By Azu Okafor
In life, both present and historical, we often hear, see, or read about the curious concept of sibling rivalry, brother killing brother, prophet killing prophet, and so on. These are dated concepts stemming from jealousy, envy, and all other forms of destructive competition. The Biblical story of Joseph the Dreamer and his siblings is an instructive case study. We have read the bestseller by Jeffrey Archer titled Kane and Abel. The theme also extends to the Judas syndrome, but how does one explain persistent, vicious, and misleading attacks against a personality you have never met nor are directly related to?
Genuine men of God should not descend from their exalted office of preaching the gospel, spreading love, hope, and charity to criticise and condemn a fellow labourer in the vineyard of God, just as Fr Nwebe Joy is doing to Evangelist Ebuka Obi.
For proper context, Fr Nwebe Joy is a clergyman ordained some ten years ago, whose congregation scattered immediately thereafter.
Among the grievances and contentions of Fr Nwebe against the Evangelist is that Evangelist Ebuka Obi’s virgin purity posturing has drawn most traditional Igbo Catholics into the Zion Movement fold. He also faults the open, raw deliverance practice of the Evangelist, which he claims strips the candidates of dignity. This fault-finding goes against the Biblical statement that Christ prevailed over demons and made an open show of them in triumph! Evangelist Ebuka Obi operates by inspiration, and his method certainly propagates the deliverance gospel better than the secret method! This barrage of pontification is coming from a man well known for his philandering antecedents (for those who know). In plain words, Fr Nwebe is rumoured to be enjoying the joys of the opposite sex in a manner specifically against the chastity vows of the office of a priest.
In an apparent attempt to discourage some believers in the diaspora (whom Fr Nwebe must have perceived to be key financial members), he claims the Evangelist is using the virtues of the Americans! How ridiculous can a supposed man of God get to be? In another episode, Fr Nwebe claimed he visited a member of Ebuka Obi’s Zion ministry and discovered she was not wearing a bra! How come? Meanwhile, he stayed with her for the night! What’s going on?
In one video available in the public domain, Fr Nwebe, in an attempt to debunk the chastity tenets of the Evangelist, issued a curse by pulling his footwear to connect to the bare soil, a practice which I found disturbing as an exclusive practice of traditionalists and highly unbecoming of a genuine man of God.
Close watchers are finding it difficult to comprehend why Evangelist Ebuka has not taken drastic action against the antagonism of Fr Nwebe by prosecuting him for a clear case of cyber-bullying and blackmail or reporting him to the parent Catholic authorities at the Vatican. Is Fr Nwebe now a full-time blogger or an influencer paid to mudsling his colleague? Is there a puppet master behind this whole charade? Only time will tell!
One thing is clear—Fr Nwebe is gravitating to the status of prophet killer, just as the brothers of Joseph in the Biblical case study, who out of envy declared: here comes the dreamer; let us kill him now, and see what becomes of his lofty dreams! Shall he also rule over us, his elder brothers?
Let me, on this note, implore the Catholic Bishops of Nigeria and all the generals in the body of Christ to caution Fr Nwebe Joy against his pull-him-down practices. His actions are disgraceful, ignoble, and undoubtedly highlight envy, jealousy, and resentment. Such attacks are detrimental to the image of the church and its mission. A kingdom divided against itself will not stand the test of time. Shalom!
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Azu Okafor, a concerned Catholic faithful, writes from Awka, Anambra State
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