Over the weekend, I came across the viral video of a lady, a member of the Dunamis International Gospel Centre, now identified as Veronica Anyim, who suffered what could be the most embarrassing moment of her life, during a testimony session.
So, this is what happened.
The lady mounted the podium to testify that after a tortuous journey, laden with myriad challenges, she recently bagged a degree in Law from the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), making her the first person from her family to achieve the feat.
While she was still speaking, she came under scrutiny by the Senior Pastor of the church, Paul Enenche, who sought to know the kind of degree she bagged.
The woman, who was obviously tensed, stuttered a bit before responding that her degree was a BSc in Law.
Hardly had she completed her sentence than Pastor Enenche rebuked her for coming to lie at the altar of God.
He dismissed her testimony as a lie and even queried her spoken English, saying it fell short of that expected of a lawyer, adding that that was his cue to know that her testimony was fake.
Nothing could be more embarrassing.
This is a woman whose story is one of dogged determination, who despite her life circumstances, defied the odds to not just read law, but become the first graduate in her family.
I’m almost certain she wasn’t referring to just her nuclear family, but many generations. This was, therefore, the most remarkable moment in her life.
I wonder how she was able to walk away from there in one piece.
I know I wouldn’t be able to if I were in her shoes.
I would probably break down in tears and would need to be carried away from that altar.
What makes it even worse is that the woman was not given an opportunity to explain herself.
The pastor said no matter how bad (apparently referring to the decline in the standard of education), things were not as bad as demonstrated by the woman in her poor grammatical expression.
It will interest Pastor Enenche to know that things have gotten to that level. There are a lot of half-baked, scratch that, unbaked graduates all around Nigeria and I have met many of them but I digress.
Veronica was simply tagged a liar before a large congregation, maybe including her family and friends and she had to take a walk of shame off the stage.
Considering how many Pentecostals deify their men of God to God status, it is easy to understand how her nerves could have gotten the better of her and made her confidence drop when being interrogated by her ‘daddy’.
Could the pastor have handled it differently? For me, I’d say yes.
He was understandably miffed as he said, by an attempt to make it look like the word of God is fake or what God is doing is not real.
That notwithstanding, he could have been less abrasive.
Not a few people who speak good English are usually peeved when people speak so poorly but embarrassing anyone like that is inexcusable.
Ms Veronica must be really traumatised and I can only hope that with the passage of time, she will put this episode behind her and move on.
From the woman’s story, it is clear that she may not have had the privilege of a solid educational foundation, which could be the reason for her below-average spoken English but that does not put her intellect into question as she could study, write examinations and pass to earn her degree, particularly when you consider that the exams were not oral.
Not everyone is blessed with the power of elocution. Agreed, it is one of the attributes a lawyer should possess but those not so blessed pick up the skill along the way and for a woman with such grit, there’s nothing to say she wouldn’t have improved herself somewhere along the line.
Pictures of her at her convocation ceremony as well as a screenshot of her name on the university graduation list have since emerged as proof that she indeed attended the university and graduated as claimed.
I have met some lawyers who speak worse English and their written English is not any better. They are the ones who talk of “power or Anthony”, “satisfied true copy” and the like.
I have also had reason to edit court filings for lawyers and the kinds of errors I see leave me horror-struck but that does not impugn on their intelligence as some of them have gone on to win cases with those badly written documents.
In this country, there was a time when there were debates about knowledge of the English language and people argued that the ability to speak good English was not the true test of intelligence. Much as I did not agree with that, the standard should not be changed now that it’s Ms Veronica’s turn. Let’s maintain the same energy, please.
Quite frankly, when I watched the now-viral clip and heard her talk about bagging a BSc in Law, I was also taken aback because the law degree known to me is the LLB.
I carried out a search on the website of NOUN and found that what the university offers is indeed an LLB degree, which is a five-year programme as the woman had rightly stated. Never mind that it took her bout 8 years to graduate.
However, further research showed that Bachelor of Science Law (BSL) degrees are offered in universities in other parts of the world.
According to Wikipedia, “the Bachelor of Science in Law (BSL) is a somewhat special-purpose undergraduate degree that is typically intended for students who have completed some undergraduate education, but not received a baccalaureate degree, and are intending to resume their education and commence the study of law, ultimately towards a Juris Doctor degree, but need a bachelor’s degree first. Academic work at the start of a law program is sometimes combined with previous academic credit to form the basis of a BSL award. The BSL degree is also sometimes intended for students who do not intend to attend law school, but are instead becoming paralegals or other legal assistants.”
Further research showed that the Bachelor of Science in Legal Studies degree programme prepares students for entry-level positions in the fields of law, government, civil service, public advocacy, and business compliance.
While she may not have bagged a BSL as she stated, as a result of stage fright, Ms Veronica has succeeded in helping many of us learn something new and it is worth commending her for.
Her story is also inspiring and worthy of commendation.
The church, following the example of Jesus Christ, is supposed to be a safe space where people are neither judged nor condemned.
The embarrassment the outburst must have caused her cannot be easily wished away but she should draw strength from the experiences of others like Mr Shem Obafiaye, the NSCDC officer of “Oga at the Top” fame.
It’ll pass.
The church has already issued a statement explaining the circumstances and the regrets expressed by its senior pastor over the incident.
A video has also surfaced online of Ms Veronica flanked by Enenche and his wife, wherein she said she had put the incident behind her and was now cool with her spiritual parents.
It is my hope that beyond the photo ops, the Pastor will find a way to draw his ‘daughter’ back and correct her with love.
He may also need to take a course or two in diplomacy and compassion. Such open rebuke could lead to dire consequences for those not mentally strong.
