Rt Rev Peter Awelewa Adebiyi

BEFITTING FAREWELL FOR RT. REV. P. A. ADEBIYI

It was a commendable final rites, on the 29th of April, 2022 at St. Peter's Church, Osi-Ekiti for Right Reverend Peter Awelewa Adebiyi, the immediate past Bishop of the Diocese of Lagos West. He was in fact the pioneer bishop and served there from 1999 to 2013. He was a remarkable prelate in the Anglican church family, a brilliant and resourceful priest in his lifetime. May his gentle soul rest in peace, amen.

THE PRELATE HAS GONE HOME: RT. REV. P. A. ADEBIYI (1943-2022)

By

Seye Adetunmbi

The Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion parades one of the best episcopal clergymen who are well read, characterised with strong advocacy for the interest of the masses and uniquely articulate in their calling and their responsibility to the larger society as the moral compass. One of the distinguished Lord Bishops who represented the face of the Anglican Church in the public space in their active years was Rt. Rev. Peter Awelewa Adebiyi PhD. Like his senior colleagues, Primate Adetiloye and Bishop Gbonigi, he spoke authoritatively on issues concerning the Body of Christ, expressed his mind on critical national issues and known for his unambiguous revolutionary thoughts as a bishop. After Ikeja Archdeaconry was created, he was collated as a venerable in 1990 at Archbishop Vining Memorial Church Cathedral, Ikeja. In 1993, he was elected as a bishop and posted to the Diocese of Owo in Ondo State. In 1999, the Diocese of Lagos West was created by the College of Bishops under Primate Adetiloye and the Rt. Rev. Adebiyi was translated from Owo to become the first Lord Bishop of the diocese. His over four decades career as a priest was not without life threatening situations, thanks be to God for seeing him through. One of such was when armed robbers invaded his vicarage on November 16, 1987; they shot the gateman dead and moved in into his private quarters. The bandits targeted the church offerings, especially the N100,000 announced as donation to the church during the Sunday morning service. The money was not available for the robbers to steal, they shot him and fled. God kept the priest to survive the attack through His unfailing power.

Bishop Adebiyi was born on the 27th of April in 1943 into a Christian family in Osi-Ekiti, as the 3rd child in a polygamous home of 13 children. He completed primary school in 1956 and graduated from the Community Modern School in 1960. He worked as a pupil teacher at Saint Paul Primary School, Osi, his alma mater. He gained admission to the All Saints Teachers Training College, Usi-Ekiti in 1963. As a trained Grade II Teacher, he was posted to St Phillip’s Primary School, Aramoko-Ekiti where he met his beloved wife an indigene of the town, Princess Caroline Adefiola. He was also encouraged to become a priest by Rt. Rev. Joshua Oloniyo who was his vicar in Aramoko. He attended Immanuel College of Theology, Ibadan in 1967 and graduated in 1970. He started his career as a deacon at Holy Trinity Church, Ilawe-Ekiti and in 1971, he was ordained by the Right Reverend Joseph Abiodun Adetiloye, the 2nd Bishop of the old Ekiti Diocese. He later became one of the chaplains of the Lord Bishop. He is a product of Obafemi Awolowo University where he obtained 1st degree in 1975, 2nd degree in 1981 and PhD in 1987.

The scholar priest became a Canon in 1983. He worked as the Chaplain and Vice-Principal of Babatope Memorial High School, Ikoro-Ekiti from1975 to 1983 and from1976 to 1980, he served as a member of the Board of Governors of Oganganmodu Grammar School, Ido-Ekiti. He was a lecturer at Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti between 1983 and 1987 and Lagos State University, Ojoo, between 1987 and 1990. He had published seminal essays and books to his credit which include The Ministry of Women in Ekiti land, Christian Missions in Ekiti land 1893 to 1973, The Planting of Christianity in Ekiti land: The Role of Ex-Slaves, Divine Messages for Special Seasons, History of Christianity in Ekiti land, Let the Nations Hear and co-authored 150 Years of Christianity in Nigeria and The Church Fathers with the Right Reverend (Dr.) Akin Omoyajowo. He served as the episcopal secretary to the Church of Nigeria in 1994 to 2005; as the National Patron of the Scripture Union of Nigeria in 2001 to 2007 and the National Patron of the Anglican Youth Fellowship of Nigeria from 2001 to 2007. 

He was the representative of the Church of Nigeria to the Conference of Anglican Provinces in Africa, chairman of the Church of Nigeria Inter-Anglican Global Relations and served as the chairman of the Diocese of Lagos West Election Monitoring Group accredited by INEC during the 2007 elections.

I first knew Bishop Adebiyi as a chaplain of Baba Adetiloye and naturally I looked up to him as my Bishop in the Diocese of Lagos West. His health challenges after his retirement in 2013 notwithstanding, his faith remained unshaken. Three of his children are priests, two of his daughters are married to priests, while his the husband of the last daughter is a postulant who will soon be ordained as a priest and his two brothers are venerable archdeacons. When I visited him after I heard about his ailment, I said that Adebiyi family is an inspiration for Christians because they remained faithful in Jesus Christ and were not deterred by troubles of life. May God continue to keep the family well and strong in Jesus Christ’s name. Amen.

