Ehusani: Faith Merchant as Activist

EDIFYING ELUCIDATIONS BY OKEY IKECHUKWU

He once debarred a governor from entering his church, because the latter violated the rule on lateness. He was to later calmly explain that the rules were clear from the beginning, that they were repeatedly explained to everyone and that his homilies were usually not interrupted by movement, due to lateness. Rev He was always

uncompromising in understanding of his role as a priest, the tradition of exemplary behaviour that had taken root in his parish and why he must be seen as one who served the Almighty Creator of heaven and earth. The implication, and one that Ehusani has always upheld without any pretensions or airs, is that the validity and influence of earthly authority does not extent to his Parish where he answers to Another.

Let us just say that the governor in question never turned up late at his church thereafter. Let us also note that state officials and other dignitaries do not enter his homily with guns and security details. Not for him, the standing around conspicuously in corners and surveying worshippers by gun totting CSOs and similar personnel of the high and mighty in society. That is what you find in his church, located in Asokoro, abuja.

At the peak of the COVID-19 crises, the Lux Terra family under him devised a method for members to register ahead of every Sunday worship. The registration, and particularly the time of registration, made you eligible or not eligible for worship; given the limited number of seats. It was always on a first come first served basis. So, everyone in that parish has internalized Ehusani’s no-nonsense approach to his pastoral duties. But it is a no-nonsense approach that is neither brash, offensive, nor designed to attract attention or applause. The man is just doing his job the way he understands it, and as a determined servant who is dedicated to helping nurture a better humanity, within and outside the church.

Rev Ehusani’s activities, through the Lux Terra Leadership Foundation, cuts across interreligious harmony, leadership development and mentoring, providing guidance to school prefects and teachers and driving dialogues for national development on various public platforms. That is the man for you. Energetic, dedicated, self-effacing and forever unwilling to let evil escape unchallenged wherever he finds it. He would travel anywhere in Nigeria “in the line of Duty.”

At the peak of the Naira Marley challenge to values and propriety among our youths, Ehusani was at hand to organize a programme for the students of Regina Caeli Secondary school, among others, in Abuja. I was his guest resource faculty at the event. So concerned was he about the penetration and impact of the menace in our schools, including the discovery, then, that some 70% of the students of a particular school were confirmed “Marlians,” that he also arranged a training programme for members of his Parish, for which he contracted an organization with a strong brief on effective parenting, mentoring and proper youth development. The programme, titled “How to Take back Your Children from the Marlians” was a runaway success, and a great help to the parents who participated. I still look back with joy and relief at our recent joint engagement in Enugu, where about 140 teachers of Christ the King College (CIC) were taken through a hands-on training programme on contemporary 21st century youth issues and the mentoring role of teachers in an increasingly confused world.

Today, this reverend gentleman is launching a book titled “Between Faith and Social Activism.” It is one out of seven book, in what he has termed a “Maiden Book Festival.” The other six book, making up the septuplets so to say, are: (1) Nigeria: More Years Eaten by the Locusts. (2) The Gospel Challenge: 30 years of Christian Social Teaching. (3) Conversion to Christ. (4) Growing in Christ. (5) Sunday Homilies (Year A). (6) Sunday Homilies (Year B). (7) Sunday Homilies (Year C). Readers may wish to access and read these works of the reverend gentleman, while I deal with the business of X-raying the first of the seven books, which is actually a collection of essays about the priest by many reputable individuals who have come to know him over the years and who see in him an example of how anyone who claims to be serving the Almighty in the church should go about his job.

This is what Prof. Jideofor Adibe said about Fr George in the Foreword to the book, which was edited by the following four distinguished individuals (1) Taiwo Abioye, (2) Arua Eke Arua, (3) Anthony Okeregbe and (4) Emmanuel Ojeifo: “As I came to know more about Fr. Ehusani – from his book, lectures, TV programmes and social engagement – he reminded me more of liberation theology …. which was rooted in priests, especially Catholic clergy in Latin America, consciously taking the side of the poor, the voiceless and oppressed, while not abandoning their calling as priests.” What Adibe probably should have added is that, besides homilies, television programmes and other social engagements, Fr George also actively deploys music and the dexterous use of musical instruments to propagate some of his edifying offerings.

