Acknowledgments

Itohan Mercy Idumwonyi

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In: Crashed Realities? Gender Dynamics in Nigerian Pentecostalism

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Itohan Mercy Idumwonyi

Itohan Mercy Idumwonyi
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Abstract

Chapter 1: The Cultural Perception of the Woman and its Related Dilemmas—is divided into two sections and offers the foundational and theoretical background of the Benin people. It maps the day-to-day operatives related to the socio-historical genealogy, mythological narratives, and cultural perceptions for constructing omo okpia (male) supremacy, exaggeration, and related dilemmas of de-historicizing women. The social-cultural currency enables male superiority, creates binaries—superior/inferior, profane/sacred, with specific attention to gender, and forbids females from assuming authoritative leadership positions such as becoming an Oba (king), odionwere (street head), okaegbe (family head), or enogie (community/town head). The binaries strengthen normative hegemony, exaggerate male supremacy over women’s inferiority, and set the exclusionary mechanism. That NP borrows gender practice from the culture, it lives in and perpetuates gender (policing) dynamics supports my thesis.

The second chapter provides the foundational narratives on the Emergence of Modern Pentecostalism in (Benin) Nigeria. I build the discussion around the socio-historical formation of a revolutionary Pentecostal congregation—the CGMi—which informed modern NP. I do this to draw attention to local people's pioneering efforts to form Pentecostalism in Nigeria. I organize it around two ideas: on the one hand, focus on the revolutionary Archbishop Benson A Idahosa, who is known for his innovative and immediate impressions on Pentecostalism in Africa, tracing and situating the life, times, and origin of CGMi. On the other hand, it points to the conflicting theologies that introduce women to the pulpit while leaning on the gender practices of the culture where they took root. This chapter shows CGMi as a male-dominated institution even though it brackets that right now, a woman holds the highest leadership position, hypothesizing that “Margaret occupies the exalted position ‘in trust’ for another ‘male,’” meaning her son.

Chapter 3, titled Crashed Realities: Tension and Contradiction in the Ranks, is concerned with the internal cracks and markers of daily framing, policing, and reproducing gender inequality and boundaries in unnoticed ways. It makes sense of the complicated process that foregrounds the context where Mrs. Margaret Idahosa developed. It also charts the cultural expectations and the social consequences of creating, sustaining a gender gap, and fueling an imaginary ideology that ultimately comes to be considered a norm.

Chapter 4 is on Margaret Ekhoe Idahosa: The Insignia of Gender Twist. It focuses on the socio-religious history of Archbishop M E Idahosa. It challenges the "gender disparity" and the "masculine too-muchness" that punctuate Pentecostals' everyday life, power of tradition, and patrilineal norms. This ‘norm’ is the tool that male leaders invoke to disinherit female members of the Pentecostal community. It discusses the dramatic tension, contradictions, and schism that trailed the eventual consecration. This chapter validates my premise that aspects of NP continue to preserve gender inequality even though they claim to empower their members. It concludes by exploring her theological stance as it touches on women in ministry and considers her relevant obeisance to NP. I show that historicizing women's narratives mean coming to terms with gender injustice and foregrounding the construal of femaleness in ways that give more credit than it presently does.

Chapter 5, titled Lived Religion: The Weight of Femaleness and Nego-Feminism, theorizes the weight of femaleness. I draw on Obioma Nnameka’s theory of nego-feminism to analyze negotiation trajectories as a way to explore the core of Pentecostal everyday practices for gender inclusivity. It underscores how women build resources and bridges to situate negotiations for access to leadership positions. I argue that women in male-founded PCs are perceived as having less status than their male counterparts, so they are rarely allowed to assume authoritative leadership positions. I also considered how women resiliently negotiate their continuous relevance. They continue to be relevant by constructing alternate paths to express and expand their ministerial calling - using the “women’s Church,” the Christian Women Fellowship International (CWFI), as a networking tool of empowerment to reach their goals.

