Between Eddie Long and John Oromoro

In the past 72 hours I have been writhing in pain and seething in anger at the revelation of an alleged sexual abuse by 57-years-old Bishop Eddie Long of the 25,000-member-strong New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Atlanta , Georgia , USA . Initially, two young

 men came out to publicly accuse Eddie Long of a series of sexual abuses dating back several years. Their lawyer, Ms. B. J. Bernstein, gave a public statement clarifying the basis of the legal action she was instituting on behalf of the plaintiffs. While associates of Bishop Long and his lawyer were quick to dismiss those allegations, little did they know that more accusers were rehearsing in the wings. As at today, two more young men have come forward to accuse the flamboyant clergyman who has robbed shoulders with powerful American political figures and even made financial donations to some including ex-Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, President Barack Obama and Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton.

 
  Not even the most die-hard optimist and loyalist of Bishop Eddie Long can fail to see where the truth lies and where this is getting to. Truly, this is still only an accusation and the Bishop remains innocent before the law until proven guilty in the aftermath of a trial. Nevertheless, only a few people may not yet be wondering what the Bishop has to say to the court of public opinion when he mounts the same pulpit tomorrow from which he has for years preached about righteousness and marital faithfulness and against the sins of homosexuality and lying. Would he take to the pulpit this Sunday? Or would his lawyers and close associates find a medical explanation for his absence should he choose to stay away? Whatever happens, time is not on his side.

 
 
The earlier he says something the better because the endorsement of the likes of the disgraced ex-President of America's National Evangelical Association , Ted Haggard , who has only recently confessed (after months of denying the facts and proclaiming his innocence) to the allegation of homosexual relationship with his gay masseur and abusing drugs such as metamphetamine. Ted Haggard, has boldly declared that he empathizes with Eddie Long Bishop Eddie Long | Ted Haggard says he can empathize  | ajc.com . If this is an endorsement then Eddie Long should do the right thing by distancing himself from Ted Haggard or come clean and plead a mea culpa . Whatever he does, his past will catch up with him as his own words and those of his wife, Vanessa Long, has been on record in slamming homosexuality and Lesbianism as 'spiritual abortions' have not been forgotten. Pastor

CAUGHT - Bishop Eddie Long! - Lenox and the Second City As an ordinary Christian foot soldier, I was dumb-struck with this latest revelation of hypocrisy in the echelon of my religion and resorted to exchanging emails with fellow Christians across the globe trying to make meaning of the spiritual exercise of church attendance in the face of all this. I queried, ' if going to church doesn't make one a Christian, why should the reverse unmake a Christian out of me? ' I asked this because for 12 years I worked in Saudi Arabia without the benefit of a Church to attend except for the few times I returned to Nigeria on holidays. Yet, in spite of it all, I remained devout to my faith and the translation of that faith in terms of my work output received public endorsement and appreciation by my Muslim patients and colleagues who relentlessly begged me to become a Muslim because, they said, I would be a shining example of what Islam is all about. I would politely remind them that I am what Christianity made me and it would be unwise to abandon my Christian faith and risk becoming a bad egg to Islam by falling in the hands of the same people who inspired Richard Reid and others. I recall on one occasion, I was overpaid by the Ministry of Health to the tune of over the equivalent of N250,000 by mistake. I returned the money to the Ministry of Health. The director of hospitals expressed his pleasure at my honesty and told me that I may not be a Muslim but I am practising the Muslim creed. I told him that he may not know it but that is what I learnt in Christianity. I still have a high regard from many of my Muslim colleagues in Saudi Arabia . Last Christmas, on the very day Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, under the direction of his hateful handlers, chose to bring sorrow to many American families on their most holy day in the year, I received a Christmas Greeting Card from one of my Saudi directors at the Ministry of Health back in Saudi Arabia. To me, this is an affirmation of the good Christian ambassador I had been in Saudi Arabia . Just this month I received many acknowledgements for the Eid el-Fitr greeting cards I sent to my colleagues back in Saudi Arabia .

 
  So it is that this lowly Christian soldier who is trying to reach out to my Muslim brothers to urge both sides to focus on our common religious heritage and build a bridge that will stop the acrimonious relationship that existed between us especially in my country and in particular, my native Borno state, I am confronted by the likes of Bishop Eddie Long giving Jesus of Nazareth a blue eye and mocking him as He hung on the cross enduring a painful death for humanity.

 
  I was vainly trying to make my online interlocutors (many of whom were my classmates in medical school) understand that the prevalent attitude of dismissing the sins of Christian pastors and priests by suggesting that the all-seeing and all-knowing God is waiting for them to repent or to punish them in Hell in the great bye-and-bye, is simply giving them the much-needed berth to continue to indulge in hypocrisy and sin unchallenged. I wondered whether Martin Luther was acting against God's wish when he posted those 95 theses at the door of the cathedral in the University in Wittenberg that challenged ecclesiastical corruption and ushered in the Christian Reformation. I wonder if the sustained barrage of shameful acts going on in Christian Churches should await the second coming of Jesus Christ . Or should Christians take to the streets with placards denouncing their pastors and priests and call for an end to this show of wanton infamy? If Martin Luther was right, then this is the right thing for our generation to do. Heaven, we have a problem!

