₦airaland Forum

After turmoil, Church of England consecrates first woman Bishop

By Phil Noble

YORK, England (Reuters) - The Church of England consecrated its first woman bishop on Monday, the culmination of years of efforts by Church modernizers to overcome opposition from traditionalists - one of whom briefly shouted a protest during the service.

More than two decades after the Church allowed women to become priests, 48-year-old mother-of-two the Reverend Libby Lane became Bishop of Stockport in a ceremony at York Minster, a Gothic cathedral in northern England.

The protest came as John Sentamu, Archbishop of York, asked the congregation whether Lane should be consecrated as Bishop.

As the congregation chorused its approval, a lone man's voice shouted above them: "No, not in the Bible."

When Sentamu asked the question again, there was no dissent and the ceremony went ahead.

During the service, which ended in applause, Sentamu and other bishops ceremonially laid their hands on Lane and prayed for her.

Earlier, Lane had spoken of what she hoped her consecration would achieve for women.

"If my appointment encourages a single young woman to lift her eyes up a bit and to realize that she has capacity and potential and that her environment or those around her don't need to dictate what is possible for her, then I'd be really honored" she said in an interview published by the Church.

Her appointment, announced in December, has been hailed as a step forward for gender equality by Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, spiritual head of the Church, and by many others including Prime Minister David Cameron.

However, a conservative minority say the Bible demands male leadership.

The worldwide Anglican community has been deeply split over the issue of women clergy. Women already serve as bishops in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, but Anglican churches in many developing countries, particularly in Africa, do not ordain women as priests.

After years of debate, an attempt by the Church of England to bring in women bishops failed in 2012 when it was narrowly defeated by traditionalist lay members in a vote in the General Synod, the Church's governing body.

After that setback, the Church came up with new proposals which gained wider acceptance and were approved by the Synod last year.

Women have served as priests in the Church of England since 1994. Lane was ordained in 1994. She has been vicar of a church in the outskirts of Manchester since 2007, as well as Dean of Women in Ministry in the diocese of Chester.

Fellow Nigerians, barely one month and some days to the start of our 2015 general elections, things are already falling apart. There was never a doubt in my mind that politicians would naturally heat up the polity to a boiling point before God rescues us as always from some wondrously amazing people. The two leading parties of PDP and APC would do our country a great favour if they can eschew violence and stick to the basic tenets of Democracy. Their foot-soldiers in particular must be warned specifically about the inherent danger associated with deliberately causing mayhem aimlessly in one’s own country.  Most times, it is the poor who would be used as political canon-fodder while the children of the rich would be far away from the theatre of war.

The one man I expected to rise above the petty squabbles of electioneering campaigns is the President and Commander-in-Chief.  Indeed, at the inauguration of his Presidential Campaign Team on Tuesday President Jonathan urged his campaign team and Party faithful to be decorous in their language, focusing on issue and not personalities.  However, barely two days later he was doing the exact opposite of what he had preached.  It is unfortunate that the President chose to go back on his words as he joined the fray two days later as he practically exploded in public during the flagging off of his re-election bid as President. The tone and tempo of his speech was stylishly vituperative. It could easily have been described as spitting fire and shooting from the hips. He appeared to me like a man who was under intensive pressure and didn’t really know how to off-load the heavy burden on his chest.
I should have suspected that something unpleasant was about to happen after I read the news that the Presidency had responded in kind to the myriad of attacks and salvos fired at Dr Goodluck Jonathan by former President, General Olusegun Obasanjo, who has since become a loose cannon in the PDP. The former President has arguably become a one man riot squad against the second coming of President, was savagely and mercilessly described as a “motor park tout.”
For me, this was the climax of a long-drawn battle between father and his godson. We’ve witnessed such bitter altercations and mutual insults in the past but this recent one took the cake. It is sad that this are the canapés we are being served before the main dishes of sloganeering begin. The global community must be wondering what manner of country ours is where elders throw decorum to the wind in the presence of infants and toddlers. What examples are we setting for the youths we all claim to love so much when we can’t tolerate ourselves in the political arena?
All eyes are on Nigeria and in particular the President who is at present the father of the nation. This position is the highest in the land and it was apparently freely handed to him by the good people of Nigeria in 2011. Even before then, the same people had shown him immense love at a time he was being harassed by the proverbial cabal. At that time, no one complained that we hated the North just because we rallied round a man from the Niger Delta. Most of those claiming ownership of Mr President today were nowhere to be seen then. It is strange how success instantly catapults a man into a different level and planet. All manner of claimants would suddenly surface from nowhere and chase everyone away. It is the tragedy of power in our clime where the man on the throne has to go through this terrible, and self-immolating, process of deification. This is why most leaders often fail in office because they are usually far removed from reality.

