Honing Spirituality for Social Justice

                    By Bayo Ogunmupe

     Spirituality for Social Justice was the theme of the 2019 conclave of the Lagos Zone, Rosicrucian Order, AMORC. Held at its Isis Lodge, Ilupeju, on May 11, the symposium was chaired by the Grand Administrator and director, the Supreme Board of the Order, Ancient and Mystical Order Rosae Crucis (AMORC), Dr Kenneth Idiodi. In his address of welcome, the Grand Councillor and head of the Lagos Zone, Otunba Babatope Ogunnowo welcomed members and guests alike to a memorable day with mind-boggling revelations.

     In his own message as the chairman of the occasion, Dr Idiodi said this time when many visitors see Nigeria as a highly religious society; at a time of reverberating prayers for protection and petitions for divine intervention in our political and economic affairs,'Spirituality for Social Justice' was an appropriate theme for a symposium by the Lagos Zone of the Rosicrucian Order. "We have always lived in a complex world of mind boggling diversity. We must realize it is from the innate spirituality within us that the numerous religions of the world have emanated," he said.

     Dr Idiodi said participating in Rosicrucian gatherings helps to demonstrate many of the profound principles we learn as members and friends of the Order. Ideas so propagated are not abstract but lessons that have practical application to our lives. He delineates problems facing Nigeria as poverty, ill-health, terrorism and superstition. His examples: poverty breeds criminality; discrimination instigates terrorism; that correlation exists between poor education and poor health. In his analysis of justice, the Grand Administrator averred that the symbol of justice, Lady Justice, a trim female figure wearing a toga, depicts justice as a potent and fundamental force of nature.

     In the main symposiums's lecture one: Spirituality and social Justice Across Cultures, Professor Victor Ariole of the University of Lagos said the state must not allow a man to be so rich that he could buy another person. At the same time society must not allow a person to so poor that he could sell himself. But in the case of Nigeria, the state, through allocation of oil blocks, is frantically empowering a select elite to be able to buy millions of people in a twinkling of an eye. Such a government policy of empowerment fuels the rumours of people bribing soldiers to overthrow the government or a Moshood Abiola sponsoring a military coup. He alerted us further of government policies of recruiting only their kinsmen for civil service positions with the intention of reducing other tribes to poverty and the underclass. Such lack of social justice is the cause of insurrection, rebellion and insurgency. 

     The senior fellow in mass communication, University of Lagos, Dr Fassy Yusuf gave the second lecture tagged: The missing link between Spirituality and Social Justice. According to him, poor spiritual growth occasioned by an absence of lifelong learning and lack of sincerity are responsible for social injustice we daily witness in our land. He said Nigeria is suffering from leadership paralysis due to the absence of ideology among our political parties. And ideology might be said to absent because, in the execution of social policies, governments do not follow any clearly defined ideological continuum.

     After Yusuf's lecture, the seminar went into a prayer break. Then we filed into the Rosicrucian Prayer Sanctum where, for about half an hour, we reposed in meditation and prayer for peace in Nigeria. thereafter, we returned to the symposium. Individual Roles and Responsibilities in promoting social justice and spiritual growth was the last lecture. It was given by Mrs Dunni Olasehan, a retired banker with an additional 50 years in teaching, training and management. In her lecture, she showed us slides to illustrate and elucidate her message. As a Rosicrucian herself, she regaled us with the history of the Ancient and Mystical Order Rosae Crucis. 

     For Mrs Olasehan, the environment makes the individual. She showed us a slide delineating how the environment determines whether a pregnant woman would be delivered of a brainy child or a brawny one. the slides conveyed to us what type of person would be born to a war torn, crisis prone area like Nigeria as against the one that will born in peaceful Switzerland. The lecture explained why Boko Haram ravaged Nigeria could not produce another Nobel laureate after Wole Soyinka's award of !986. Geniuses don't thrive in an  environment bedeviled by poverty, injustice and civil strive.

     Overall, this year's Lagos zonal conclave of AMORC has been a source of intellectual enlightenment for members and friends alike. The Rosicrucians of Nigeria have been sources of spiritual growth and creativity, even better than Islam and Christianity who have turned religion to money making businesses.