The news media and
the social internet sites like Facebook, Twitter and several Nigeria online
portals have been abuzz since Saturday, 10th November, 2012, after
reports that Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, the President of the Christian Association
of Nigeria (CAN) and President of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN),
had joined the rarefied ranks of Nigerian Pastors who owned private jets. It
was Pastor Ayo’s Birthday and he was also celebrating his 40th
Anniversary as an Ordained Minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. So, some
wealthy members of the Church where he serves as the Senior Pastor, Word of
Life Bible Church, Warri, contributed money and bought an airplane as a gift
for him. The President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, was among the several local and
international dignitaries who were in Warri to rejoice with Pastor Ayo on the
august occasion.
Expectedly,
criticisms have trailed the development. Pastor-bashing is now common-place in Nigeria, and
especially on social media like Facebook, even by some who claim to be
"Christians" but have no understanding whatsoever of the Bible and
have no respect for spiritual authority.
Not unexpectedly, even the latter-day “social critic”,
good governance “crusader” and President Jonathan-basher, Mallam Nasir El
Rufai, joined the band-wagon not wanting to miss an opportunity to politicise
the matter. He tweeted "@afo4u: @elrufai And the church members are
wallowing in abject poverty"...irony of life, but it is CAN, PDP
branch...so anything is possible.
And, in
response to El Rufai’s malicious tweet which went viral on the internet, some
have even alleged that it was the Presidency that actually bought the private
jet for Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor!!
The statement by Nasir El Rufai, a chieftain
of the Congress of Progressive Change, who has been critical of the Joint Task
Force for its response to Boko Haram activities in the north, underscores the
manifest mischief of some who have been attacking Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor using
the airplane gift as their excuse.
This is not surprising. Pastor Ayo
Oritsejafor’s election as the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria
in 2010 was historic. It was the first time that someone from the Pentecostal
fold would become the President of CAN. His emergence as CAN's leader also
happened at a time when the terrorist jihadist group, Boko Haram, began
escalating its murderous activities in the northern part of Nigeria. And in
January, 2011, just months after Pastor Ayo's elevation as CAN's President, the
Central Bank of Nigeria under the leadership of its Governor, Mallam Sanusi
Lamido Sanusi, introduced its Malaysia-style Islamic Banking which Justice
Gabriel Kolawole of the Federal High Court, Abuja, recently declared to be
unconstitutional and illegal. It became incumbent on Pastor Ayo to articulate
and voice out the stance of the Nigerian Church on these two issues. And his
passion and conviction in dealing with these issues have come to define public
perception about him.
For many Christians, particularly in northern Nigeria, Pastor Ayo's leadership of CAN could not have been more timely. Not one to be intimidated into silence, Pastor Ayo's forceful statements on national issues cannot be ignored. For those who would have preferred him to be subservient and kow-tow to the reactionary elements who, though not even of the Christian faith, had successfully influenced the actions of some of the past leaders of CAN, Pastor Ayo was soon accused of "heating up the polity" even when it was clear to all that he was merely responding to the actions of those who were actually causing division, strife and the death of thousands of innocent and hapless Nigerians. For a man known for his utmost commitment to God and the establishment of His Kingdom, hypocritical posturing and pandering to the gallery for photo opportunities to be hailed as a politically correct "pacifist" while thousands of his Christian brothers and sisters are plunged into utter misery and rendered widows, widowers or orphans was not an option. Loquacious Mallam Nasir El Rufai merely gave voice to his constituents who have been frustrated by Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor’s uncompromising and principled stance on the on-going war against the Church and Christians in Nigeria!
For many Christians, particularly in northern Nigeria, Pastor Ayo's leadership of CAN could not have been more timely. Not one to be intimidated into silence, Pastor Ayo's forceful statements on national issues cannot be ignored. For those who would have preferred him to be subservient and kow-tow to the reactionary elements who, though not even of the Christian faith, had successfully influenced the actions of some of the past leaders of CAN, Pastor Ayo was soon accused of "heating up the polity" even when it was clear to all that he was merely responding to the actions of those who were actually causing division, strife and the death of thousands of innocent and hapless Nigerians. For a man known for his utmost commitment to God and the establishment of His Kingdom, hypocritical posturing and pandering to the gallery for photo opportunities to be hailed as a politically correct "pacifist" while thousands of his Christian brothers and sisters are plunged into utter misery and rendered widows, widowers or orphans was not an option. Loquacious Mallam Nasir El Rufai merely gave voice to his constituents who have been frustrated by Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor’s uncompromising and principled stance on the on-going war against the Church and Christians in Nigeria!
As far as I know, the Nigerian Pastors that currently have private jets are Bishop David Oyedepo, Pastor Adejare Adeboye, Pastor Chris Oyakhilomen and, of course, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor who was given one just last Saturday by members of his congregation as he celebrated 40 years of ministry.