The brilliant profile of the priest by Taiwo Abioye dovetails into the first chapter, also by the author of the Profile, in this 13 chapter book that does genuine credit to all the contributors. The title of this first chapter is sufficiently arresting on its own: “Imagery and Dialectics: A Priest’s Civic Engagements from the Pulpit.” The essence of the second chapter, which gives us a philosophical appraisal of George Ehusani’s “African Christian Humanism,”  is captured thus: “…humanist principles, like universal human dignity, individual freedom, rational enquiry, conscience and the important of happiness are consistent with, and are essential components of, the teachings of Jesus Christ.”

The third chapter is more than interesting in its focus. Drawing our attention to Ehusani’s music as a tool for social engineering and didactic Christian interventions, this chapter looks beyond the aesthetic appeal of the sounds and lyrics of his music, to its impact on the inner man as salve for the soul. It presents the liturgical value and goals of the reverend gentleman’s music, beyond his being a multi-instrumentalist, and also beyond his being a man who also enjoys his own musical renditions. The relationship between this chapter and the next, which is “An Expository Analysis of the Human Person and Human Dignity in George Ehusani’s Christian Humanism,” can be seen in the fact that the divide between and honest existentialist evaluation of the impact of music as deployed by Ehusani and the humanistic implications of the overall conceptual framework of his endeavours is a tenuous one.

Chapters five and six take us into the nuances of pastoral caregiving to secondary traumatic stress, with emphasis on the potential risk factors among catholic priests and a critical look at Ehusani’s “Prophetic Imagination, respectively. These are followed by a chapter seven that says, in Ehusani’s words concerning the role of the priesthood in the face of the failing promise of Nigeria: “Prophets are visionaries of their time. When all others are blind prophets are the ones granted to see the handwriting on the wall,  to interpret the signs of the time and to see the light beyond the tunnel. Equipped as they are with superior knowledge and perception, prophets analyse the situation on the ground in the light of the common good and in the light of God’s wisdom and commandments. Prophets refuse to be defined by the corruption of the moment; they refuse to be engulfed by the darkness of the surrounding environment.

In chapter eight of this academically enthralling work, titled “Peacebuilding and the Imperative of Ongoing Interfaith Dialogue and Conflict Management, we see the value of ecumenism and interfaith dialogue. We also see the irreplaceable role of Fr George in it. quoting from author Song’s work, we are told, correctly I dare say: “The interaction between the majority and minority religious, ethnic, social and political groups highlights the interconnection between majority and minority groups,” which has implications for cultural conflicts.” We are further told here that “a deliberative approach to particular cultural (social and political) dilemmas has several advantages over other approaches that give or no role to the participation of those affected by the dilemmas in question.”

Chapter nine, titled “A Critical Appraisal of Social Activism in George Ehusani’s Writings,” presents the latter’s “subjective assessment” of various discursive issues, as shown in his writings, as indicative of his “attempt to challenge various vices that have hitherto hampered the growth and development of Nigeria.” Captured here as part of our national problems, as seen by Fr Ehusani, are: (1) Leadership Quagmire and the challenge of governance, (2) A warped electoral process and socio-political instability, (3) Quest for social mobilization and lack of patriotic responsibility and (4) religious hypocrisy. This chapter is aptly followed by chapter ten, which is titled “Psychological Healing as Panacea for the Societal and Psychological Distress in Nigeria,” wherein specific remedial intervention s are also mentioned.

Chapter eleven is mostly a well-deserved tribute to Rev Ehusani’s “digital orientation” in his chosen line of work. After pointing out that we live in a dynamic world with serious advances in technology, and after saying that “Bishops and superiors should permit and encourage priests to use traditional and social media to purge the secular society of all its ills, the chapter declares thus: “It is against this backdrop that Fr George Omaku Ehusani broke with all erstwhile resistance to the use of media, thus becoming a seasoned communicator and friend of the media in Nigeria.”

Chapters twelve and thirteen, which are respectively titled “Truth in the Lens of Trilogy: George Ehusani’s Poesies” and “Rev Fr George Ehusani: The Torch Bearer,” dwell on his poetic works and his loyalty to his Chosen Feld of Work at various levels. All said, these concluding chapters connect very well with the opening sections of the book, for a man who is faithful to himself and his conscience in everything he does. The Afterword, at the end of the book tells the truth about this priest who works out of his heart: “Fr George, you are truly appreciated and loved.” Thus say the friends of this faith merchant and activist.