spare the immediate past Governor Sullivan Chime during his second tenure when he felt the governor was derailing.
This fearless nature, he carried to the national level when on December 31, 2014, he prophesied that former President Goodluck Jonathan would be defeated in the 2015 presidential election because of his inability to pilot the affairs of the nation well.
His prophecy came at a time nobody imagined the incumbent, and dominant Peoples Democratic Party, PDP could lose an election.
With a very large followership who troop into Enugu from all parts of the country for his Friday weekly adoration service, where prayers, healings and miracles, take place, the young priest has become a household name in the country. However, at Amata, it was a herculean task getting the immediate members of his family to talk about him.
His uncle, Paul Mbaka, who was excited by the care and love Fr. Mbaka had shown him and his brother, was able to tell this reporter that the priest built the two modern bungalows for him and his brother both of whom are of the same parents with Fr. Mbaka's father. Elderly Paul Mbaka was able to disclose that as a child, Fr. Mbaka was very humble and would always help the elderly in the village to do some household chores. He was still narrating his story when the women from the compound came and shut him up.
Here are the encounters that unmasked the fiery priest.
His childhood
Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka was born in 1967 to a poor palmwine tapper, Mazi Ogbuefi, and Mrs. Felicia Mbaka, of Amata, one of the smallest villages in Ituku Community, Awgu Local Government Area of Enugu State. His mother was the second wife of Mazi Ogbuefi who was in search of a male child as the first wife gave birth to only females. For some reasons which could not be ascertained, his mother's marriage to Mazi Ogbuefi could not last as she left with her little child at a very tender age. Felicia who has long re-married in the neighbouring Agbogugu Community recalled that from childhood she observed that her son was a special child.
Her words: "He was never sick; and throughout the war he never suffered any of the common ailments that affected most children."
She said that she was surprised at the rising profile of Fr. Mbaka though she had expected him to be great, but never knew it would be of the present magnitude. "He was a very smart young boy who had readymade reply to anything you told him. He was exceptional," she said. The young Mbaka, according to his mother, was a quiet and peaceful person who never looked for trouble; saying that "if you look for his trouble he will give it back to you."
His early education
Though Mr George Okafor, a retired teacher at Central School Ituku, where Rev. Fr. Mbaka did his primary education did not teach him, he nevertheless knew him as a very humble and hard working boy.
"He lived in the village and schooled here at Central School Ituku. Almost all the developmental projects in the community, he contributed much to them. even this church here, he is the person building that Church. He has many of our sons and daughters on his scholarship and he has employed many of our sons. These village roads he used to grade them every year; the Central school building he replaced the roof after it was blown off by the wind. He is a blessing to us," Okafor said. Also Chief and godfather to Fr. Mbaka, who also taught at Central school, said that he knew him as a child in the primary school. "I knew him starting from his childhood days; he came from a poor family. His late father's name was Ogbuefi Mbaka. He is the only son his mother bore for Ogbuefi Mbaka. He attended his secondary school at former St. Vincent Agbaogugu; from there, he joined the seminary school and wa later ordained a Catholic Priest at St. Anthony Catholic Church, Ituku. He was a noble boy; he did what evDamian Ugwueneh, a retired teacher erybody loved as a child from a poor family; he lived a poor life.
"Co-incidentally, when he went to have his first baptism; the Rev. Father there refused to baptize him as he said that the brother cannot be his godfather and I took up the task to be his godfather as long as he was from Ituku. He is a good son of Ituku; son of the soil; noble son of the soil; very active and enjoyable son of Ituku," Ugwueneh said.
Also, Mr Ambrose Okonkwo, retired headmaster was not Mbaka's immediate class teacher, but he was a teacher in the school while Mbaka was in the primary school. He recalled that during his primary school days Fr. Mbaka wasn't too clever as he is today.
For him, Fr. Mbaka's brilliance and cleverness all emanated from the seminary, Seat of Wisdom Seminary, Umuahia. "So, when he came back here we saw him as super intelligent human being; I am always afraid to meet him because before you say anything he already knows what you are going to say. If you ask him a question he has known what to answer. He wasn't the type of pupil who fought in school, in fact, I can't remember ever flogging him; I had never gotten a report against him. Because if anybody disturbed in the school, they would report to me and I would treat the case. He wasn't a trouble maker; he was the quiet type, but was always anxious and eager to be part of what is happening.
"Before he secured admission into the seminary he was known for his religious activities; most prominent of his activities then was his block rosary crusade where he gathered children and prayed with them. So, that was how he started his life and his parents didn't sanction his desire to go for priesthood. They never approved of it; they did everything possible to stop him. Before he left, the few baggage he went away with were taken away from his place by his block rosary members. The day he was going he just left; his father was there but didn't know what was happening.
