There is a place called the Inner City Mission for Children. It is a school located somewhere in Oregun Ikeja, Lagos State. This School was benevolently established by Pastor Chris Oyakhilome the founder and head Pastor of Christ Embassy to facilitate access to free education for indigent children.
The Director and most of the Management staff members of this school are Pastors.
Establishing
a school for the poor is an act of charity and compassion that is rare among
leading heads of Christian Ministries in Nigeria. The founders and overseers of
virtually every major Pentecostal church in Nigeria have one or more schools
some from primary to tertiary levels.
But one common issue among these schools
and which has remained a major subject of public debate is the fact that the teeming
toiling poor members of these various denominations hardly have access to these
schools owing to the fact that the cost of attending these schools is usually
prohibitive and beyond the reach of the majority poor devotees.
Yet, most of
the members-both the poor and the rich- pay monthly tithes, regularly sow seeds
and make all sorts of financial contributions towards the sustenance of these
churches and their schools. But, Pastor
Chris distinguished himself and made the difference by sparing some thoughts
for the poor and established the Inner City School for indigent children. And
he handed this school to some Pastors in his church to manage.
But what
is happening at the Inner City will outrage even the most profane. Oppressive
use and abuse of power by those who never knew they could find themselves in
position of power and authority. Immoral conducts of sexual harassment and
exploitation; intimidation and victimisation of female staff members who refuse
to succumb to the unbecoming passion and demands of lecherous male pastors;
female pastors in a position to discipline their erring male counterparts and
protect vulnerable female staff abdicating their responsibility and instead shielding
their male counterparts for self-serving reasons.
Supervisors
maltreat their subordinates treating them in inhumane and ungodly manner. Some
staff members at the Inner City are employed and remain on probation for as long
as three to four years without confirmation, let alone promotion. Supervisors exploit
the fact of their subordinates being on prolonged probation to constantly
harass, intimidate and hold them to ransom.
Some senior staff members even compel
their subordinates to use their personal money to buy personal gifts for them
in exchange for being treated with favouritism.
I’m
not as much outraged that a male pastor- Kaycee stands out for his notoriety
for sexually preying on female staff at Inner City as I am that he is shielded
even when official reports have been lodged against him to the Director who is
a female pastor. And Pastor Kaycee is allowed to get away with victimising a
female married staff for refusing to sleep with him.
There
is a deliberate effort – more like an official policy- to hide from Pastor
Chris the many evil things – the debauchery going on in this school. Some time
two years ago, a female teacher was found dead in front of the gate of her
residence shortly after she left the school’s premises after an all night
activity.
Efforts were made to conceal this tragedy and to persuade the
deceased woman’s husband from going public on or seeking answers to the
circumstances surrounding the death of his wife.
Till date, it’s not clear if
there was any autopsy or other measures to unravel the circumstances of this
woman’s tragic, painful and untimely death and to ensure that the family was
compensated.
I am
not in doubt that Pastor Chris is not aware of these unspeakable atrocities
going on in a school that God gave him the vision to establish to help the
needy. My mission is to keep speaking up until he hears them and takes urgent
measures to sanitise the place.
Okechukwu Nwanguma, National Cordinator, Network on Police Reforms in Nigeria (NOPRIN)
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