    My mind went to him in the first week of February in 2022 because it was long I checked on him. I woke up in the morning of Friday, February 11 in 2022 to read the message of a reverend brother on my WhatsApp breaking the sad news of his transition. Thank God I was able to see him 3 days earlier on his bed, deep asleep on Tuesday, 7th of February in 2022 when I dropped copies of my books - Christianity and Anglicanism and the latest book, Abridged Biographies and Integrated Panegyrics in which I dedicated a chapter to write about him; for keeps in his library. The prelate and a remarkable bishop among his peers, has gone home to rest, where there is no pain anymore. Sleep well sir.

Give Power Back to the People

DEMOCRATIC POLITICAL POWER BELONGS TO THE PEOPLE

By, Seye Adetunmbi

Every effort made by well-meaning individuals and various progressive groups towards getting our politics right in Nigeria should be encouraged. More importantly, the deliberate intervention groups at states' level are strategic. Yoruba would say that "ka ti ibi pelebe mu ole/eko je" . Fundamentally, if we get our politics right at wards' level, it will graduate to the local government areas and  to the state level. It is the aggregated positive efforts of states that can cause the desired change at national level. This is why I commend the Ekiti indigenes who volunteered in the Atokeibeirosi Steering Committee, which was constituted in early 2022. History will judge initiatives such as Atokeibeirosi Group (AG), one day. Until then, the minimum those who mean well can do, is to keep hope alive and support the next phase of a workable process structured to drive a better-Ekiti-project.

    Atokeibeirosi Group (AG) is not about any individual, it is about us. It is a school of thought on a collective resolve to be instrumental to the desired paradigm in the governance of the state. The group is committed to associating with every credible person who endorses the mission of Atokeibeirosi Leadership Initiative. AG didn’t choose this path on its own, the collective desire of well-meaning Ekiti people for a credible alternative for a lasting good governance in Ekiti, imposes itself on everyone who subscribes to a progressive change. It is a compelling call to duty and God will see well-meaning indigenes through.

    When AG was convened on March 1st in 2021, it was a mission driven by a paradigm shift vision in the way our state and the people are governed. Members of AG cut across all the active political parties in Ekiti, including reputable indigenes who are not partisan or do not get involved with partisan politics. If the Atokeibeirosi mission couldn’t accomplish the goal within the ruling party now, the vision should not die, albeit. 

    Therefore, considering the change the group desires, through coalition of AG with as many credible political groups as possible, it is worthy of pursuing to a logical end. The commission is to align with individuals who share the vision and mission, irrespective of the political party, from the local government areas to the national level.

    Atokeibeirosi Leadership Initiative is about shared vision, departure from the status quo and commitment to issues based campaigns for the good of Ekiti people at home and abroad. Don’t be discouraged by any pyrrhic conquest facilitated by a warped system.

AG should remain the harbinger of the desired reform and the bearer of hope on Ekiti project. The group must not betray the collective resolve and trust as a group. Getting to the end of the mission is a task that all well-meaning stakeholders should all be committed to, through the grace of God. Whatever is worth doing at all, it is worth doing well. Let all well-meaning stakeholders go about the project structurally and gradually entrench paradigm shift culture in the grassroots. Reaching out to the respective wards should be the next phase of the intervention of AG and other well-meaning elites in Ekiti politics. The political power belongs to the people. It is a matter of time, the masses shall overcome.

    However, it must be stated here that the challenge of democracy in Nigeria today is that voting during elections or the electoral process is hugely monetized. Those who can not be influenced or bribed with money to change their progressive voting pattern, are not in the majority. For instance, check out those on the queue in the last APC direct primaries in Ekiti-State. If you think that the majority of them who participated did it out of patriotism or loyalty to the political party with the sense of exercising civic franchise without promise of some money per head, then it amounts to self deceit like “eye afin”.

    To mobilize the people to vote for change at the ward level is not the problem. Where the problem lies is after your “iwasu”, and someone offers the dejected voters who have not seen N1000 in lump sum for weeks or months, some N3,000 or more to vote and you want them to look the other way? Come on! Let's get real. In essence, to a reasonable extent, for any Third Force to work effectively under this political dispensation, some war chest is required. It would be easier to work on their sentiments not to accept money from those who don’t mean well for them. No doubt, a lot of effort is required for the narrative to change. The truth is that, some of our people in government who may want to see a change through are helpless. Afi ki Olorun ran wa l’owo.

    In the absence of a collective resolve to restructure the nation appropriately or make deliberate effort to get things right, I have since come to the conclusion that the only way out of the warped political system in Nigeria will require what I call Moses-Model. How this will play out is that the power that be, will field candidate they perceive(d) to be one of them and when he/she gets the political power, larger interest would be served. The alternative to this is for a fierce coordinated movement, outside the two leading political parties that will work arduously to give political power back to the people in the real sense of it. The reality is that Nigeria may not make the desired progress and be at peace with itself until the political power truly belongs to the people.