…recalls arrest, detention by NUC operatives
National President of Association of Christian Theologians, ACT, Prof. Olakunle Macaulay, has declared that the National Universities Commission, NUC, has no right to exercise control over theology universities, as such universities are not secular but faith-based.
Macaulay, speaking in Lagos, at a get-together marking his 80th birthday, lamented what he described as constant harassment from officials of the NUC, who demanded accreditation for courses offered by theology universities in the country.
The octogenarian, who is the Director of Studies of United Bible University, UBU, in Ojodu, Lagos recalled that NUC officials invaded his office last year, arrested him and detained him for a night during which he was accused of operating an illegal university.
“With little or no regard for my age, some officials from the NUC came with policemen to arrest me and they got me detained for one night, under the accusation that I was operating an illegal university.
“I have been talking about it for a long time. I will want Nigerians and the whole world to know that if the Nigerian government embraces God today, that government will have the right to control religion.
“But a nation that talks about secularity, which is an exclusion of faith, does not have the right to control faith and what it takes. SO, NUC is a commission of the secular government. So, religious or faith-based education cannot be controlled by NUC, simple.
“I will, as such, encourage producers of theological education to submit to any commission that respects and embraces God,” he said.
Macaulay also lamented the tragedy in a Catholic Church in Ozubulu, Anambra State, where many worshippers were shot dead by a gunman in what is believed to be a drug war, saying it was the consequence of decadence that had got into the church system.
“The fact is that the church we have today is not the church Jesus had in mind when he talked about building the church. The church we have today is not the church built by Jesus Christ or God; things have changed from the first century church to the present church.
“The church is not expected to be full of sinners, the church is meant for people who repent, bad people who have been in certain ways of life and now consider it necessary to change life.
“Today, the Christian leaders are not looking for righteous people; they are looking for people who can support their ministry by fame, money and integrity.
“In the human thinking, integrity is when you have money and can make noise; so I will not be surprised if this incident was connected to somebody who donated money to the church. It is happening all over the place. The churches today glorify rich men and women and forget the poor,” he lamented.