This trait became very obvious as I watched the President deliver his speech in Lagos days ago at the start of his 2015 Presidential campaign. His party leaders were not in short supply. Everyone came to pay homage to the man with the power to turn water into wine over 2,000 years after such a miracle was performed in Galilee. One speaker after the other eulogised the President in superlatives. They raved about his transformation agenda which in their dream or reality must have transfigured Nigeria into a Paradise on earth. Listening to those incredible guys one would have thought they were describing some far-flung places and a true reincarnation of Lee Kuan Yew or a Chairman Mao leading the industrial revolution in Nigeria.
The President himself did not waste this moment, he was visibly pleased with the adulations which in reality were not meant by many of the speakers who had mastered the art and science of lying to anyone in government. I had waited patiently for the President’s speech. I was certain he was going to take a very subtle and conciliatory approach but I was very wrong. The moment he took the microphone till he finished, the President was on the offensive. It was certainly not a charm offensive but one laced with pent up frustration and anger. He came on like a Heavyweight boxer chasing the World Heavyweight title. The President did not pretend about his intention which was to jab at his challenger using mostly unlawful blows and pummel him to a corner for a possible knockout.
President Jonathan sounded angry and agitated. He made generous use of the literary style of rhetorical questions. He threw many of such posers to his jubilant crowd who must have wondered at the physical transformation of their candidate. If the President was known to be gentle and somehow taciturn in the past, he was the exact opposite on Thursday, January 8, 2015. He was clearly in an upbeat mood and it reflected in his grandstanding.



Let’s now go to the meat of his speech and try to examine the merits of the self-glorification, whether vain or otherwise. The summary can be put simply thus: Mr President blames his predecessors for all the woes that have bedeviled Nigeria. I wonder if he forgot that as at the last count, his political party has been in power for 16 years and he has been the only Nigerian permanently in power since our return to democratic rule in 1999 as Deputy Governor, Acting Governor, Governor, Vice President, Acting President and President. 16 years is a very long time in the life of a nation. Nigeria must have spent more money in those 16 years than all the different Republics and regimes put together but sadly without commensurate results. Moreover, he also appears to have selectively forgotten that most of the predecessors that he is lambasting like Obasanjo and General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, are card carrying members of his Party, the PDP, and thus their failings are the failings of his Party and by extension himself.
The President spoke repeatedly about the youths and referred to himself and others as being too old and half-dead. If so why is he contesting when there are many brilliant young people in his party? But it was a subliminal message to discredit General Muhammadu Buhari as being too old to rule this generation. “I do not want to address old people like me because we are spent already.”
Unfortunately, it seems the President is not in tune with the current mood of the nation and his supporters are not likely to give him the true picture. Many of us don’t care if the man coming is going to rule from a wheelchair. We all run to the elders of the house in the days of tribulations. I wish to assure Mr President that unlike in the past when the PDP propaganda was able to truncate Buhari’s mission of rescuing Nigeria from the doldrums the story has changed miraculously today. The youths have chosen to follow his crusade even if his enemies decide to change his age to over 80. They believe the younger leaders have not done any better than the gerontocrats we all love to deride as causing our failure. Therefore playing the kite of old age won’t fly this time around.
The President boasted that he has been able to conduct credible elections. I daresay that is not his doing but the action of the People of Nigeria who have resolved to protect their votes.  Besides, he forgot to add that after wasting billions of naira on data capture machines they were abandoned. The Nigeria Governor’s Forum held an election of 35 people which saw a winner emerge with 19 to 16 votes yet our President recognised a loser choosing 16 above 19. He said he believes in the rule of law yet the law is being desecrated and there are too many sacred cows in PDP. I dare our security agencies to storm any PDP Secretariat and carry away their computers and staff the way they have been doing to APC. It is pitiable that a supposedly impartial State security and intelligence outfit will give one reason for carrying out such a dastardly unconstitutional act but then recant and give another wholly diametrically opposed justification for such a raid.

