February 9, 2015 – General Olu Bajowa (Rtd) has condemned in strong terms some principles which are held by the church. The Jagunmolu of Ikale land was particular about the Anglican diocese of the coastal area of Okitipupa.
In an exclusive chat with our reporter, General Bajowa expressed his utmost shock and disappointment at the way and manner the Anglican Communion tactically denied his mother-in-law the right of Christian burial based on the circumstances of her death, wondering if it was a crime for her to have died that way.
Bajowa maintained that rather than holding unto some inflexible dogma, one would have expected sympathy from a church that preaches piety and strong biblical values.
He said he was also miffed by the fact that he, himself is also an adherent of the Anglican communion and expected a better treatment than the tactical denial the Anglican church had given one of their own.
‘’The rigid and inflexible dogma of Anglican communion to deny a Christian burial to a devout and financial adherent of the church, who was dastardly murdered by evil men, is not only unsympathetic and an anti Christian posture, but a sad commentary that will NEVER be forgotten’’, General Bajowa maintained.
‘‘The Bible doesn’t give instructions on how a body should be handled or buried after death, not even that of a gruesome killing still under criminal investigation! Is the church not expected to treat the body of the dead with respect and charity in faith and hope of the resurrection?’’
Bajowa noted with disappointment that the Anglican Church did not only shy away from burying a strong member of one of their churches, but failed to even send a representative to the funeral.
He said if mere men had done this, one could have overlooked it, but such conduct from people working in God’s vineyard is uncalled for. ‘’Mere men can play pranks and indulge in subterfuge, but for men of God, nothing but the exemplary virtue of God should be expected in their action and reaction to issues.
“There is need for change even in the house of God,’ General Bajowa thundered. He said the decision of the cleric of the Anglican Communion to deny late Olori Modupe Ayelomi a burial in the Anglican Church must be condemned by all Christian leaders of the Coastal diocese because it reeks of bad taste and abandonment of their own member in time of need”, he said.
He said it is ironical that while Mama Modupe Ayelomi was abandoned by her own church, The Methodist Church took it upon itself to give the deceased a befitting burial. General Bajowa asked the priests of the Anglican Communion to search their soul and think through their decision if it was the best in that circumstances.
In the same vein, Bajowa thanked all the dignitaries who had come from far and near to celebrate the final burial of Late Olori Modupe Omolere Ayelomi. The General particularly appreciated the presence of all the Methodist clerics and Bishop Steven Ogedengbe, the presiding Bishop of Wisdom Chapel.
Further investigation by our correspondent into the reason the authorities of the coastal Diocese of the Anglican Communion, Okitipupa denied late Olori Modupe Ayelomi the benefit of a befitting Christian burial in her home church revealed that there is a system of belief in the diocese as espoused by the diocesan lord bishop which gives a time limit of forty days for the burial of any deceased Anglican Communicant from the day of his or her death.
According to a reliable source who spoke with our reporter, the coastal diocese clerics don’t attend any burial of their own members whose funeral exceeds the forty days time lag.
However, in the case of late Olori Modupe Ayelomi, several representation and appeal were made to the Diocesan but to no avail.
Reliable family source revealed that the Lumure of Ayeka, HRM Bode Ayelomi suffered double bereavement with the loss of his cousin who was to be buried on the 29th of January, and the death of his wife, Olori Modupe Ayelomi, which sad event occurred on the 25th of December, 2014. As a concerned family member, it will not be appropriate to bury both the cousin and the wife of the Kabiesi within the same day as the pains will be too much to bear for the octogenarian King, said our impeccable source.
We gathered that the burial of late Olori Modupe Ayelomi which was fixed for the 6th of February exceeded the Anglican diocese of the coast’s forty days burial limit by just two days yet the diocesan bishop will not have anything to do with the burial.
We gathered that the death of late Olori Modupe Ayelomi bothered on culpable homicide which requires thorough investigation by the authorities of Nigeria Police and had it not been for the timely intervention of General Olu Bajowa, the corpse would not have been released to the family for burial.
