LATTER Rain Assembly founder and former vice presidential candidate Pastor Tunde Bakare has revealed that he rejected a gift of a brand new Rolls Royce as a 60th birthday present in an indication that Nigerian clergyman are abandoning ostentation.

Traditionally, Nigerian evangelical pastors have been the most flamboyant and ostentatious in the world, living like the Arab sheikhs and billionaire businessmen. Many of them own private jets, fleets of private cars, universities, dozens of houses across the world and strings of commercial businesses.

Known as pastorprueners, Forbes said that Nigerian evangelical pastors are among the richest clergymen in the world. Last year, it valued the wealthiest five as Bishop David Oyedepo of Living Faith World Outreach Ministry, aka Winners Chapel; Chris Oyakhilome of Believers' Loveworld Ministries, aka Christ Embassy; Matthew Ashimolowo of Kingsway International Christian Centre; Chris Okotie of Household of God Church and Temitope Joshua of Synagogue Church of All Nations.

In what appears to be a departure from this norm, Pastor Bakare said that he rejected the gift because he earnestly yearns for a better Nigeria where there is good governance and an equal distribution of the nation’s resources. Speaking while ministering during the inauguration and commissioning of Grace and Glory Chapel in Ikeja, Lagos, he added that he was not interested in becoming a local champion in a city of the blind.

According to Pastor Bakare, some persons brought him a Rolls Royce 2015 model during his 60th birthday which, he said, he out rightly rejected. He added that he was not in need of such an exotic car while the majority of Nigerians are wallowing in poverty.

Pastor Bakare added: “I want to see good governance, I want to see discipline, I want to see equitable distribution of resources, I want to see the poor being educated and I want to see a nation that works. I don’t want to be a local champion in a city of the blind and I am not in need of a 2015 model of Rolls-Royce, which was presented to me as a gift.

“I was sitting at home one day and they brought in a brand new 2015 Rolls-Royce into my house as my 60th birthday was coming. I looked at it and said kai, this is awkward as when you open your car, your door goes this way, and its own door goes that way and it clears the way so that there is nothing blocking your way."

He added that the car even had special holders for umbrellas on every door. Pastor Bakare added: "Then I said oya, leave this place. Where is the road that I will ride it upon?

"My heart is not in things like this. I asked my son to take a photograph of the brand new car as a proof.”

Pastor Bakare also averred that poverty has made most Nigerians to believe that anybody without a jet has not arrived. He added that a majority of those who bought jets can no longer maintain such jets and are busy leasing them out.


http://www.nigerianwatch.com/news/6299-tunde-bakare-rejects-gift-of-rolls-royce-and-calls-on-other-pastors-to-do-likewise

Some will gladly take it.

tpacalipse:
Some will gladly take it.

without any reluctant

Do people still take this man seriously?

I believe he has shown in principle that you don't really need to show opulence like celebrity musicians or sports persons in order to prove God has blessed you.
But then, I'm thinking of the people living under deprivations which he also mentioned.
It would have made some difference in their lives if he had collected the gift, call for an auction/fund raiser on it and use the money to bless those folks.