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WCC honours the legacy of Mandela
GENEVA – Calling Nelson Mandela a leader with hard-won wisdom and maturity unparalleled in our time, the World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary gave thanks to God for Mandela’s life, which he described as a gift to South Africa and the whole world.
A renowned anti-apartheid activist and Nobel peace laureate who served as South Africa’s first black president, Mandela, 95, passed away on Thursday 5 December at his home in Houghton near Johannesburg.
“He will be recalled as the leader who acted to unify a nation once deliberately divided along the lines of race,” said Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, the WCC general secretary. Tveit added that Mandela was a “liberator who by force of his remarkable personality raised the dignity of Africans after centuries of colonialism, oppression and discrimination.”
Tveit described Mandela’s relationship to the WCC as a special one, recalling Mandela’s visit to the WCC Geneva offices in 1990 soon after his release from prison. This is when he expressed his gratitude for the churches’ support to the anti-apartheid struggle.
As South Africa’s president, Mandela addressed the WCC’s 8th Assembly in Harare, Zimbabwe in 1998. He praised churches’ efforts against apartheid in South Africa, as well as missionaries for bringing high standards of education to Africa from which he benefitted as a child.
Mandela said, “… you have to have been in an apartheid prison in South Africa to appreciate the further importance of the church. They tried to isolate us completely from the outside. Our relatives could see us only once every six months. The link was religious organizations, Christians, Muslims, Hindus and members of the Jewish faith. They were the faithful who inspired us.”
“The WCC’s support exemplified in the most concrete way the contribution that religion made to our liberation,” he added. In his concluding remarks at the assembly, Mandela paid missionaries the compliment of saying that by their faith and action they shared in the “distinction of immortality” as “men and women whose names will live beyond the grave and down the centuries.”
In her reaction to Mandela’s death, Dr Agnes Abuom, moderator of the WCC’s Central Committee, said, “We thank God for giving us Mandela for 95 years. Through his life and works he has become an icon of dignity and freedom for all human beings.”
“We will remember Mandela for his forgiveness he extended to his enemies and the perpetrators of apartheid, a quality very rare among many world leaders today.”
“Our prayer is all that Mandela stood for may become part and parcel of our global values for justice, peace and dignity for the whole humanity,” added Abuom.
Mandela’s life was also described by the WCC’s general secretary as “consistent with the best teaching of his Christian educators and the ecumenical movement”. Calling him one of the most deserving Nobel peace laureates, Tveit added that Mandela’s ideals inspired freedom from apartheid and transformed his country during his presidency.
“I am convinced that it is entirely accurate to say of him that his name ‘will live beyond the grave and down the centuries.’ Indeed, as is said in the Orthodox tradition of Christianity: May his memory be eternal!” Tveit concluded.
Embattled Nigerian pastor and founder of SPAC Nation, Tobi Adegboyega, has defended his opulent lifestyle, claiming it serves to inspire young people rather than flaunt wealth.
This statement comes amid a UK Immigration Upper Tribunal ruling ordering his deportation over visa violations.
Adegboyega, 44, faced accusations of overstaying his visitor visa, which expired after he arrived in the UK in 2005.
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He had applied to remain in the country on human rights grounds. The tribunal, however, ruled against him, citing his failure to regularize his status.
The pastor’s luxurious lifestyle, including designer clothing and expensive cars, was a focal point of the case.
Addressing the tribunal, Adegboyega stated that his lifestyle is fully funded by his wife, Mary Olubukola Alade, who earns £100,000 annually at AON.
He said, “I live with my partner, Mary Olubukola Alade, who earns £100,000 per year working for AON. I spend my time working for the church, for which I am unpaid. I am entirely supported by Mary. I have a first-class law degree from Nigeria, but I have ‘sacrificed’ my legal career to help those who cannot help themselves.”
Defending his appearance, Adegboyega emphasized the importance of projecting success to his young congregation.
The court noted, “For instance, people have pointed to the fact that he wears designer clothing and drives expensive cars. He was adamant that all of his personal possessions had been paid for by Mary.
“He believes it is important for him to dress the way that he does because he needs to inspire these young people – they need to understand that there are legitimate ways of making money, for instance through entrepreneurship.”
Despite the ruling, Adegboyega dismissed the deportation concerns as insignificant.