The President is proud that Nigeria has the biggest economy in Africa but people are asking how that has affected the lives of the people. The Agricultural revolution being trumpeted is good no doubt, but it is not yet Uhuru. The question is where is the food? What are the Prices? Where is the income that should flow from such agricultural miracle.
The President claims that he has done a lot for the security situation in the country.  However, it seems that the President is fantasising about another country. At no time in Nigeria’s history has insecurity reached the level that it is now.  There are regular killings, bombings, kidnappings, abductions, raping not to mention the unresolved saga of the Chibok Girls. A country whose military has received endless praise on many peace-keeping missions overseas cannot deploy the same military to effective use in finding almost 200 girls who remain missing.  That is an indictment on the President which no whitewash can hide. The simple truth is that our people feel unsafe, even those few who have turned our much maligned police force and soldiers into personal ‘maiguards’!
The President claims that one of his achievements in the petroleum sector is that Nigerians no longer queue for petrol.  Although that is incorrect because there are still regular intervals when there is petrol scarcity the truth is that Nigeria as an oil producing nation has never had it so bad.  The price of petrol and petroleum products are the highest they have ever been.  Even when the world crude oil prices have fallen by more than 100% and the Co-ordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iwealla admits that there is no longer any subsidy on petrol, the price has remained the same.  Her justification, which I referred to previously, is too puerile to repeat because it is an insult on the intelligence of Nigerians.

As Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola said in his own reaction to the President’s speech:
“I spent about an hour this afternoon listening to the President in my State and, for almost the same period, I saw a very angry President. I saw a President who was recriminating about people recriminating about people criticising his job performance and was blaming all those who ruled before him forgetting that he had been on this job for six years.
And he kept saying that, ‘They say we don’t have a plan.’ But for 25 minutes, he did not reveal a plan on power; he did not reveal a plan on security; he did not reveal a plan on corruption.

Now after six years, without being able to articulate what he is doing and what he will do, and he keeps blaming everybody, forgetting that he is the Commander-in-Chief, if the kitchen is too hot, as it is becoming of late, you must get out of the kitchen.”
I’m almost certain the President will receive more knocks from other stakeholders for this newly acquired belligerent disposition. My advice as usual is very simple. A man should never change what has worked wonders for him all his life. The President’s gentle mien had always been his secret weapon. A man who did not lift a finger to become President need not wage a war to retain it. Elections are never won by abusing potential voters but usually through the use of persuasion. Those who are misleading the President are not helping him. All they’ve succeeded in doing is to alienate the electorate and paint him as someone who is very desperate for power.
I advise the President to maintain his calm dignity instead of fighting real and imaginary enemies on all fronts. There is nothing more he wants from God. He has been very lucky but there is no need to overstretch that luck. If perchance he is defeated on FEBUHARI 14 (as some people have described the election date), the President should accept his fate graciously and return home triumphantly. Anything else may wipe out all that he has effortlessly achieved.
Mr President, there is life outside government.

