₦airaland Forum

By Highered

What has Oyedepo himself got to say about the Forbes Ranking?

In an Interview with Reuters in 2014 Oyedepo said the following When asked about the $150 million Forbes’ estimate of his fortune, he said: “For me, to have fortune means someone who has what he needs at any point in time. I don’t see myself as having $150 million stacked up somewhere. Whatever way they found their figures, I am only able to say I am blessed by the Lord.”

He added that he could not estimate the church’s total revenues or expenditure on items such as salaries because the various departments, including education, were too diverse. Winners Chapel’s Corporate Affairs department told Reuters that the church has employed more than 18,000 people in Nigeria alone.

Source:
https://mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSKCN0I104B20141012



[b]Why is the $150 Million USD tag an insult to Oyedepo?
Saying Oyedepo is worth 150 million USD is saying that his needs can't be met above 150 million USD. It is putting his capacity within a financial limitation when it is truly within the confines of God's capacity. Why boast of owning 150 million USD when God promised in Phil4:16 to supply all your needs according to his riches in Christ Jesus. The supply of Christ is infinite and is not limited to that persons capacity. The true financial worth of a child of God lies in Jesus.


How did Forbes come about the 150 million USD claim?


First of all to address that report we need to go back to the initial Forbes report in 2011


The Blogger who posted this on June 27, 2011 at 12:22pm on Forbes Magazine's Website goes by the name Mfonobong Nsehe.
According to Nsehe

"After the blog post I wrote in May about Nigerian pastors owning private jets, I was bombarded with emails from readers requesting to know the richest pastors in Nigeria. So I set out to investigate the assets of some of Nigeria’s most prominent pastors, and I came up with conservative estimates of their fortunes. I contacted representatives for all of the pastors and all except Matthew Ashimolowo’s representative confirmed ownership of the assets I list. Representatives for Pastor Ashimolowo did not respond to my emails."


Source: https://www.google.com.ng/amp/s/www.forbes.com/sites/mfonobongnsehe/2011/06/07/the-five-richest-pastors-in-nigeria/amp/

So first of all this blogger applied to get information from Churches regarding the Assets of the Pastors. Which he mostly didn't get so he most likely tallied all of the Church's property alongside the Pastors 'assets' and made his conservative estimate since he couldn't identify the difference. Meaning he had calculated what he believed was the financial value of the Universities, the non existent four jets(all which he cited) to come up with his 'conservative estimate'.

Now all of the universities, jet, books are actually properties of the Church and not one particular person. Because they were all established by the Collective funds of the Church and are registered under the World Missions Agency - which is the mission arm of the Church. To tally them as properties of Oyedepo would be tantamount to accruing all Hospitals, Schools owned by the Catholic Church or Anglican to Pope Francis or ArchBishop Welby.

While Bishop Oyedepo serves as the Life President of WMA, he would remain the Executive Custodian of these Church Assets alongside the Board Of Trustees of the said Organization till his exit in which another President would inevitably have to be appointed.

Secondly, Mfonobong Clearly never went nor gained access to Covenant, Landmark Universities nor the Church's Hangar to assess the financial value or legal ownership of the said institutions or jet before coming up with his spurious 150 million USD claim.

Lalasticlala

Empredboy:
are u a follower of Old Testament or new one? tell us one rich man that won the favour of God in the New Testament.
why do you people preach like the Pharisees who like to quote the scriptures to favour themselves? the Carmel and the needles eye alone explains it all even to a novice yet you saying the needle is something else. anything you said the needle is can the Carmel pass through it with ease? in simple English the Carmel and the rich man is a simily

Cornelius, Governor Sergio Paulus etc. By the way if the OT promises wealth and NT promises Poverty then we might as well just say that OT is better than NT. But no, Prosperity is God's wish for his people irrespective of dispensation.

Empredboy Christ condemned prosperity but the Old Testament promote it. who are we to follow?