In the concluding chapter, I return to the discussion on Transcending Gender Inequality and the Relevance of Inclusivity. The chapter presents the Pentecostal idea of inclusivity as a negotiation embedded in everyday practices. This discussion is not a conclusion. It is instead a postscript awaiting completion. The evolutionary system of breaking the "religious glass ceiling" focused on reconstructing inclusivity while re-enacting and reinventing the notion of Pentecostalism is founded on the inaugural event of the Pentecost Experience. The Pentecost Experience is the very “aha” moment of the Christian tradition and should be the resource for gender equality. I specifically draw attention to the principle of nego-feminism and critical solidarity as ways forward. I argued that a Pentecostal “pattern of redistribution” will promote a typical good devoid of religious and gender biases.

Acknowledgments

A person is a person because of other people.
Sotho proverb

…

The people around you are your covering.
Benin proverb

…

One head cannot go into counsel.
Ashanti proverb

…

I am because you are, and you are because I am.
John Mbiti

∵

The act of acknowledgment is a very significant part of Africans, as the proverbs above show, particularly with the Pentecostals. For all our accomplishments, we will mostly say: “Nah God o!” or “I thank God.” The saying: “Nah God o!” connotes conceding the power/ideas to be creative to God. By this statement, I mean I did not embark on this journey in isolation. Many (numerous to remember and name) have helped in my journey as a rising scholar, particularly in the field of Pentecostalism, women, and gender relations.

I exemplify the African maxim: “a beautiful child is born by many parents.” As that beautiful child, I have acquired many ‘parents’ along the way. Undoubtedly, I make these parents on whose shoulders I stand very proud. I recognize all my teachers and mentors in formal and informal settings who held and continue to hold out the light for me, helped form, and inspired me to work even when it was tiresome. First, I must thank my extended adoptive family in Houston, Professor Elias Kifon and Dr. Odelia Bongmba, whose never-ending gifts of insight and just listening made this work possible. Prof. Nimi Wariboko, I thank you for your ongoing interest and enthusiastic support of my scholarship. Your several conversations helped to shape and enrich my intellectual exploits. Prof. Toyin Falola, I thank you for taking me under your academic wings without knowing or meeting me—you just believed in me. I thank you, Prof. Uyilawa Usuanlele, whose rich tête-à-têtes drive me into new research paths. I am ever grateful to the Church of God Mission International Incorporated (CGMi) for opening her door for me and those countless others who gave me their time and energy and granted me interviews during my fieldwork. Your support made this work a reality. I am incredibly appreciative of Archbishop Joseph Ojo of Calvary Kingdom Church (CKC), Lagos, who (seriously) anointed and ordained me into ministry in the course of the fieldwork for this book.

I owe a great deal to Prof. Dorcas Olubanke Akintunde (University of Ibadan, Nigeria), whose spirit is on the pages of this work. Mama ‘Banke, sun ree o! (Sleep well, o!). She opened the route for me and charted the path that connected me with the father of fathers, Prof. Jacob K. Olupona, who believed in me and started me on the novel and meaning-making path. To my intellectual family in the Religious Studies Dept, the University of Benin, where my lecturing journey began, I would not have come this far without your friendship and inspiration; I thank you.

I am profoundly thankful to my immediate family for their unwavering support. To Festus Aisiriuwa, my husband, for your commitment and our children—Neide and Duwa—who always thought through several ideas with me; I am proud of you. I am also indebted to the “sleeping” heroes of my family who helped me in the process of my life’s journey. My parents: Joseph and Comfort Omoigui, who both laid the foundation, and my eldest brother, Sunny Omorodion, helped in no small way to achieve this milestone. How can I forget my well-meaning siblings—Osarumwense, Esohe, Osayemwenre, Idemudia, Oghogho, their families, and my in-laws for their encouragement? You all mean a lot to me. I thank the Religious Studies Department at Gonzaga University for their warmth and hospitality and for making my experience so rewarding.

Itohan Mercy Idumwonyi, PhD

September 21, 2022

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Crashed Realities? Gender Dynamics in Nigerian Pentecostalism

Series: Studies of Religion in Africa, Volume: 52

E-Book ISBN:: 9789004545700

Publisher:: Brill

Print Publication Date:: 14 Dec 2023

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