Archbihop Buba-Lamido of the Diocese of Zaria in Nigeria
Dr Glenn Davies, Anglican Archbishop of the Diocese of Sydney, Australia
The global ‘No’ Campaign against same sex marriage is reverberating in Nigeria with the Anglican Communion categorically restating its rejection of gay marriage. Only last month in Sydney, the campaign lashed out at those promoting the parallel ‘Yes’ Campaign, saying that the stakes and the cost were high but that the cause is just and “a consequence of our discipleship to uphold the gift of marriage as God has designed it”. That was the Archbishop of the Anglican Diocese of Sydney in Australia, the Most Reverend Dr Glenn Davies as reported in the Business Insider, (October 10, 2017). Australia, Canada and the United States of America remain the hotbeds of the theory and practice of same sex marriage. So far, much of Africa is against it. Some people claim it is widely practiced in Nigeria but the cultural and religious animus against it means it is still carried on secretly most of the time.
Now, Archbishop Ali Buba-Lamido of Wusasa Diocese, Zaria in Kaduna State of Nigeria is reflecting that cultural and religious opposition to the phenomenon by saying yesterday that the Anglican dioceses would stand strictly by what the Bible says. His verdict is that the Bible made no provision whatsoever for gays. “Our stand on Biblical principles is unshakable, we will continue to stand on what the Lord teaches us from the scriptures”, he declared,
Grounding his standpoint on the historical opposition of the Most Rev. Peter Akinola, the Anglican Archbishop said it was during Akinola’s reign that the Church of Nigeria stood against gay marriage (same sex marriage) especially with the discovered Church of America and United Kingdom and that they have continued to stand on that to this moment.
Commending the Federal Government for a sustained fight against Boko Haram in the North-East before branching off to internal matters of the Anglicans, the Archbishop, however, wants the government to do more to contain what he calls the menace of kidnapping and the activities of herdsmen especially in the middle belt and whose arrest and prosecution he insists upon.
The late Abiodun Adetiloye
Back to the Anglican Communion, he singled out for commendation along with Akinola the late pyramid of the Church of Nigeria, Most Rev. Abiodun Adetiloye whom Buba-Lamido said had personally attended the enthronement of the Bishop of Wusasa and the inauguration of the Diocese. “In history, Abiodun Adetiloye was second to Ajayi Crowder in Nigeria in terms of evangelism and planting of Churches. Attributing the incidence of many Dioceses in Northern Nigeria to what he called Adetiloye’s serious view of the 1988 London Conference when debate of evangelism was declared, Buba-Lamido said it had become imperative to appreciate their Church leaders, speaking glowingly of how Most Rev. Akinola took the Anglican dioceses from 52 to 165 at his retirement, a spread he said made Nigeria the fastest growing Anglican diocese in the world.
His history of Wusasa as a diocese is that it became a Diocese only in November 2, 1997 although it existed since 1902. The 20th anniversary, according to him, is devoted to activities such as musical concert, revival crusades, cultural dances, fashion parade and a public lecture which would be taking another look at the history of Wusasa.