If you belief Jesus condemned Prosperity, then may you never Prosper in Finances till you die. If you say Amen I would accept your Argument.

What has Oyedepo himself got to say about the Forbes Ranking?

In an Interview with Reuters in 2014 Oyedepo said the following When asked about the $150 million Forbes’ estimate of his fortune, he said: “For me, to have fortune means someone who has what he needs at any point in time. I don’t see myself as having $150 million stacked up somewhere. Whatever way they found their figures, I am only able to say I am blessed by the Lord.”

He added that he could not estimate the church’s total revenues or expenditure on items such as salaries because the various departments, including education, were too diverse. Winners Chapel’s Corporate Affairs department told Reuters that the church has employed more than 18,000 people in Nigeria alone.


Source: https://mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSKCN0I104B20141012



Why is the $150 Million USD tag an insult to Oyedepo?
Saying Oyedepo is worth 150 million USD is saying that his needs can't be met above 150 million USD. It is putting his capacity within a financial limitation when it is truly within the confines of God's capacity. Why boast of owning 150 million USD when God promised in Phil4:16 to supply all your needs according to his riches in Christ Jesus. The supply of Christ is infinite and is not limited - this is what Oyedepo has tried to explain many times and has been misconstrued always.

How did Forbes come about the 150 million USD claim?


First of all to address that report we need to go back to the initial Forbes report in 2011


The Blogger who posted this on June 27, 2011 at 12:22pm on Forbes Magazine's Website goes by the name Mfonobong Nsehe.
According to Nsehe

"After the blog post I wrote in May about Nigerian pastors owning private jets, I was bombarded with emails from readers requesting to know the richest pastors in Nigeria. So I set out to investigate the assets of some of Nigeria’s most prominent pastors, and I came up with conservative estimates of their fortunes. I contacted representatives for all of the pastors and all except Matthew Ashimolowo’s representative confirmed ownership of the assets I list. Representatives for Pastor Ashimolowo did not respond to my emails."


Source: https://www.google.com.ng/amp/s/www.forbes.com/sites/mfonobongnsehe/2011/06/07/the-five-richest-pastors-in-nigeria/amp/

So first of all this blogger applied to get information from Churches regarding the Assets of the Pastors. Which he mostly didn't get so he most likely tallied all of the Church's property alongside the Pastors 'assets' and made his conservative estimate since he couldn't identify the difference. Meaning he had calculated what he believed was the financial value of the Universities, the non existent four jets(all which he cited) to come up with his 'conservative estimate'(if you read his Profiling of Oyedepo, it is clear he estimated the value of Covenant university and the non existent FOUR Jets as what made up Oyedepo's worth)

Now all of the universities, jet, books are actually properties of the Church and not one particular person. Because they were all established by the Collective funds of the Church and are registered under the World Missions Agency - which is the mission arm of the Church. To tally them as properties of Oyedepo would be tantamount to accruing all Hospitals, Schools owned by the Catholic Church or Anglican to Pope Francis or ArchBishop Welby.

While Bishop Oyedepo serves as the Life President of WMA, he would remain the Executive Custodian of these Church Assets alongside the Board Of Trustees of the said Organization till his exit in which another President would inevitably have to be appointed.

Secondly, Mfonobong Clearly never went nor gained access to Covenant, Landmark Universities nor the Church's Hangar to assess the financial value or legal ownership of the said institutions or jet before coming up with his spurious 150 million USD claim.

In summary Nsehe sat behind a Computer and made a Guess of what Oyedepo owns and is worth. A true analysis of Oyedepo's worth would include an analysis of his bank account(s), value of his Victoria Island house, his car. Hence people should stop quoting or lumping Covenant university, the imaginary four jets, businesses in canaanland as properties of Oyedepo.

The bible admonishes us to investigate all things to certainty. It took me little time of dedicated study to realise the massive loopholes in the claims of Oyedepo being 150 Mill rich made by nsehe of Forbes. I equally only hear people say that Oyedepo said that it is an insult for him to be said to worth 150 million usd. But they never make reference to why he sees financially valuing him as an insult. I am worth Philipains 4:19, Oyedepo too is worth Philipains 4:19 end of story.

