... Obong Ufot Ekaette 

A few years back at the Anglican Cathedral, Uyo, the capital of Akwa Ibom State, Ufot Ekaette, a high chief and super technocrat was inducted into the Knighthood of St. Christopher.Born sixty-eight years ago as a third son to Chief Joseph Esuaiko Ekaette and Madam Janet Ekaette in a small village called Ikot Edor in Onna LGA, the parents contemplated and indeed succeeded in implanting in their son the intrinsic values of honesty, humility, patience, tolerance and hard work and above all the fear of God, which his mother taught him "is the beginning of wisdom" .

He grew up to become the first SGF east of the Niger. In this interview with Patrick Okon Ikitenie he like never before opened up on the journey so far.

What do you consider as the greatest challenge of being an Anglican today?

Thank you very much. With the multiplicity of religious organizations, it takes more than an average effort to get people attracted to the Orthodox churches. The variety of programmes by the Pentecostals has tended to appeal to the youth to the extent that they tend to drift from the Orthodox Churches and Anglican Church being one of the Orthodox Churches, faces the challenge of not attracting the youths back to the Church, but also sustaining their interest in the Anglican Communion. And how does it attract the youth?

First there is need to study what attracts the youths to the Pentecostal Churches. Basically one seems to attribute that to the fact that there is a lot of dancing, a lot of miracles and healing power, which appeal to the youths. Although we also have a bit of praise and worship perceived in the Anglican Communion, it is a far cry to what happens in the Pentecostal Churches because you see people really dance disco and sweat as if they were in a night club. These could be some areas to look at.
Another area is to promote evangelism because quite often people seem tobelieve that enough is not done in Orthodox Churches to spread the gospel. People tend to come to Church on Sundays and that is the end of it. But as you notice, most of the Pentecostal have mass rallies, night outings, they have open air prayer meetings, miracle nights, they have all sort of things that the youths feel excited about. Maybe we need to study the way they operate, what makes the youth appreciate them.
We will then be in a position to find solutions and also devise means or machinery for attracting the youth to the Orthodox Churches; including the Anglican Communion.

What do you think we can do to at least dissuade their minds from being discouraged by the crisis that is presently rocking the Anglican Communion?

I think we should work out special programmes for the youths. For instance, we have youth organisations like the Boys' Brigade. It doesn't seem to be proactive enough. If youths know that they could easily register to become members of the Boys' Brigade, that is something that could really attract them.

The Boys Scout Movement could also be another way out in getting the youths to be active in doing something physical and rendering assistance to society. Quite frankly, they want action and if they don't see action in Orthodox Churches, they tend to drift into the Pentecostal Churches. I think that is the way we should look atit.

The same thing is applicable to the girls. I understand that at the Pentecostal, they organize special sessions that bring bachelors and spinsters together and some of them end up in marriage which most youths look forward to.

And beauty pageants?
I don't think we should go to the extreme of organizing beauty' pageants in the Anglican Church. It is a solemn religious outfit. And when we go to the extent of bringing in programmes that could even tarnish the image of the Church, I think it is something that should not be encouraged. But other activities that will attract the youths, something that is within "the doctrine of the Anglican Communion should be encouraged.
With all these at the back of our minds, what hope do we have-for a die-hard Anglican that says do away with whatever doctrines you want to practice there, I will remain an Anglican? '

I believe there is a lot of hope. I think we have to start with parents. The parents should learn to appreciate, that it is not just enough for them to be strong and active members of the Anglican Church. They: should also encourage their chil.dren to participate in the activities of 'the Church. They should insist on taking their children along with them to the Church. And before they grow beyond eighteen or nineteen or thereabout, when they have opinions of their own and you cannot really compel them, they would have been so deeply ingrained in Orthodoxy that it would not be easy to lure them to the new generation Churches.

You see many of us, because of the kind of discipline infused in us right from youth, it is not easy to go against the Orthodox Christian doctrine. But I don't know how far these days parents sit their children down and teach them the Orthodox Christian Religion.

Quite often children grow up without even knowing any of the verses in the Bible. I remember those good old days in my secondary school, we used to learn certain portions of the Bible off-head. We used to have exams and even open competition on certain aspects of the Bible. And one interesting point about the Bible is that each time you read it, you find something new. It is a living document and the youth of today need to know that there is a lot they can get out of the Bible.

Maybe that is one area we as older members of the Anglican Church, should work on our children to ensure that they follow the right path and not just drift from one Church to the other in search of miracles.

In the media world and outside, Obong Ufot Ekaete is either directly or indirectly, openly or confidentially addressed with a tag "Mr. Clean", When one looks at the lifestyle of most of our public officers today vis¬a-vis corruption, how did you manage to come out with such a clean record? Was if part of this Anglican Discipline in you that led to that?

I think one's upbringing contributes a lot to whatever one does ai-becomes' in life, I was brought up by very strict parents, very religious, very committed. They taught us the values of contentment in, whatever you do, the value of justice and transparency and all these things guided me through life.

I adopted those principles that my parents taught me; that is the issue of honesty, contentment, hardwork and so on and so forth in my career. I thank God for that because it is not easy to live above board. Temptations are there, no doubt, but if you are able to resist such temptations, if we allow the fear of God to guide us in whatever we do, this issue of corruption would to a large extent be tackled. But people are really greedy.

The more they accumuiate, the more they want to acquire, the more they want to continue to accumulate. So what will you really do with all these money?

It is only a question of continuing to pray, continuing to live by example, continuing to identify people who are honest; like what the Primate is trying to do now and extolling them.

What key roles can the Church play in the sustenance of good governance?

On the issue of what the Church could do for the sustenance of good governance in Nigeria. . ..the Church has a duty to speak out. In fact, each time I listen to the Primate deliver a sermon; like what he did during confirmation and induction of members of Mothers Union, I feel enthralled. He is so courageous that he does not fear anybody. That is the kind of example the Church should follow. To speak out boldly. Condemn evil the way it should be without fearing whose ox is gored. That is one way of sanitizing our society. And, two, evangelization is also important. We should get out and let people know what the Church is all about and why these evil practices should be discarded. It is not enough just to stay in the Church and preach. I think there is need for outreach; to talk to people, to go to families and so on; and make them understand what is happening.

How would you assess the growth of the Church of Nigeria in 2007 and what are the expectations for the year 2008?

I think we've done very well generally. When I listened to the Archbishop a few Sundays ago when he was talking on the eighteenth anniversary of the diocese and how it started from virtually nothing and grew up to what it is now I believe we have done extremely well. Late last year, the Basilica of Grace of God District was dedicated by the Archbishop. The Church started from nothing as a chapel for the