SIR: From Logos Olori’s ‘Jaye lo’ to Asake’s newest release of, ‘Only Me’, it is no denial that the God we serve is too gentle and too merciful. The disrespect of God from artistes across the world and particularly, Nigerians is skyrocketing beyond imaginations. Ariana Grande had done that with ‘God is a woman’ which amassed millions of views and other international acts had done that – the mockery of God in the name of creativity.
The word ‘God’ is now a household name for deception, exploitation and money making. A video which had 150,000 views upon 5 hours of release has caused disturbance in the heart of Nigerian Christians and in this video, this young man was found desecrating what Catholics hold sacred, The Holy Mass. Sacred objects and pictures of the Blessed Sacrament that Catholics believe to be God were all over the place in a music video that has nothing to do with extolling God.Terrorism is not only when fanatics come with bombs or guns, terrorism is when you use any opportunity you have in the name of creativity to mock other religions, the channel through which people believe in their God. If this is done to garner lots of attention and to earn more money – then, it’s obvious that money and fame is their god. Not respecting the one God that people worship in different ways through religion is terrorism under the guise of creativity to earn more money and fame.
It’s evident that another artiste will still do the same thing even after this uproar but we should remember that the damage and consequences will be unbearable in the future. The culture of mockery, not just mockery, but the mockery of God is gradually seeping into our lifestyle. Some judgemental netizens said that the Catholic Church is not a true church of God and the artist should be left alone. Whether a religion is true or not, it is not for we who are just one out of the many human beings on earth to decide. Respect the religion and belief of a particular set of people. I love moin-moin, you like akara. Don’t insult my moin-moin, because you like akara and don’t love moin-moin.
Christians especially Catholics should not take this matter lightly. Creative freedom does not allow individuals to destroy the image or make fun of a religion. We, Catholics are not fighting for our God, we are protecting the beliefs that we hold sacred. Our God can fight his battle while we remain silent.
However, Catholics who are the victims have also victimised themselves in some way. We have allowed priests and individuals for whom money and fame are their god to tarnish our image and remove Christ who is the centre of our worship. If one is dressed as a criminal, won’t others address him as such? One online user had said that the hypocrisy of the Nigerian people could be why we are moving backward despite the natural blessings we have. “We worship God and yet insult him in our daily lives.”
Even Paul corrected Peter, his fellow brethren. How much should we do for an outsider who is bent on destroying the sacredness of Catholicism? Some said the costume isn’t blessed but does that justify the message it is conveying? The creative industry must change the gear of the attitude given towards the Supreme Being who is our only hope in our failing economy ruled by old men who think they are ‘gods’.
Felicitas Offorjamah.