“I’m right here at home, no cause for alarm. Naturally, I will dismiss things that have to do with retrogression; every Nigerian should be proud of me. Living in the UK, a city that is well known for pulling people down, I have survived all sorts, so the matter that they are propagating is the smallest matter,” he said.
He further expressed confidence in his resilience. “No panic, I love London city, it is my city, and nobody can do anything. Of all the people of colour you know here – pastors and leaders – I have survived everything. I’m here, I am at home, nobody should panic for me.
“I succeeded well in this country despite all challenges, and I’m in the league of people you look up to. I have survived that well; nothing has changed, nothing will change,” he added.
Amid the growing controversy surrounding the detention of human rights lawyer Dele Farotimi, renowned Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Aare Afe Babalola has publicly addressed the defamation allegations leveled against Farotimi.
The legal action stems from claims made in Farotimi’s book, Nigeria and Its Criminal Justice System, which Babalola asserts contains false and defamatory statements about him and his law firm, Afe Babalola & Co.
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In a petition dated November 19 and submitted to the Ekiti State Commissioner of Police, Adeniran Akinwale, Babalola accused Farotimi of making “criminally defamatory” statements about him, his law firm, and two senior lawyers at his firm, Olu Daramola SAN and Ola Faro.
The defamatory remarks are tied to the Supreme Court case Major Muritala Gbadamosi Eletu & Ors v. H.R.H. Oba Tijani Akinloye & Ors.
Babalola revealed that the allegations came to light when one of his lawyers purchased Farotimi’s book while traveling through Murtala Muhammed Airport.
After reading the book, the lawyer immediately brought its contents to Babalola’s attention.
Other members of his firm reportedly did the same, prompting the senior lawyer to take legal action.
In his petition, Babalola pointed to specific passages in Farotimi’s book that accused him of corruption and unethical conduct. The petition reads:
“I write to report the criminal defamation of myself, my law firm Afe Babalola & Co., and my lawyers, Olu Daramola SAN and Ola Faro, by one Dele Farotimi in his book titled ‘Nigeria and Its Criminal Justice System’, published by Dele Farotimi Publishers, in respect of Suit No. SC/146/2005: Major Muritala Gbadamosi Eletu & Ors v. H.R.H. Oba Tijani Akinloye & Ors.
“Sometime on 2/11/2024, one of our lawyers, while traveling through Murtala Muhammed Airport, bought a book by Dele Farotimi titled ‘Nigeria and Its Criminal Justice System’. He read the book and immediately brought it to my attention. Many of my lawyers also bought the book and read it.”
“The defamatory statements are as follows:
- That Aare Afe Babalola corrupted the Supreme Court to procure a fraudulent judgment in the service of his client.
- That Aare Afe Babalola, Olu Daramola, Olu Faro, and the law offices of Afe Babalola & Co. (Emmanuel Chambers) compromised the Supreme Court and the remaining semblance of integrity it might have had, when they went back to the Supreme Court and got the Court to swim in the sewer of corruption and shameful self-abnegation.”
Babalola strongly denies the allegations, claiming that they are false and damaging to both his personal reputation and the integrity of the Nigerian judiciary.
Nigerian author and activist Dele Farotimi’s book, Nigeria and Its Criminal Justice System, has surged to bestseller status on Amazon amid a legal battle with prominent lawyer and businessman, Afe Babalola.
The controversy surrounding the book has captivated public attention, driving both online and offline demand.
The book, which critiques systemic corruption in Nigeria’s judiciary and highlights alleged misconduct by key legal figures, saw modest sales following its release in July 2024.
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However, Farotimi’s arrest on Tuesday, following a petition filed by the 93-year-old Babalola, triggered a wave of public curiosity.
By Thursday evening, it had climbed to the top of Amazon’s bestseller rankings, according to checks by Vanguard. Bookstores across Nigeria also reported a significant uptick in demand.
Biztellers reports that Farotimi was detained in Lagos by armed police officers and transported to Ado Ekiti, about 300 kilometers northeast of the city, where Babalola is based.
The senior lawyer alleged that the book accused him of compromising Nigeria’s judiciary—a claim that has sparked heated debates about freedom of speech and accountability in the legal profession.
On Wednesday, Farotimi was arraigned in an Ekiti court, where the judge ordered his remand pending a bail hearing scheduled for December 10.
Farotimi’s legal team has vowed to contest the charges, framing the case as an attack on intellectual freedom.
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