ONE desire of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ before he left this earthly world and ascended into heaven, is for his followers to be united and be one. (John 17:6-21)  ‘…Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to you. Holy Father, keep through your name those who you have given me, that they may be one as we are…’

The above desire of Christ forms the bedrock upon which the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, which came into being in 1976 was built. It is an Association of Christian Churches with distinct identities, recognizable Church structures and system of worship of one God in the Trinity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. CAN is supposed to be the umbrella body for all Christian denominations desirous of promoting godly values in order for them to speak with one voice on issues affecting the Christian faith and the welfare of the generality of Nigerians.

The initial founding denominations were the Roman Catholic Church, the Christian Council of Nigeria and others. It later expanded to embrace the following composition of membership: Christian Council of Nigeria, the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, the Pentecostal Fellow-ship of Nigeria, Organisation of African Instituted Churches, and the Evangelical Fellowship of West Africa.

When the founding fathers muted the idea of the association following their initial meeting at Dodan Barracks, their intentions were very genuine and laudable. But how well it has performed over the years is a subject for another discourse.

However, from all indications, especially judging from the contro-versy that dogged the immediate past leadership, it is obvious that the association still has a lot to do in achieving its cardinal objective of promoting the interests of Christ-ians across the country.

The leadership of CAN has always allowed for flexibility so that the various blocs that constitute its membership can be properly represented in its administration. This can be seen from the Catholic Church represented by past pre-sidents like Anthony Cardinal Okogie and John Cardinal Onaiyekan, to Sunday Mbang of the Methodist Church and those of the Pentecostal extraction.

CAN has always been highly respected as standing for truth, integrity, transparency and justice. The interest of its members always comes supreme. All these are traits expected to be personified by its leadership. Thus, when it speaks or issues a press release, the govern-ment in power and all stakeholders listens and act accordingly.

It is, however, regrettable that in recent times, there has been some kind of rift regarding the way and manner the association has been run, its undue emphasis on mater-ialism and, particularly, the perceiv-ed ‘closeness’ of its leadership to the Presidency, to the detriment of its members’ interests. As a result, today, CAN is almost like a toothless dog that cannot bite. It is now grappling to maintain its respectability amidst its decimated membership.

The new leadership of CAN under Dr. Supo Ayokunle of the Baptist Convention and Prof. Joseph Otubu of the Motailatu Church Cherubim Seraphim Movement, his Vice President, has a lot to do in assuag-ing all the interest groups who have not been too pleased with its recent activities. The new executives must begin to mend broken fences and return to the founding ideals of the association.

High level consultation is also imperative in order not to repeat the mistakes of past administration. They must show through their deeds that they can truly be trusted to represent the views of the various blocs that make up the association. In these trying times when Christ-ians are being persecuted right, left and centre, much needs to be done in uniting the association so that it can truly speak with one voice and defend the interest of all Christians.

The time has come to truly unite CAN.

*Rev. Monsignor Osu is the Director of Social Communications at the Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos.