allAfrica.com -- 16 Lives For N16m Crusade

Sixteen Nigerians lost their lives in search of miracles from a Christian crusade, raising moral and legal questions.

Five bodies laid embalmed as 'Unknown Christians', stranded at the Benin Central Hospital mortuary. Dr. Pius Asemota, the Hospital's Medical Director was appealing to the relatives of the dead "crusade-seekers," to come forward and claim their bodies. Eleven of them had been taken away for decent burial, but not so for these five Nigerians perhaps, without families or relatives nearby.

God has been enjoined to grant the families the fortitude to bear the loss. Dr. Felix Omobude said that much. Reinhard Bonnke who only learnt of the death 48 hours after the tragedy, probably through the newspapers, could only pray for the repose of the dead. He said they were gone to Heaven, translated into glory. That maybe true. The Edo State Government condoled their families after inspecting their bodies

Last Sunday, 10 October, it all came to an end. The calm has returned to the city. It will soon be forgotten, many are already saying that is The Reinhard Bonnke Great Benin crusade.

Not since the occasions of the coronation and death of Dr. Benson Idahosa of the Church of God Mission reputed to be the father of Pentecostal Christianity in Nigeria had Benin City witnessed such a gathering. The daily attendance for the six days it lasted stood at between 700,000 and 1000000. Thanks to Reinherd Bonnke, the German Evangelist who set Benin City on agog with his brand of evangelism.

The crusade may have ended but in its wake, sadness and joy now envelop the city. For the relatives and friends of sixteen Nigerians including one pregnant woman who were trampled to death on day one of the epoch-making event, 6 October, 1999 is one day they will never forget in a hurry.

Not many Benin people take death very lightly. For them, though dying is always a cause for dance and drama. Carnival-like trains are a common sight on Fridays in this city that reserves a pride of place for the dead.

Such deaths, which are taken for granted, are those which occur as a result of brief illness or accidents. These are known death-inducers. Not a crusade. Not even one put in place by who's who in Pentecostal Christendom in Edo State. Behind it were the likes of Felix Omobude, founder of New Covenant Gospel Church, which broke away from Benson Idahosa's Church of God Mission in 1985. He chaired the Board of Advisers of the Central Working Committee of the Reinhard Bonnke Crusade. Gordon Osagiede, whose Spirit and Life Bible Church is an off-shoot of the Christ Chosen Church of God (which itself was an off-shoot of St. Joseph's Chosen Church of God).and Bishop Itobiye, whose Intercessory Word of Life Bible Church also came from the loins of Benson Idahosa, were members.

To Christians of the Pentecostal persuasion, these are men of God whose integrity as miracle-workers, prophets, teachers and evangelists cannot be faulted.

It was on the strength of these men's campaign,-"the Great Gospel Crusade,"

"Come Expecting a Miracle,-" that Nigerians from far and near converged at the Gworick School Grounds on the opening day. Twenty-four hours earlier, the Evangelist had arrived to a tumultuous welcome at the moribund Benin Airport, growing rusty from disuse. And in a show of appreciation, he wept, wishing that his people, the German had one per cent of the enthusiasm shown by Nigerians for God.

When the stage was set at about 5 p.m on 6 October, 1999 and he mounted the low podium, observers had with apprehension sensed something was amiss. How could somebody 500 meters away see Bonnke from the low podium? Yet the people had hearkened to the call. They came, they rushed, they surged and they pushed their ways in the direction of this man of God. Some even wanted to touch him. The frenzy was in the air, charged and uncontrollable. Had the TV and radio jingles been a fluke? They were there to find out. And many did find out only to meet death.

Many of them, members of the mainstream Pentecostal churches, and a few from the orthodox churches had come to receive their own miracles-freedom from sickness, poverty and diseases, sight for the blind, hearing for the deaf, strength for the crippled, life for the dead, job for the jobless, comfort for the sad and hope for the hopeless.

It was not a question of lack of miracles in their lives that they came. No, they had come to receive more and in response, "Expect your miracle now."

Their confidence was that in this business of God, anything is possible. Didn't Benson Idahosa rise from the dead when his father ordered the mother to throw him into a refuse bin because he was a sickler? For two decades, did he not live to lead a 6000-strong branch church network? Did he not hold crusades all over the world? Did the lame not walk at his crusades? But he had gone to glory. Yet a man of equal spiritual status was here-Reinhard Bonnke from overseas!

