Busayo Adeniyi has a chat with Pastor Abraham Akinosun who is the State Chairman of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN). He speaks about CAC, CAN and how new leaders will emerge in the state Christian group.

Can you tell us your name and little about your background?

I am Pastor Abraham Akinosun, the Chairman of Osun State Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN). Anyway, I was born into a Christian family but I don’t think being born into a Christian home is enough to qualify one as a Christian. To be specific, it was in the year 1968 that I became born again. I gave my life to the Lord Jesus and in the year 1972, I went to Bible College were I started the work on a full-time basis. In 1975, I started work as a pastor after my seminary education and after working in many churches in Lagos and Ibadan then I traveled abroad for further training and upon my return I was posted at a Theological Seminary as a lecturer for sometime before going again to the field work as a pastor and at the same time visiting lecturer but it was in year 2000 that I was posted here from Lagos as the Chairman of Osogbo District Coordinating Council and it was in year 2006 that I became the CAN Chairman.

As the CAN Chairman for the state and combining this with another important position of DCC Chairman, what are those challenges you are faced with?

There are many challenges because leadership is associated with different challenges. The challenges starts from how to make sure we develop our territories and to seek for spiritual inspiration for the task of developing the church and the progress of people not only infrastructural progress but also physical development. The spiritual development is a very big work of evangelism; to spread the good news to all nook and corners of the world. For instance, when I came to Osogbo in year 2000, I met only 12 districts but now the districts are up to 45, those 12 districts have now multiplied to 45. Ede was not Zonal Council in the District Coordinating Council (DCC) before now. It is during my tenure that Ede was Commission as Zonal Council and now the Zonal Council has become District Coordinating Council (DCC). Then, under those districts that were created about five of them now are zones, like Gbonmi Zone, Araromi Zone, Ayetoro Zone, Alekuwodo Zone and we also have two special districts, so, it is a great achievement for me. Apart from this physical cum spiritual growth, our people also enjoy tremendous growth in their various undertaking. Many people have been promoted under my leadership to the rank of Chairmen, Zonal Chairmen and so on. So, many things have been done for us to be able to spread and when I say we are spreading that covers infrastructural and the spiritual aspect. I know people used to ask, who the real man is and I believe that nobody is an angel but I have never seen someone to pin-point that this is my fault. Where I was advised to adjust administratively, I make sure I listen. The Chairman Residence is another important achievement we have been able to record even our national leaders were quite amazed that at Osogbo I was able to do something of that magnitude. The national leaders were so astonished, because after laying the foundation of the project of the chairman residence, it took us just eight months to complete the rest of the work. I must state here that we didn’t have any money to start the project but being a leader, I always be the first person to donate money for any of our programme and people know that I have no skeleton in my cupboard, so whenever I want to push people to work, I will first put down my own contributions and because of this, we were able to raise money for all our programmes.

As another election that will usher in new state leaders for CAN is approaching, how is it going to hold?

Before I state how we are going to conduct the election, I will like to speak on the background of CAN in Osun State. The abbreviation CAN mean Christian Association of Nigeria, Osun state chapter. It is an umbrella for all denominations and we have five groups in it which we normally refer to as blocks under CAN Membership and it comprises the following : Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (CSN), Christian Council of Nigeria (CCN), CPFN /PFN this block is for  Pentecostal denominations. CPF are the churches that have the name ‘apostolic’ maybe at the end or in the middle or beginning of the name of their denominations.  For instance, Christ Apostolic Church (CAC), apostolic is in the middle of that name. Also the Apostolic Church, Saviour’s Apostolic Church and   United Apostolic Church are all under CPFN. PFN is made up of all Pentecostal Churches like Assembles of God, Redeemed Christian Church of God, Winners, etc. Then the forth one is OAIC, Organization of African Instituted Churches that is for white garments churches, they are very numerous, they have many conferences within themselves. The fifth one is ECWA Fellowship. We also have local government chapters of CAN. Every local government in the state has a chapter of Christian Association of Nigeria. Then we have Women Wing of CAN and Youth Wing of CAN. Also, we have constitution that binds all organs and members of the association. There is national constitution and it is stated in the constitution that the officers shall hold their offices for three initial years after which a congress shall be held and election will be conducted maybe to vote in the executive officers to continue for another three years but this cannot be more than two terms of three years each but in my observation, we have witnessed many unpalatable development. The Christian body for instance when they want to hold another term people begin to lobby like politicians, give bribes in other for them to retain their post or be elected for another in the office. That is the reason why we formulated a by-law of our own in Osun state and I am very glad that other states are copying us now, they want to start their own. Like Oyo, Lagos, Ogun, Ekiti and Ondo states are now planning to formulate their own by-law having seen our own. Our by-law states that officers are going to spend only one term which is three years because we don’t want the situation whereby some people will start lobbying to remain in office. So it is clear that anybody that has been elected will spend only single term of three years in office. But that doesn’t mean that one cannot be voted into another office different from the previous one. Another congress is approaching now and it has fixed for 21^st of January 2010. Then I will leave the office I am holding now.      

Now that elected officers cannot spend more than one term in office, what will you be doing after leaving office?

Anyway the constitution states that the immediate past chairman must become the matron of the council. We have three matrons, matron one, matron two and matron three and I am head of a block, so, even before I came into the office of the chairman I am highly respected and recognized by all our Babas and Bishops so they don’t do anything without inviting me even before becoming chairman, that means I am always relevant even after leaving the office of CAN.

Then what are you doing to ensure that the election goes smoothly and to ensure that a credible candidate takes over from you?

Like I have said earlier that we have blocks from each district and it is now the duties of those districts to bring out credible candidates for the election. For example during my own election in year 2006 when the chairmanship was zoned to CPFN /PFN, they held a meeting where they elected Rev Jacob Asani. CPFN held their own meeting they said I should go for the post of the chairman then CPFN and PFN met and the election was held in a proper place for such event. After the poll, Pastor Akinosun emerged as the winner, then CPFN and PFN wrote my name as the Chairman of CAN. For the person that will take over the office of the chairman there is a law which he must abide with under the by-law that we have made and we have prepared it in such a way that it will serve us till year 2024. It has been placed there how Office Rotational System for CAN should be done.

Now Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria will produce Secretary, Assistance P.R.O, Director of Evangelism and Internal Auditor. Those are the posts we zoned to them for year 2010 till year 2012. It is now their duty to find out whether they will have to elect them or choose them. The secretariat will write a letter to Nomination Committee about their candidates. Anglican, Methodist, Baptist that is CCN will produce Second Vice Chairman, Treasurer and Director of Project then CPFN /PFN will produce First Vice -Chairman, Legal Adviser and Director of Information. For this coming election, the post of Chairman is being zone to OAICE, the White Garment Assembly .They have to produce for us a credible Chairman, Assistant Secretary and Director of National and State Issue and Social Welfare while ECWA will produce P.R.O, Financial Secretary and Director of Mission and Evangelism. So that is what we have put in place for the coming election but some of these groups have not been showing up to present their candidates.