Rantings upon rantings. No sense in the post whatsoever

Churches evolve with time and that's ok. The most important thing is not to evolve out of your message of Christ. Christ must be center and in focus. Every other thing is in debate.

paxonel:
Lets be sincere,
If freeze is having issues with pastors that doesn't mean he is having issues with Jesus Christ.
I understand sometimes he jump into issues that are not relevant or saying things that are not true but the moment he realises his mistake he redraws, just like the way he deleted his comment when he realizes that pastor vc osibanjo's son inlaw to be is not a Muslim.
But in all, he has been bold enough to ask questions many Nigerians are afraid and never bothered to ask and he is gradually causing a revolution towards the right direction.

God can use anyone

[b]Focus on his message, not on his intentions [/b]because you cannot assume his intentions until you understand what he is trying to pass across

Focusing on the message not the intention is what got Eve into trouble with the serpent. I tell you today that the intention is more important than the message.

Lalasticlala

A serious Govt would have appointed Oloyede as Efcc chairman already.
Lalasticlala

9,000 is simply too much. That's the entire size of Abuad from 100-500 level.
Lalasticlala

Sorry dear. Such things happen. But know that she is in a better place. A place of joy and no tears. Someday you would get to see her again. Just don't let sorrow weigh you down

Lalasticlala

SpoiltVirgin:
u dey mind nairaland critics. Dem dey comment on wetin dem no know about. If u know Oyedepo personally, u will know that he is a modest man.

I have a house in Atan. Very close to Canaanland. I think ppl criticize pastors without correct information. I don't see any trait of flamboyance in Oyedepo at all. I have also seen his house in canaanland, nothing special. I admire this church infact....

ogbeniolola:
Please leave pope and imam for this matter o!....Catholics are the true christians and you won't see any of their ministers involved in ostentatious lifestyle; they are always preaching ressurection! As for imams, i can tell you the number of muslim clerics that can afford to own good cars let alone fly private jets!.....All these pentecostal have changed everything! I don't know if its the same life God is referring to in the Bible and Quran!

You are being deliberately stupid! Have you seen Sultan of Sokoto's rolls Royce or have you seen his 700million mansion in Abuja.

madridguy:
I want 90%.

So you can make it look like Afghanistan abi. oloshi

..

Now with the way they accuse this man I was expecting to see him ride Ferrari, Bugatti or a Rolls Royce. I remember seeing this same car on LIB about three or four years ago.

Mr Kegayame also proceeded to give a lecture to students of international relations Covenant University on International Peace Architecture.

The Chancellor of Covenant University, Dr David Oyedepo, spared some minutes to welcome and exchange pleasantries with the Director of the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC), Mr Ronald Kayanja, during the visit of the UNIC team to the University on Wednesday, 14 February 2018.


https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1680828958630451&id=100001100882118

Lalasticlala

Lastly I have said it consistently that as long as Private Universities continue to employ these group of dimwits lecturers produced by a disastrous public education, some of the horrendous issues that are prevalent in public universities would rear its ugly head in the private sector.

There is a huge difference I have seen between lecturers bred inside Covenant university (or Private Universities), Foreign trained(partially or fully) and fully trained Nigerian public university lecturers... I recommend that private universities should immediately stop employing Lecturers with MSC and PhD from public Nigerian universities. Apart from the fact that they aren't technically sound they also have a poor working ethic. Private bred nigerian university lecturers are way more courteous, interactive and kind - I have been lectured by at least eight of them. While foreign trained are simply awesome - I have also been taught by a few myself.

I now share Oyedepo's sentiment in wanting to let his university operate only with her own Graduates in a few years time. Foreign lecturers should also be employed...
Ask AUN they don't deal with this kind of nonsense...