"By the time he realized what was happening he did everything humanly possible; he went to all the big native doctors he knew that could bring him back. Even the week he was being ordained his father took ill and was taken to the hospital. Luckily for them, he recovered on the day of ordination and he had no alternative than to show his presence. The mother who was no longer living with the man at the time was also there; and that was the first time the two of them were coming together and they sat on the front row of this church St. Anthony Catholic Church Ituku," Okonkwo said.
Mbaka in the eyes of Ituku community leaders
His Royal Highness Igwe Cletus Owo (Ubatuoke 111 of Ituku) is Mbaka's traditional ruler; he would not mince words to say the fiery priest was one of the most illustrious sons in Ituku land.
"For God to have given us somebody like Fr. Mbaka, we are grateful to Him. Since 1995, when he was ordained priest we started experiencing changes in the community; both in the lives of the youths and equally the elders by empowering them with the word of God. From there he started rising; I must not forget to tell you that he started his Christian life from childhood; let me say from day-three of his birth. He was the leader of most groups in the church from his tender age and he grew up that way.
"He continued like that throughout his primary school and at his secondary school he expanded and decided to go for priesthood. But he suffered so much because there was no money to train him; people continued to contribute, 2 kobo, 3kobo. Even people outside my community kept on helping and he was lucky to be ordained a priest. I remember what Fr. Stephen Njoku, who I call his mentor, said the day he was ordained. Father Njoku said at St. Anthony Ituku, that 'Ituku has something; that what is inside this small boy is greater than what we the parents knew. That this boy ordained today is a great man. That he is equally afraid of him'; these were his words to our people after Fr. Mbaka's ordination. That was the day he asked Fr. Mbaka to tell his people what he will do for them; 'tell your people what you will do for them because you are going to be a great man.' There and then he promised that he will build a Catholic Church in our place; he has fulfilled that promise. He single-handedly built the church building at St. Anthony, Ituku, where he was ordained.
"Since his ordination our community has changed. In those days, we used to have only about two persons that had cars; two cars in the entire community. But since his ordination every compound has at least one car. Because he was praying that our people are very poor; he normally holds a prayer for the community every January 2nd and his cry to God to help his people out of poverty is manifesting. Today, people are building duplexes, beautiful houses in Ituku; people are buying SUVs, before now it was Peugeot 504. Today, we also have about 100 graduates in Ituku and 75 per cent of that number is to his credit. In the secondary school, he is paying fees for almost everybody. I don't know how to describe him... what he is after is how to improve the lives of the poor people. People will want to come and build this and that for him, he will say no, please bring that money; there are people that have no houses; there are people that are hungry; let us use that money and empower them," the traditional ruler said.
Chief Laz Owo, Chairman, Amaokolo Development Union
The good testimonies about Fr Mbaka did not stop with what the traditional ruler said as the Chairman of Amaokolo Development Union, Chief Laz Owo added to the long list.
"Mbaka is a true manifestation of God's love to Ituku town. Who could have known Ituku or Amata village if not for his sake? He is the first son of Mazi Ogbuefi Mbaka; a palmwine tapper who like Ituku town would not been allowed to have Fr. Mbaka as a son if the gift of man were the gift of God. He had his primary education at Central School Ituku where he as a pupil had much passion for Virgin Mary.
"He organized block rosary groups in all the nine villages in Ituku. He went round the villages preaching God and condemning idol worshipping. The children he grew up with did not understand or comprehend what he preached because he reasoned far above his age. As a student he attended Ituku town union meetings where he addressed both his father and other elders of the town. The elders commented that the boy should be watched to know what was in him because he wasn't just ordinary. He continued with the block rosary until he entered the seminary. He grew up in the hands of his father Mazi Ogbuefi Mbaka who became puzzled by his opting to be a priest.
"As a seminarian he returned home, tapped palmwine with his father; cut palm heads for palm oil and palm kernel. He equally cut palm fronts for the domestic animals his father had. The only problem is that some people, very few do not understand him. They refused to know that he is a prophet of God; they ask why should he come from Amata village one of the smallest villages in Ituku. Why must it be the son of Ogbuefi Mbaka who they know very well as a poor palmwine tapper? I advise this group of people to allow God to complete the good work He started through the young priest. This type of gift comes once in a century; let the will of God be done," the town union chairman said.