 
  We need a Christian Jihad like the Jihad of Othman Danfodio against the errant Hausa and Kanuri Muslims in northern Nigeria about two centuries ago. We are soiled in unimaginable dirt. We need to perform ablutions before entering our modern synagogues like the Jews of old did.

  I was still seething with a passion that can be described as hateful towards my own Christian religious leaders in the event of the allegation against Bishop Eddie Long when I came across a local story in my own country that is even more painful and regrettable.

  John Oromoro, 56-years of age, is a Nigerian father of 14 children who has been arrested last week by the Nigeria Police Force and is currently awaiting his day in court in Lagos state, Nigeria . His arrest is in connection with the death of one Pastor Benjamin Ojinaka, 45-years-old, of the Jesus Power Ministry, at Jakande Estate, Ajangbadi. According to the Nigerian Tribune online edition of Saturday, September 25, 2010 , Man Kills Pastor For Raping Daughter  the death of Pastor Ojinaka resulted from injuries he received following a fight with John Oromoro.

  The story alleges that the accused, who is a tanker driver by occupation and the head of a household of 16 including 14 children, is an acquaintance of the deceased through their shared Christian work in relation to the church which they both founded. The story alleges that for some undisclosed physical or mental attribute, the 15-years-old daughter of the accused was labelled as possessing 'marine spirits' and, therefore, needed an exorcism by the late pastor. Based on the existing trust between the two men, John Oromoro released his daughter to be healed by his associate. Unknown to the accused, however, his daughter had fallen victim to a sexual predator who assaulted her sexually with at least one incidence occurring in the safety of her own home when alone in the custody of the deceased and, presumably, other incidences occurring in the premises of the Church itself. The story went on to quote the accused of confronting his associate when he discovered what his daughter has been subjected to. The deceased, according to Oromoro's statement, admitted wrong-doing and pleaded for forgiveness. The accused claimed that he forgave the pastor. However, matters took a turn for the worse when John Oromoro learnt that the 'repentant' pastor had gone about adding insult to injury by insinuating among members of the community that it was Miss Oromoro that enticed him to sexual activity.

  Exasperated by the alleged attempt by Pastor Ojinaka to redeem his image at the expense of sullying his daughter's integrity, John Oromoro decided to pay the pastor a visit. presumably to talk things over. In his version of events, rather than accepting blame and repenting, the Pastor became aggressive and wanted the aggrieved father out of his house. The situation was rife for a confrontation and quickly got out of hand with the result that the two men engaged in exchanges of blows until they were separated by neighbours. Having been broken apart, the deceased started on his way to report the matter to the police when he collapsed and later died in hospital.

 
  For this offence, John Oromoro stands accused of manslaughter. The law, like in any civilized society, will take its course and should not be skewed for whatever reason. The law in Nigeria , however, is noted for running at the speed of a snail. John Oromoro can remain in detention for a decade (like Major Hamza Al-Mustapha and his co-defendants in the same Lagos state) without knowing the legal consequence of his action. The ability of his wife to meet the physical needs of her 14 children can be left to the imagination of readers. Unless collective punishment is part of the bargain, the practitioners of the legal profession and the law-enforcement agencies in Nigeria should have a heart and release John Oromoro on bail with the minimum of conditions to carry out his duty to fend for his large family while awaiting trial.

 
  I believe John Oromoro has no regrets for standing up to defend the integrity of his daughter. I also doubt that he went out to meet the late Pastor Ojinaka with intent to kill him. If his aim was otherwise, it is far more convenient to hire assassins or to waylay him at night, kill him and make his escape. That the fight was witnessed by neighbours who had to intervene to separate the two men, is indicative that the fight was unplanned and that John Oromoro was placed in a state of anguish from which I doubt any parent would act with anymore restraint than he. I confess that as a parent if placed in his situation I could lose control and, in an instant of insanity, do what he did - beat Hell out of anyone who abuses my daughter.

  I would like to call on the Lagos State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, the Lagos State Police Commissioner and the Lagos state governor to expedite the judicial process to ensure that John Oromoro regains a temporary freedom to help meet the need of his family. A man who is psychologically inclined to risk all and confront another man who would desecrate his daughter and blame her for it is not, in my opinion, the kind of person who would skip bail. There is something honourable (though illegal) about what he did by standing up for his daughter. Besides, if he attempts to escape, where would he take his large family to and remain undetected? This tragic event should not be allowed to spiral out of control to claim more victims. The law should take its course but the law has to be applied in the context of the prevailing circumstances. I urge Nigerians of all walks of life, religions and ethnicity to ensure his early release by writing petitions to the Lagos state government and the Lagos state police command to expedite this case to minimize delay and ease off the pressure of meeting the needs of a large family on Mrs. Oromoro who is, herself, a victim of mental anguish.

  Meanwhile, long after the Jews and the Roman soldiers have declared Jesus of Nazareth dead and gone, Christians have taken the vacated place around Golgotha . They are deriding and cursing their own Saviour by their hypocrisy and daring Him to come down from the cross and do his worst. If Eddie Long and Benjamin Ojinaka are supposed to be today's messianic teachers and beacons of Christianity, then I need a new name for the religion I believe in and the place I like to go to worship on Sundays should bear that new name.  

  By   Dr. Robert Sanda , Alberta , Canada