Sadly I opened my Nairaland page and I saw a thread titled Mr.Speaker locked out of the National Assembly by soldiers and police, with credible pictures of the Speaker climbing a fence, running for his life, from who? The police force (who should protect citizens) and the Army( whose duty is to protect the unity of this country, why will we have the 202 chibok girls if all they are, are mercenaries for the President). Mr. Speaker defected from PDP to APC, this is not the first time a member of the House defects, it happens everyday in this our pitiful country, why we're making a big deal of this is scary. In Government we were taught *separation of powers* were we have the 3tiers of government, Executive, Legislature and Judiciary.
The legislature in this context the House of Representatives which is headed by a Speaker of the House, who was chosen by his colleagues, not appointed by the President. What are soldiers doing in front of his house (National Assembly) if he didn't place them there? Why do they have to stop him from going in? It is clear, it is an order from the Grand Commander of the Federal Republic and Chief of the Armed Forces, sadly it is Dr. Goodluck Jonathan. Why should he interfere in the proceedings of the House. Not this openly at least. Seems he has forgotten his constitutional duties and most importantly his MANIFESTO, improving the standard of living of Nigerians, interfering in house proceeding isn't one of them, why is he concentrating his power on that.
What baffled me again is when I opened the thread, I saw some fools comment that why are the soldiers just standing, they should even shoot. If you're not a fool why would you make such a statement. That those whose duty is to protect should in daylight open fire to a civilian. Nigerians should be careful cos our President has lost focus, his focus his keeping himself in power and doing whatever to make that possible. And later they'll say power belongs to the people, if you believe so, do something for the people and you won't be scared of losing your second term ambition. A President that has got no respect for the rule of Law should be feared and not re-elected.
I know some people would turn this into a PDP vs APC fight, no it is not, this thread is about a man who is our President, who doesn't know the right thing to do. This is against the works of a man who is turning out to be a dictator. May God save us all, God bless Nigeria!!!!!!

To me it's just another conspiracy theory to hide the truth. It won't bring the lost lives back!!!!

PLS, this is an indian film. *hiss*

Fela's *Black Man's Cry* and *Suffering and smiling* tracks for eternity

How will 7lawmakers impeach the Speaker, Nigerian politics never ceases to amaze me.
And first to comment, front page things on the same day, AWESOME!!!!!

Really sad news, I hope this isn't true

Seems they're bent on hiring a foreign coach this time around

Former Chelsea Manager Avram Grant has agreed in principle to become the next Ghana coach, the nation's Football Association just confirmed. The Isreali will succeed Kwesi Appiah upon agreement of financial terms.

I hate when politicians hide under the pretence of listening to the people. You want power, you're selfish and want a taste of the national cake, not like it's a bad thing oo, but never use the people, the masses as moral shield.

Mr. Speaker is now the most popular man in Nigerian politics, he did what others wouldn't dare do, he should be ready to face the consequences and fight the war. Goodluck Mr. Speaker

Politics is just like chess, he played is game very well and has emerged victorious (for now), knowing when to act, when not to and how to. He's really an intelligent man. The leadership qualities he showed in the house can not be questioned, if it comes to a decision on merit, Mr. Speaker deserves to finish is tenure, this will keep the house in good shape and balance proceedings, war in the house now is the last thing any political party needs now.

Buhari for 2015!!!!!!!!

The S/West do have a right to demand for that position has they're the only geo-political zone without a FG principal officer. Believe it or not, zoning formula shaped Nigeria's politics

This are just disadvantages I feel Nigeria will encounter if we try APC,
1: PDP controls most states more than 56%, with that the governors can frustrate the Presidency.
2: Majority of the oil producing states are PDP
3: You think APC can clear terrorism? No, the only people than can really stop it are those that know who started it PDP.
4. PDP will always remain a National Party, you can not tear it down, they know when to fight and when not to, when election time comes they'll come back together.

I support APC, but I'm just being realistic, PDP will win come 2015, for APC to win any Presidential election ever, they've got to start from controlling the House of Assemblies, Governor's seats, House of Reps, Senate before they can smell success in Aso Rock, it's a stage by stage process.

How is it possible to get a coaching certificate or licence in Nigeria? Is there any coaching school in Nigeria u knw of.Any ideas pls

can i be educated on how to make money(online or anyway) wit little or no capital legitimately or by rendering services