Mbaka the seminarian
Rev. Fr. Jonathan Nweke, from Awgu Catholic Diocese and Rector St. Vincent de Paul Minor Seminary was at the seminary with Fr. Mbaka. His words: "I have known Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka for a very long time; initially when he entered the seminary, St. Cross Seminary Nsukka about 1986/87 academic year, we were together for about a year. What you see didn't just start today; what you see today is what we observed many years back over 20 years ago. This is a man who didn't do minor seminary; he studied here at St. Vincent Agbogugu. Eventually, when he came into the seminary to do the one year orientation probation, here was a man who was known within this so short a time as a man who was very generous; a prayerful and quiet man.
"He is one person that is loved by almost all the students which is not very usual because people who come in from secondary schools often feel intimidated because they are new in seminary. But this is a guy who came and was loved by the students; at the time he was leaving you saw so many people were affected that they were losing a friend. His generosity was beyond measure; he was generous with his time, was generous with other things that he had. He was actually very poor that time so he had no money to give. But from the little he had it was surprising that he was ready to give.
"There was one man he visited that gave him a little pocket money yet he was able to share from that little pocket money with me and with others. So, his generosity is one thing that stands out; I could also trace this generosity back to his family. His father then was not a Christian; his father was a palm wine tapper but when we the seminarians will come round his place, Fr. Mbaka then doesn't drink alcohol; but his father had that culture that he will always keep some kegs of palm wine for people that visit him. So, I was one of those who benefitted so much from those visits.
"Actually, I loved to visit him because as at that time he was the best palm wine tapper in town. So, that generosity of Mbaka started way back then that he will always share with you the little that he has; its normal when you have more you could give, but this is a man that will use his little resources to help you. "So, the things about him that has been with him from his seminary days have been his generosity, his prayerful life, his friendliness, his compassion for people; he is exceptional. So, when I see these things having blossomed now as a priest, it's not anything new, it has only taken a larger scale; and we see that his sense of generosity is beyond measure. All my life I am yet to see a priest who is so generous, has touched the lives of people. Not people he has known but people from all walks of life 90 per cent of whom he never knew; yet always willing to give service to humanity. This is faith in action and I see this man as a man who has faith in God," Nweke said.
Also Rev Fr. Nweke believes that there are two ways to look at Mbaka's prophecies and politics unlike those who criticize him outrightly.
"On one side, Fr. Mbaka is a prophet and God has given him gifts and he can't even hide those gifts even if he wants to. When we look at the Bible, for instance, when God sent Jonah to Nineveh with a mission; Jonah taught himself smart and decided to run away but unfortunately, something happened that brought him back to the place he was running awayfrom. So, sometimes I see Fr. Mbaka issue as that of a prophet that has a call by God. So, if God has given this man a prophecy to make he is bound to make them if not he suffers for it. So, if God has called him and we see his prophecies...it's not just about politics, everything about life; and these prophecies are coming true. For instance, in the recent one 'from good luck to bad luck' that caused a lot of commotion and people were calling him politician and stuff like that, it's only because people don't understand who a priest is. As a priest he has priestly roles and prophetic roles and he is bound to exercise them. So, I wouldn't say he is a politician because he is being prophetic because he is a priest ordained to be so.
"If God gives me the gift of prophecy I will do what he is doing exactly. But we have our different gifts; so that I don't have that gift does not mean I should be jealous or condemn another who has that. God has given him gift and he is using those gifts to the glory of God. On the other side, man is a political animal and we cannot because he is a priest take away what makes him a human being. So, Fr. Mbaka reserves the right like every other person to speak about matters that concerns us. So, if God gives him that gift by every means he should use them; and if he uses them like every prophet, you like them, you don't like them, it doesn't matter. But a prophet is a prophet of God; it's just like a bridge; he gets a message and transmits. So, it's not like he is making those messages up himself because we have seen them come true. People that called him fake prophets who actually now is the false prophet. Why do people condemn voices of prophets? Granted there are people who are fake, but we have seen for real that this man is not doing this for material gain.
"By the way what does this man have for himself? This is a man who has outdone almost every other person in generosity; so if any resources come around him you see people benefitting from them. For instance, in this school he is paying the school fees of so many indigent seminarians here and 99 per cent of them he doesn't know them, he had never seen them. But these are people he pays for and they are in school today is because of Fr Mbaka's generosity. I have not seen anything that will make me succumb to people calling him names; it's only that sometimes we have jealousy; when somebody is so blessed people try to pull him down. But if we are reasonable and we have faith in God let us support God's work. Same way every other Catholic priest gets involved without appearing partisan or inciting its parishioners. Now, imagine if every Catholic priest becomes partisan... by partisan I mean leaning to a particular political party what will our churches be like?"
