allAfrica.com: Nigeria: Cult Or Shrine, Gov. Orji Link With Okija, Irreconcilable-Obike (Page 1 of 2)

Very soon, the Appeal Court sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, will hear the appeal by Governor Theophilus Ahamefule Orji of Abia State, challenging the verdict of the State Elections Petition Tribunal, which faulted his emergence as governor, even when the tribunal upheld his success at the polls of April 14. 2007.

The Appeal Court, which will have the final say on the petition by PDP governorship candidate, Chief Onyema Ugochukwu, will dissect the two major grounds for nullifying the governor's election: his membership of a secret cult and his non-resignation from office as required by the Electoral Act.

In this interview, deputy national publicity secretary and national image maker of All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA, Mr. Chinwengozi Obike, a Lagos-based legal practitioner, takes a look at the verdict at Umuahia and says secret cult or shrine, the Okija link of the governor, damages his credibility as leader of Abia state. Excerpts:

The Abia State Elections Petition Tribunal has delivered its verdict, and the Abia governor is on appeal. What do you make of the judgment?

Orji

Well, as far as I am concerned, an issue that is subjudice, any lawyer that is worth his salt does not give an opinion. You may have an opinion but you keep it to yourself, until the Court of Appeal adjudicates on the issues involved. So, this matter is before the courts, and we should allow the court to give its verdict. Until then, I have no opinion on the matter.

Many lawyers have commented on the tribunal's verdict, and the major grounds given are that the governor belongs to a secret cult and his non-resignation as chief of staff to former Governor Orji Kalu. How do we distinguish between a cult and a shrine in this context?

A cult, as I understand it, is a group of zealous devotees who for whatever advantage, come together and interact among themselves. Simply put, a group of zealous devotees. A shrine has nothing to do with grouping. A shrine is inanimate, it's a place. It could be a tomb. Like the shrine of the Virgin Mary - the shroud. Like the shrine at Arochukwu. There are many shrines scattered all over the nation. It has nothing to do with cultism. Cultism is a separate thing. You can actually have cultism within the shrine. The shrine is a place while a cult is a grouping of zealous devotees.

So, what is the quarrel? Is it that the man belongs to a cult or that he worships at a shrine. Commentators have said that worshippers at a shrine belong to traditional religion and have constitutional backing. How do we place the governor?

The governor is expected to be a role model, and T.A. Orji professes to be a Christian. So, his character calls into question if he also worships in a shrine. We need to understand where he belongs. The other day, he gave donation at the Methodist Church, and he identifies fully with Christianity. So, this double character play is so confusing and I think it calls into question the reputation and the character of the man involved. It means he cannot be relied upon.

Some senior lawyers have said the man should be, even if he worships at Okija Shrine. What do we lose if he worships in the shrines of Okija, for instance?

Nobody is saying that the man should not belong anywhere. I am only saying that the man is my governor. Once you become a governor, even the type of food you eat, and the quantity of drinks you take, and your lifestyle becomes a thing of public interest. So, if it is true that my governor was in chains and in pants, I think every decent man, every civilised person, should frown at it.

It is his right to belong to a cult, it is his right to be sworn-in on oath, be in any gown, but after all that, we also have a right to say that such a man should not be our governor. And from the religious point of view, those of us who are Christians, it is a curse on the land, when you mix up certain issues with a god. And a man who says that he is the leader of "God's Own State", should not be seen in any shrine or be part of any secret cult.

Those who inserted Section 182(1)(h) in the Constitution banning secret cultists from elective office were mindful of the headless corpses we often find in our streets, dead bodies with breasts or private parts missing. These ritual killings often remind us of our primitive past that had kept us down for ages, and leaders of modern Nigerian must be kept away from these diabolical practices.

Can we define a secret cult as opposed to a shrine?

A secret cult is that cult where the devotees or members share information only among themselves. They take oath, and they tell initiates, 'don't tell your mother, don't tell your father, don't tell your friend, don't tell your relations what goes on within the cult'. Whereas in a shrine, you can come and worship, give a goat and go home. There is nothing like oath taking. Nobody will tell you that if you take the oath and if you divulge information, that you will die. But a cult is clearly defined.

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