When Benson Idahosa departed, he did not leave his shoes behind. But many had looked in the direction of Omobude as a natural heir. But he had left the fold, 13 years earlier. Even at that, he was still seen as the new father of faith. And so, when he called his fellow General Overseers together to discuss the Bonnke Crusade, they took him very seriously.

TEMPO gathered that when the meetings commenced over the crusade, all went well. That was until the issue of funding came up. For a crusade of that magnitude, members of the Central Working Committee were said to have made suggestion that ended up in a N16 million budget!

This money was to go into the publicity, protocols and logistics. An undisclosed amount for publicity was said have led to an exchange of blows between some members of this committee. In the end, banners, posters, hand bills, face-caps, badges were produced in quantum. The two Radio/TV stations in Edo State were saturated with jingles and commercials, which kept blaring till the very last day. The hype was simply great!

The erection of the stand, provision of electricity, musical and public address systems and loud speakers were also made.

Accommodation and feeding arrangements of the crusade team and officials were also budgeted for. With all the above set, the Central Working Committee had patted itself on the back that it had done a marvellous job. This was not to be.

Compared to the four million gathering of worshippers at the Lekki Peninsula tagged Lekki 98 in December 1998 under the direction of Pastor Enock Adeboye, or the opening of Shiloh by David Oyedepo in September 1999, foresight appeared to have been slaughtered on the altar of probity by the Benin crusade organisers.

At a point, disagreements arose about the expenditures. Some "men of God," lost out in the intrigues that surrounded the N16 million which the German Evangelist was said to have sent months earlier. These men were said to have called for the use of larger venue, arrangements for healthcare personnel, ambulances, first aid boxes etc.

Their pleas, it was learnt, fell on deaf ears. Little wonder that most of the Pentecostal doctors in Benin City went to the crusade privately. Ambulances stayed in their garage while the crusade went on. And Edo State's medical chief was watching TV at home unaware that his attention was needed at Ekenwan Road, venue of the Bonnke crusade.

Bonnke had closed the event with prayers. Then the stampede began. Worshippers had to compete with car, buses and shrubs for space. They had come and had seen the German. They had to go home. But some never made it home, they died in the process.

Sixteen of them. N16 million burnt and 16 people dead! Many blamed lack of crowd-control measures for the tragedy, especially when the venue was an open air with no entrance and no exit. Whatever happened to TV monitors? Was someone so proud that he could not ask Enock Adeboye for ideas about handling such a crowd?

It seems to be all over. But the last has not been evidently heard of the much-publicised crusade. TEMPO gathered that at least three families were with lawyers last week to discuss briefs about suing the organisers of the crusade for poor preparation, inadequate spectators-control and a general nonchalance to spectators' welfare. One of the families is now faced with the task of catering for four toddlers left by their sister and daughter on a visit from abroad.

Another is the husband of the pregnant woman, who was expecting to be a father before the new millennium.

Meanwhile, the electronic media is agog after the crusade with paid announcements of missing persons (MPs). At least, two teenage girls and an aged man were on the list at the last count.

But some legal experts insist that none of the families who lost their loved ones can hold the organisers of the crusade liable for whatever happened to them. This is predicated on the fact that although the invitation was to all and sundry, the onus to accept was on the individuals. The organisers only promised that those who came would receive miraculous healing, they did not force anyone to heed their call.

One lawyer argues that no offence was committed by the organisers of the crusade as far as the tragedy is concerned. Negligence could have become an issue if those who were trampled upon were rescued and left to die instead of being rushed to the hospital. But witnesses confided that many of them lay dead without any help for about to six hours after the organisers had closed business for the day.

An aggrived party is meanwhile, not impressed by the legal pontifications. Mr. Theophilus Osagiede is already hanging a N60 million suit on the neck of Evangelist Bonnke. Osagiebe is the Senior brother of one of the deceased, Mrs Jespphine Efemine, a 36 year-old mother of two. Joined in the suit slated for a Benin High Court are most members of the Central Working Committee of the Crusade.

Publication Date: October 21, 1999