Christian leaders have started reacting to
Pastor Tunde Bakare’s comments that a
revolution would consume religious leaders in
the country, and the way he condemned the
acquisition of jets by renowned Christian
leaders in Nigeria. One of those who reacted to Bakare’s
comments is the chairman of the Northern
Christian Elders Forum, Evangelist Matthew
Owojaiye, who said Bakare’s comments should
be ignored. Also, Apostle Isa El-Buba, the
General Overseer of Evangelical Bible Outreach Ministries International, Jos, Plateau
State, defended preachers who own jets,
concluding that Bakare’s condemnation of
these men of God was blasphemous. According to El-Buba, “There is nothing wrong
for a preacher to own a jet. If people in the
secular world can acquire jets for chief
executive officers of big private enterprises,
there is nothing wrong in giving gifts to a man
of God of Pastor Oritsejafor’s standing. This is a man of God that travels across the whole
world. He deserves what he has been given.” Similarly, the General Secretary of the
Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN),
Reverend Musa Asake, flayed Bakare, saying:
“What is wrong with giving a gift to Pastor
Oritsejafor? Did Pastor Oritsejafor embezzle
church money? Did he collect somebody’s money? Some people came together and
bought it for him so as to ease his work. This is
to help him to continue with the work of the
gospel. Oritsejafor is a man of God. He is
doing everything for the work of God… It is a
welcome idea. I support people who help ministers of the gospel in their work. He did
not go out to lobby for it. It was a surprise
for him. I was at that occasion. I saw things
myself,” he argued. Yet another Christian leader, Reverend Gideon
Oyibo, President of the Delta State Baptist
Conference, exonerated Pastor Oritsejafor,
saying there was nothing wrong with such
gesture. According to Oyibo, “The environment
influences the way people talk. If you come from a family background of poverty and a
member of the family is rich, people will
conclude that he is a ritualist. They will
conclude that he has stolen money, because in
that family, the members do not expect
anybody to be rich… In Nigeria, we have a traditional environment in which a pastor is
expected to operate by our own evaluation.
Whenever a pastor is living above our own
evaluation, then we can say anything about
that person… The question we should ask is
that: did Pastor Oritsejafor ask for the jet? Did he beg for it? Or was it that certain
people gathered together under the leading
of God and decided to buy it and present it
to him as a gift?”
www.informationnigeria.org/2012/11/private-jet-christian-leaders-back-ayo-oritsejafor-blast-tunde-bakare-say-poverty-mentality-is-the-problem-of-most-nigerians.html

DECEMBER 17th to 22nd IS ‘bad NIGERIAN road week’

December 17th to 22nd has been declared ‘bad Nigerian road week’.

We implore you to observe this day by posting online pictures of bad roads you have contended with this year in your neighbourhood and on your journeys. Kindly post a picture on facebook and twitter on this week.

Nigeria is not in a state of war, and yet we have roads that are so bad that you would be forgiven for thinking that we are just emerging from a civil war. How can we explain craters on our highways-craters that are so wide that vehicles have to pass through a bush path in order to continue their journey? How can we explain pot holes that straddle our local streets and states when our local authorities collect taxes as well as government allocations?

Is it possible to embarrass our leaders to action over the poor state of roads in the country? The answer to that question is a resounding ‘No!’ They know the state of the roads in the nation and they do not care. We the youth of Nigeria can however make our leaders uncomfortable using the power of social media.

The traditional media has been compromised by publishers who wine and dine with the people in power. Social media however is your voice, and you can use this medium to voice your displeasure. The power of social media is one that the president himself is aware of, hence his decision to announce his presidential candidacy via Facebook. Social media has brought down African dictators in recent years- dictators that were more prudent with their nation’s resources than our kleptomaniac rulers.

We are slowly arriving at a dangerous point where sane people begin to accept the abnormal with a shrug. Governors and the President buy private jets to fly across the country while the roads they are entrusted to maintain are death traps for the rest of us. Politicians are flown abroad for treatment while the majority of the population dies of treatable diseases every year. Public education is destroyed from primary to university levels and government officials send their children abroad to be educated. It is not normal, and we (the sane Nigerians) should stop accepting these things as normal lest we lose our sanity.

The work is plenty, but we shall start by bringing international attention to the state of roads in our country. Let us all mark this week, as a day to register our displeasure. Post a picture of a bad road, state the date it was taken, and location of the road that you feature.

Please send sms and BB messages to inform friends of this campaign. Also, rebroadcast this message to your e-mail contacts, and also post on Facebook and other social media sites. Let us unify and pressure our government to work.

We urge civil society groups to set up awareness programmes to coincide with the week, in order to publicize this campaign. Blog owners and young artistes are encouraged to use their popularity to promote this week of dissent and public awareness.

We talk too much without action in Nigeria, and you can be the one to change this attitude. Or are you not tired yet?

Remember that without activity from you, this message will not be successful. You can be part of a movement that seeks to ensure your comfort on Nigerian roads.

Invest as little as ten minutes of your time to this online activism. Send this message to as many people as possible.