Last month Nigerians were 'united' once again and this time it was in protest over the gift of a private jet to the Christian association of Nigeria (CAN) president, Pastor Ayodele Joseph Oritsejafor on the celeberation of his 70th birthday and 40 years of service in the lord's vineyard. The unusually expensive gift was said to have been donated to the cleric by some wealthy members of his church, the word of life Bible church, Warri.
The charges against the Reverend gentleman were varied and bordering on inexpediency, wrong timing, sobriety and poverty as a needful disposition for clergymen and women among other things. There was the school of thought that reasoned that clerics like Oritsejafor ought to resign to a life of poverty and modesty and as such ownership of a jet was a misplacement of his levitical priorities, some felt it was a display of materialism for the CAN president to 'purchase' a private jet, some others even questioned the relevance of clergies and even the church at this time.
The numerous social media platforms were awash with diverse conversation, baseless conclusions and uncharitable criticsms and to the unsuspecting observer, these conversations would appear to be relevant and must have also stirred up intense indignation towards the church, her clergies and congregants, but I wasn't fazed by these as I find that since social media has become effortlessly accesible, some lazy, armchair critics in our country have utilised it as a tool to yap on every and any topic. That is how we got to have emergency human right activists and even spiritual and political whistle blowers who LIE (on their couches at home with their blackberry phojes in their hands) in wait to condemn and (instead of STAND UP against) 'sit down' in front of their computers against what they consider to be wrong or better still draw their conclusions after reading other people's opinion on their BB pm's and BC's, tweets, facebook posts etc.
Church issues have become a really trending and fun topic these days on social media, not so with issues concerning other faiths. Churches are bombed on a weekly bases and lives are lost yet everytime that happens, social media is still in silence, people kill in the name of a paticular religion and no one questions what the clerics in that religion do to curb such excesses, wouldn’t you rather pay for a private jet than pay for an innocent man’s blood? But no one really dares to ask because we all know what the outcome will be, so we target all our activism at the ever timid, good old Christians.
Let me say that as a contemporary but very conservative Christian, I am saddened by the controversy that has characterised the Christian church in recent times and I strongly condemn both the clerics and lay people(including myself) who have been involved in activities that have fanned the flames of controversy and scandal in the church; whether it is about the catholic men of the cloth not living true to their (obsolete) oath of celibacy, fathering kids and keeping very serious love affairs with ladies or about Pentecostal clerics living ostentatious lifestyles at the expense of their flocks who ironically are the contributors of these resources, I am also very worried about the kind of materialistic homilies that our flamboyant, suave and debonnaire preachers churn out from the pulpit these days, it is these distorted homiletics that have formed the ethos of today's Christian church, coupled with the empty razzmataz that attends church meetings these days, as opposed to the solemn, reflective and worshipful character that ought to define our meetings, she seems to be rambling towards the dangerous territory of unfettered liberalism, the church.
When the news of the private jet came up, I was furious about the CAN president 'PURCHASING' a private jet in the midst of such prevalent poverty in the land, the spiritual umpires of our social media had painted such a negative picture about the issue that I believed the CAN president was a card carrying member of the PDP not until I discovered it was a gift. In an interview he granted, Pastor Ayo emphatically said ‘…I know some people buy planes but I can’t buy a plane, I can’t afford it, I don’t have that kind of money…’
When critics of the church lament the popularity of the prosperity gospel over the salvational, you'll be mesmerised and would be decieved into believing that they have such a hunger to hear the salvational and redemptive gospel when in fact they are mockers and scoffers of the 'Kumiyi/Deeper life-old-school-holiness-gospel'. These people like Judas (in John. 12:4-5) will always be there to speak out against what they perceive to be a waste of resources that should have been used for charity programmes, when they themselves don’t know the address to any orphanage, they aren't as pious as they appear but are hypocrites and opportunists who are merely condemning others for ‘offending’ the master that they probably don't have as much love for; #Dogs in a manger#.
I personally hold the view that this gift is rather ill-timed and I fear that private jet ownership is fast becoming a fad among Pentecostal pastors, but If this particular private jet is truly a gift from members of Pastor Oritsejafor’s church and not a reward (for his loyalty) from the PDP and in fact the president, as I am made to believe, then how is that a culpable crime? I hold nothing against Pastor Oritsejafor, I hold nothing against a man who has been a Warri based cleric for over 30 years and didn't 'hear from the lord' to relocate to Lagos, I hold nothing against a man who has affected thousands of poor people with his popular poverty alleviation programme that started years before the government thought of one, a man who runs a micro finance bank that assists strictly poor people from different tribes and religion with financial aid, a man who runs an orphanage and is giving hope to hopeless children, a man that runs a clinic that gives out FREE medical treatment every Sunday, this man has personally trained over a hundred graduates, people he never knew from anywhere. I am not one of his disciples neither do I even follow his ministry activities keenly but why should I criticise him just because the media wants me to? Why should the validity of a pastor’s calling be predicated on ownership of a private jet or not? Jesus once rode on a brand new donkey amidst pomp and pageantry in Luke 19 and I’m quite sure there must have been critics who wagged their tongues about it yet couldn’t accuse the saviour of any moral deficiency, why have we failed to see the many charity works that Pastor Oritsejafor is carrying out and why have they never received such media recognition?, why have we also failed to realise that despite the onslaught of the enemy on the church in these last days, he has fought against them in a way no other CAN president has?
My submission is thus, that we should desist from smearing the man’s personality just because he now owns a private jet, that if his itinerary and travel schedules require that he owns a jet, then what is all the fuss about, especially because he didn’t buy it with his money, that the prosperity gospel, when emphasised over core doctrinal subjects of the faith becomes very unhealthy to the spiritual health of the Christian believer, that indeed clergymen and women would rather lead modest, exemplary lives and also seek to channel their monies into other selfless, spiritually profitable investments other than the unwanton acquisition of private jets that they don't need and finally that if there is more to this paticular gift than meets the eye, #TIME WILL TELL#
I have hereby given my take on the private jet saga.
LETS LEARN TO FIRST REMOVE THE PLANK FROM OUR EYES SO THAT WE SEE CLEARLY TO REMOVE THE SPECK FROM OTHERS EYES(Mathew 7:5,LUKE 6:42)
J Offiong.

Once upon a time Ayo deviate money belonging to church of God's mission managed by late Benson Idahosa, to incorporate word of life bible church as its MD nd his wife Executive director

U c wt u 1t 2 c, they know what u 1t 2 hear.
Little wonder AdeBOYe would permit GEJ to use his 'altar' as a campaign platform in the guise of 'humility before God'..
Little wonder Oritsejafor's now a proud owner of a private jet...

Anyways, dem be Men Of God.. Even if dem rape una mama, no curse or abuse dem.. Dem be Men of God and God of Men...

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The church should be setting an example for the government of transparency and responsibility.

Unfortunately, these days, if it weren't for their cloaks, one wouldn't be able to tell the difference between a politician and a pastor..