Traditional Leader in Nigeria Calls on Church “to expose” Vices against Persons, Groups

“The Church should not be seen to hesitate to encourage citizens to take their duties to the State seriously with due regard to integrity, honesty, accountability and a sense of fairness to all,” Oba Ewuare II said, 

The ruler who was known as Eheneden Erediauwa before his coronation as the 40th leader of the kingdom in 2016 further said, “The original role of the Church is to promote morality, act as the conscience of the state and serve as an important engine for unity and development.” 

“The picture of the early Church is that of a people bound together in one spirit and one mind. This is the direction of contribution that the nation looks forward to, from the Church,” Oba Ewuare II said, adding, “It is in the interest of the church to avoid denominational feuds and Pentecostal over-exuberance.” 

“In the area of education,” the Oba said, “the ordinary man looks forward to Christian schools where he would pay far less than those schools managed by profit seeking business men.”  

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In his address on the second day of the November 8-11 third National Pastoral Congress, Oba Ewuare II said Church leaders “should be a moral guardian to everyone, particularly those in power and authority.”

The traditional leader who said he was baptized in the Catholic Church as an infant underlined the need for “religious tolerance” among members of the different religions including the African Traditional Religion (ATR) in the West African nation.

“One cannot end this presentation without emphasizing the need for religious tolerance amongst the different religions in Nigeria more so that even the African Traditional Religion usually viewed as Pagan religion is no longer discriminated against in the Vatican!” said Oba Ewuare II. 

He went on to encourage the embracing of ATR in solving some of the challenges in Africa's most populous nation.

“You may wish to explore the possibility of the benefits of African Traditional Religion in the support of the state,” he said, adding that the Palace of the Oba of Benin has been helpful in assisting The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) to arrest the trend of the infamous Human Trafficking in Edo State. 

Oba Ewuare II said that the ATR “may also be more effective than the law in matters of insecurity and stealing of our commonwealth.”

Silas Mwale Isenjia is a Kenyan journalist with a great zeal and interest for Catholic Church related communication. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Linguistics, Media and Communication from Moi University in Kenya. Silas has vast experience in the Media production industry. He currently works as a Journalist for ACI Africa.