These men have to travel very frequently around the world ministering. Redeemed Christian Church of God has thousands of branches and millions of members on all continents of the world. Winners' Chapel and Christ Embassy equally have many international branches and hundreds of thousands of members. Pastor Adeboye, Bishop Oyedepo and Pastor Oyakhilomen travel thousands of kilometres monthly doing God's work and have to be in places not well-served by commercial flights. On his part, Pastor Oritsejafor travels every other day within and outside Nigeria as the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria. tI do not worship in Pastor Ayo's Church, but I know him personally and can confirm that he hardly spends a full week at home in Warri because of his very busy ministry itinerary. So, for logistic reasons, having private airplanes is actually a NECESSITY for these men of God. The private jets are imperative if they are to do the work God has committed into their hands effectively and efficiently. This is not just about luxury or status.
The Pope rarely travels more than thrice internationally in a year. Yet the Pope has a private jet. Why has nobody complained about that?!
Very few know about the social and philanthropic work which these men of God, and thousands of others, are doing. In reality, the Church is doing more than any government, international agency or Non-Governmental Organisation to fight poverty, illiteracy and diseases in Nigeria today. The Church in Nigeria is much more effective than the government at all levels! It is not just in the habit of Churches and Christian Ministers to be boasting about their poverty-alleviation programmes and charity works like companies and many non-faith based NGOs love to do for public commendation and approval. They leave God, the Rewarder, to judge what they do in the "closet" and reward their good works both here on earth and in the hereafter.
That there are some Pastors who are fleecing the sheep and whose god is their bellies, does not mean all wealthy Pastors are scammers. Many of them are entrepreneurial and do not even get remuneration from their Churches. In fact, they are often the biggest donors/givers in their Church.
Prosperity is scriptural. The worship of Mammon (money) is not. Let us not be like those "Christians" of whom Kenneth Hagin Sr. wrote in one of his books that they prayed: "Lord, please keep our Pastor humble. We will keep him poor"!
What was Jesus’ experience with matters like this?
Let’s see John 12:1-16:
1. Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.
2. Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honour. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him.
3. Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
4. But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected,
5. "Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages."
6. He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.
7. "Leave her alone," Jesus replied. "It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial.
8. You will always have the poor among you but you will not always have me."
9. Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came, not only because of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead.
10. So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well,
11. for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and believing in him.
12. The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem.
13. They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the king of Israel!"
14. Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written:
15. "Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt."
16. At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that these things had been done to him.
1. Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.
2. Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honour. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him.
3. Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
4. But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected,
5. "Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages."
6. He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.
7. "Leave her alone," Jesus replied. "It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial.
8. You will always have the poor among you but you will not always have me."
9. Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came, not only because of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead.
10. So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well,
11. for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and believing in him.
12. The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem.
13. They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the king of Israel!"
14. Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written:
15. "Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt."
16. At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that these things had been done to him.
If Jesus were alive today and a Nigerian, religiously-minded
"Christians" would abuse and condemn him for not agreeing to Judas
Iscariot's suggestion that the expensive perfume be sold and "given to the
poor". Some people like to point to the fact that Jesus rode a donkey into
Jerusalem. But, they conveniently ignore the verses in the same chapter of the
Bible (John 12 above) where we are told Mary poured perfume worth ONE YEAR'S WAGE. That is ABOUT N216,000 TODAY if
we use the minimum wage of N18,000 per
month!! Designer perfumes sell for no more than N20,000 for a 100ml bottle of
a high-end eau de parfum!!
The point is: "MODERATION" IS SUBJECTIVE! For example, if a person has a net-worth of sayN1Billion,
why would you begrudge him for having a car that costs even N50Million? Or why complain if he owns an
airplane that costs $5million if he thinks his business and lifestyle demand that
he owns a jet? And who says that means he cannot or does not give generously to
the poor?
The point is: "MODERATION" IS SUBJECTIVE! For example, if a person has a net-worth of say
What then would be said about very wealthy people in
the Bible whom God blessed exceedingly like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, David,
and Solomon, for example? And they were men of God: Prophets and Teachers.
David wrote a lot of Psalms and Solomon wrote much contained in the book of
Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. Solomon was so lavish in his lifestyle that the
Queen of Sheba heard of his opulence and travelled all the way to Israel to see
for herself.
1st Kings 10:
1. When the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon and his relationship to the Lord, she came to test Solomon with hard questions.
2. Arriving at
Jerusalem with a very great caravan—with camels carrying spices, large
quantities of gold, and precious stones—she came to Solomon and talked with him
about all that she had on her mind. 1st Kings 10:
1. When the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon and his relationship to the Lord, she came to test Solomon with hard questions.
3. Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too hard for the king to explain to her.
4. When the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon and the palace he had built,
5. the food on his table, the seating of his
officials, the attending servants in their robes, his cupbearers, and the burnt
offerings he made at the temple of the Lord, she was overwhelmed
6. She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your achievements and your wisdom is true.
7. But I did not believe these things until I came and
saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half was told me; in wisdom and wealth
you have far exceeded the report I heard. 6. She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your achievements and your wisdom is true.
8. How happy your people must be! How happy your officials, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom!
9. Praise be to the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on the throne of Israel. Because of the Lord’s eternal love for Israel, he has made you king to maintain justice and righteousness.”
10. And she gave the king 120 talents of gold, large quantities of spices, and precious stones. Never again were so many spices brought in as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.
11. (Hiram’s ships brought gold from Ophir; and from there they brought great cargoes of almugwood and precious stones.
12. The king used the almugwood to make supports for the temple of the Lord and for the royal palace, and to make harps and lyres for the musicians. So much almugwood has never been imported or seen since that day.)
13. King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she desired and asked for, besides what he had given her out of his royal bounty. Then she left and returned with her retinue to her own country.
14. The weight of the gold that Solomon received yearly was 666 talents,
15. not including the revenues from merchants and traders and from all the Arabian kings and the governors of the territories.
16. King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; six hundred shekels[ of gold went into each shield. 17 He also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold, with three minas[g] of gold in each shield. The king put them in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon.
18. Then the king made a great throne covered with ivory and overlaid with fine gold.
19. The throne had six steps, and its back had a rounded top. On both sides of the seat were armrests, with a lion standing beside each of them.
20. Twelve lions stood on the six steps, one at either end of each step. Nothing like it had ever been made for any other kingdom.
21. All King Solomon’s goblets were gold, and all the household articles in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. Nothing was made of silver, because silver was considered of little value in Solomon’s days.
22. The king had a fleet of trading ships[h] at sea along with the ships of Hiram. Once every three years it returned, carrying gold, silver and ivory, and apes and baboons.
23. King Solomon was greater in riches and wisdom than all the other kings of the earth.
24. The whole world sought audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom God had put in his heart.
25. Year after year, everyone who came brought a gift—articles of silver and gold, robes, weapons and spices, and horses and mules.
26. Solomon accumulated chariots and horses; he had fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand horses, which he kept in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem.
27. The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar as plentiful as sycamore-fig trees in the foothills.
28. Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and from Ku—the royal merchants purchased them from Kue at the current price.
29. They imported a chariot from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty. They also exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and of the Arameans.
Here is what someone wrote about King Solomon's wealth in a piece titled “King Solomon’s Wealth More Than Mr. Gates?” (http://www.solomonsuccess.com/king-solomons-wealth-more-than-mr-gates/):
“Everyone knows King Solomon’s wealth surpassed anything the ancient world had seen but was he richer than the world’s current richest man, Microsoft founder Bill Gates? Right now, Gates net worth is estimated at around $40 billion. To his credit, he’s signed a pledge to give half of it away and is at the forefront of a worldwide effort to eradicate AIDS and distribute computers to Third World countries. That aside, let’s take a hypothetical look at the numbers between the two men.
The New International Version of the Bible mentions King Solomon’s yearly salary at 666 talents of gold per year. One talent of gold equals 34.5 kg, which converts to 1109 troy ounces. A ballpark current value of gold is $960 per ounce. Multiply that out and the King’s salary was about $760 million per year. Not bad. Not bad at all. Multiply that by the 40 years he was in power and you end up with a figure of slightly over $30 billion. That’s just salary!
But
King Solomon’s wealth would not be complete without accounting for the other
property and assets he owned. Horses, land, etc. Plus, we’re figuring that if
he was investing by Biblical principles and had God’s voice in his ear, his
return on investment would have been a healthy one. Just taking a wild guess,
it seems like the King could have been the owner of a net worth that could
easily have translated into $100 billion today.
While we’re pretty sure he got no royalties for having authored parts of the Bible, and he did have 700 wives under his care, which surely must have been a serious drain on his budget, but the guy was doing alright, even by today’s standards”.
While we’re pretty sure he got no royalties for having authored parts of the Bible, and he did have 700 wives under his care, which surely must have been a serious drain on his budget, but the guy was doing alright, even by today’s standards”.
Let us
honour our men of God who are celebrated world-wide. If there is any veritable
case of fraud or embezzlement against any clergy-man, let the law take its
course. To generalise that all wealthy Pastors are thieves and assume that they
must be exploiting their Church members is twisted, unjust and wicked.
GOD BLESS NIGERIA!
Eghes Eyieyien