His prophecies/ politics
One of Fr Mbaka's godsons, Hon. Val Nnadozie, an Enugu-based politician said that once one is ordained a priest, three things are given to one: "First is that you are a priest, secondly, you are a prophet and thirdly, you are a king. Being a priest means that you have to take care of the spiritual life of your congregation; as a prophet you get inspiration and messages from God for you to pass unto His people. Thirdly, you are made a king so as to be fearless; you can talk to the high and mighty. I am a Catholic so understand it from that stand point. Having that as a background the things that Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka has prophesied over time I sincerely believe are things he was asked to tell the people.
"For instance, the following morning after the prophecy of 31st December 2014, we had this conversation and he told me that things he said were not the things he prepared to say; that somehow something came upon him and he started saying things that were different from what he prepared to say as a sermon. As a priest you are made to take care of the spiritual life of your congregation; how do you take care of the people given to you if they are hungry; if they are deprived; if they don't have anybody to speak for them. How do they praise God, how do they turn to God if they have things that are obstacles in their way? They can't afford to feed; they can't afford to pay their children's school fees, they can't afford to pay house rents, how does one expect that kind of person in that situation to praise God?
"So, I see it from this aspect of God has sent a Joseph to come and liberate His people; to save them in time of hunger. The issue here is who will speak for us; who will go for us? On the night of December 31st, 2014, he prophesied that former President Goodluck Jonathan would lose election; another instructive thing he said was that 'if your own brother would cause you harm and death, and somebody who is not related to you will make things better for you, who would you go for?' I believe strongly that those messages came from God because the ones we witnessed have come to pass. "I am a practical example also; I had kidney failure and I know I am the only person that has survived that through the Holy Ghost. I did not have surgery, I did not have transplant and I got healed by payers. I had eight years of bareness in my house, I had gone through everything; I had gone through IVF two to three times, none worked, prayer worked for me. So, why shouldn't I believe when I am a primary beneficiary," Nnadozie said.
For Mr. Osita Okechukwu, another Enugu politician and APC South East spokesman "I see Mbaka's prophecy as providential; it's God's prophecy because it came to pass; that Muhammadu Buhari as he predicted has become president. And as Fr. Mbaka has said, that he had nothing against the then President Jonathan or against the wife; that all he had seen is that things are ruptured so much that we need a change; we need a revival of the country. And even when he met Buhari he told him that he had to pray for him because some traducers are after his life and then some people in government are also not with him. I think it is providential because nobody can accuse him of taking bribe, nobody can accuse him of sectionalism or being a religious bigot because Buhari is not a Christian. So, he has escaped the two most important factors that people use against public affairs speakers like him.
"So, to me, what he did is God's message; and then for those who criticize him I am not surprised about that because those who were benefitting from the status quo have to defend the status quo; you don't expect them to say that the status quo should go away. Throughout history change is always resisted; the people resist change because they benefit no matter the rot. And luckily let me say that Rev. Fr. Mbaka has been vindicated; if President Buhari did not come to power nobody will know the kind of money that was distributed out of the funds for procurement of weapons for troops at war. To me, Mbaka is vindicated; he has been proven right; the message was clearly God's message. "Those who changed Latin America; those who made Pinochet to fall in Chile, they were what they call liberation theologists; most of them were Catholic priests; so it's not a new thing in the Catholic kingdom to have liberation theologists. So, he is a theologian; he belongs to the liberation spectrum of the great Catholic Church. So, he is not a politician he is a liberation clergy who is not afraid to tell those in power the truth; they are very rare in the Christian community and the clergy."
According to Jane frances Nweze, Enugu-based public affairs commentator, " Rev. Fr. Mbaka went overboard with his 2016 prophecy not necessarily because he is not a true man of God, but if his prophecy is supposed to be for the nation, it's supposed to be what will happen in the nation. Saying that God revealed to him that the president is going to be attacked because of his war against corruption is ridiculous because everybody knows there is a tendency that he would be attacked. Attacking him doesn't necessarily mean he is going to be killed or not, it's more definite or more of a prophecy to say that the president would serve out his four-year-term or the president will not live out 2016. But when you say he is going to be attacked it's inciting certain section of the public because everybody will turn to the opposition party as being the possible culprit. Also that prophecy doesn't have anything for our nation; what do we benefit having the information that he is going to be attacked. I think his prophecy should target things that will bring about the salvation of his people; I guess economic salvation is part of it maybe that's why he is indirectly involved in politics but somehow he needs to tread carefully knowing he is a charismatic leader with great followership. He should be careful not to take advantage of that because instead of yielding good fruit it may backfire and turn around and bite each of us. I don't follow him, I don't even care about what he says but there are a whole lot of people outside Enugu who actually follow him and are interested in the things he says. So, he has to be careful not to mislead them and secondly not to set the nation in some tension we may not find easy to come out of."
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