By Femi Bolaji
A former Bishop of the United Methodist Church of Nigeria (UMCN), John-Wesley Yohanna, speaks on why he resigned from the UMCN, his strong opposition to LGBTQ and issues regarding the repatriation of a Zimbabwean Bishop by the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS). Excerpts:
Why did you resign as Bishop of the United Methodist Church in Nigeria?
I thank God for giving me the opportunity to serve as Bishop of the United Methodist Church of Nigeria (UMCN) for almost 12 years. When I became a Christian and attended my catechism classes, I was taught nothing like homosexuality in Christianity. In fact I was told and also read from the Bible, particularly Genesis Chapter 2, where God created man and woman. God saw that the man had no suitable companion and he gave man a woman. And since then, marriage has been that of a man and a woman. It was not until later days when the EUB missions joined the Methodist Church in 1968 and we in Nigeria joined the United Methodist Church (UMC) in 1984/85 that we started hearing about homosexuality. But one good thing about those times is that we have always voted it out whenever we attended the General Conference. And it has been our stand in the Nigerian church that whenever homosexuality is legalized, we will no longer stay in a church that accepts it. Alas, In May 2024 during the last General Conference of the UMC, they voted to recognize LGBTQ in the church. As a clergy, I presided over seven Annual Conferences of the Nigerian Episcopal Area and all these Conferences had passed resolutions stating that they would vote to move to the Global Methodist Church (GMC), a breakaway faction of the UMC whose doctrine does not recognize LGBTQ. Besides, the law of this country is against homosexuality and, as members of the church in Nigeria, we felt if we continue to remain in the UMC, we shall contravene the Constitution of our land and the country can hold us liable. It is for this reason we felt it is inappropriate to remain with the UMC, because to us the laws of our country takes precedence over any other Constitution, including that of the church. And In obedience to this, we aligned with the Global Methodist Church (GMC) whose doctrines match ours. On the first of June 2024, I informed the government of Taraba State and other relevant agencies about the new development from the UMC General Conference. And on the 29th of July, 2024, I sent my resignation letter to the Council of Bishops of the UMC, stating that I could not continue to serve as Bishop of the Nigerian Episcopal Area because the church has recognized/legalized LGBTQ. They responded by appreciating me for my meritorious service and accepted my resignation.
There are allegations that you had a hand in the repatriation of a UMC Bishop from Zimbabwe by the Nigeria Immigration Service. What can you say about this?
Bishop Nhiwatiwa happens to be the President of the African College of Bishops of the UMC and I had no knowledge of when he came into the country. We only heard he had problems with the Immigration. Why would anyone fabricate lies on social media that I had something to do with the ordeal of Bishop Nhiwatiwa? This is somebody that I don’t even know he was in the country. What would his coming to Nigeria benefit me? After all, I am no longer in the UMCN since I have moved to the GMCN. What would I gain by stopping him from coming here? I have worked with him and other Bishops in the past peacefully, but I only disagree with them on the issue of same sex marriage. So why should I harm another person? The person spreading these lies on social media is only angry with me because I didn’t ordain him as a clergy while I was still in UMCN. In the doctrine of the UMC, for you to be ordained as a clergy, you must have a theological Degree or Diploma. But investigation from the Board of Ordained Ministry shows that this person had no Diploma or Degree in theology and was not qualified to be a clergy. This was why the Board declined from recommending him for ordination. What is my offence in this? As a Bishop then in the UMCN, I wouldn’t meddle in the affairs of the Board, neither would I suggest names to them. The Board looks at every aspiring clergy’s credentials and makes enquiries to be sure. My advice to him is to stop blackmailing and making false allegations against me. He is only trying to set my former colleagues in the UMC against me. I am also calling on all UMC Bishops that I am innocent. These are just fabricated lies against me. And also to Bishop Nhiwatiwa, I am sorry for what happened to him in my country and that I have no hand in it. I will also like to advise that whoever is coming into Nigeria should follow the right channel by getting proper documentation with the Immigration. I was also told that he (Nhiwatiwa) had a visa, which means he had a genuine permit to enter the country. But for whatever reason, I can’t tell how it came to this because I do not belong to the authority that is saddled with this responsibility. As a Nigerian, I feel bad about the entire situation.
What is the current status of the church’s properties?
The Bishop does not have authority over church’s properties in the UMCN. The Board of Trustees and the Annual Conferences are the ones who have authority over those. However, there is still a minority group of the UMC members in Nigeria who feel they want to remain in the church after it recognized LGBTQ, while the majority left for GMC. What this minority group is hanging unto is the regionalization clause that was injected into the conversation during the UMC General Conference, where they said the church in the US can honour LGBTQ, while those in Africa, as they claim can denounce homosexuality. But they forgot that everyone will still go to the same General Conference and some of those LGBTQ clerics will preside over some programs. And you say you are not part of the decision legalizing homosexuality? You are part of it. You cannot say Genesis 2 in America is different from that of Nigeria. This was why some of us felt that this is misleading, a deception and should not be condoned, being that it is illegal in Nigeria.
There are also allegations by some groups in the UMCN that you are scheming to become a Life Bishop. How true is this?
That is the group that went to court to stop our Annual Conference when I was still in UMCN. However, we got a counter order from another court that nullified the earlier order. This same group went round telling people that I stopped them from coming to the Annual Conference. How can I do that when they were the ones that went to court to stop the Annual Conference in the first place? Well, they said I joined the Global Methodist Church because I want to stay as a Bishop for Life. This is laughable because if I want to stay longer as a Bishop, I would have heeded the call of two UMCN Bishops from West Africa in 2013/2014 who said they were bringing a proposal to the West Africa Central Conference so that I could extend my tenure beyond 12 years. But I told them “No”. I told them I didn’t know if God would spare me before then. I am not a person who prefers to stay for long in office. I also believe in the guidance of God. If I had remained in the UMCN, I will retire by December 2024. But now that I am in GMCN, I will retire as Bishop in September 2024. Does this look like I am scheming to stay as Bishop for Life? We are going to Costa Rica this September for the GMC General Conference and by God’s grace a new Bishop will be voted in to oversee the Nigerian Episcopal Area. Therefore I am calling on all GMCN members to maintain their decorum.
QUOTE: Besides, the law of this country is against homosexuality and, as members of the church in Nigeria, we felt if we continue to remain in the UMC, we shall contravene the Constitution of our land and the country can hold us liable
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