The summary of your story is that an HOD and her subordinate Lecturers are having issues. You've come out to crucify the hod. However, proper judgment can only be passed when you hear both sides of the story.

Your last paragraph which says "The real question is whether there is any serious government oversight of what is going on in these private Nigerian universities where there are no real offices that can protect students or faculty from abuse." is purely hilarious and I hope you know why. The real abuse are in State and FG universities in that order.

From my interactions with both Public and Private Universities over the years I bring you a

The Top 10 Nigerian Universities according to available Campus Residency, Top-Rate Faculty, Research, Teaching, Campus Safety, Academic Stability, Academic Infrastructure(Lab, Lab Equipment, Classes, Library facilities), Student Experience , Academic support, Extracurricular activities(sports, clubs etc), Internationalisation.


PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES

1) University Of Ibadan

2) University of Nigeria

3) University of Lagos

4) University Of Ilorin

5) Ahmadu Bello University Zaria

6) Federal University of Tech, Minna

7) Federal University of Tech, Akure

Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta

9) Obafemi Awolowo University

10) Nnamdi Azikiwe University




PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES


1) Covenant University

2) Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti

3) African University of Science and Technology

4) American University of Nigeria

5) Landmark University

6) Pan Atlantic University

7) Babcock University

Redeemers University

9) Elizade University

10) Bowen University

Lalasticlala

RedeemNigeria:
You try but this kind of topic doesn't get to front page on nairaland because you are pro-Christ

Lol as in ehn. Mention Rccg pastor did this bad or evil this and NL mods would forget that today isn't Sunday. The speed at which it would hit FP would be faster than that of light. This is one of the important reasons why the church should takeover the mountain of media - Sons of God strategically placed in key positions in Media advocating for Christ and his Church as opposed to the agents of Darkness amplifying propaganda against the Church.

I understand how this things work, all you need is tell a side of a story for so long people would begin to believe that side of the story as the entire story. Unfortunately most ppl don't know that half truths are dangerous than outright lies.

Afam4eva:
We will continue to criticize anything that we find wrong. be it Government, church, school or any institution for that matter.

Not when the criticisms are senseless, illogical and baseless to begin with.

The Criticism of Tithing or Giving to Church is baseless as it wasn't created by the Nigerian Clergy, it was well part of the operational mode of those who brought Christianity and has been in practice for thousands of years.

The criticism of private jets is also senseless. Many members are aware of their church's intention to buy jets so why are we bothered? No Church ever hid her jet so If a member isn't happy he should pocket his/her money. Simple! The way I was told the jet of winners was bought in 1997 after the Bishop climbed on the pulpit and called for donations, people donated and it was purchased. No divertion of funds, the stakeholders were fully involved and donated towards it.

The critism of fees in church universities is the most foolish one. They say congregation built schools yet congregation can't afford it. Unless you are part of the congregation it is really not your business either. Yale, Harvard, Oxford, Yonsei were all built and catered for by the Church(congregation) and today they charge in excess of $50,000 which poor Christian Americans can't afford. Yet these universities through innovations, inventions and research breakthrough have more than compensated for the loss of access to the poor. If the American Christians were short sighted as the unbelievers of Nigeria, Harvard would not have existed. Yale would be on her knees and the light of Notre Dame would be dim. The earlier we begin to see Church Universities from the angle of how they serve their Communities and not how they meet our own selfish demands the better.

So let your criticism be with brain

By Nneka Okumazie

The biggest problem Nigeria has is lack of good focus. There is no focus on major or simple problems, everything that is a debate or topic or focus or projects is not what will truly move Nigeria forward. Instead it is one foolish debate after another, one baseless argument after another, one terrible headline and no simple or useful sense to combat major problems from responsible quarters.

The most common foolishness in Nigeria now is criticism of the Church of GOD; Church, tithe, first fruits, Church online offering, Church private jets, Church pastors, Church branches, Church universities, Church testimonies, Church teachings, Church poor members, etc.



The debate is so stupid, so foolish, so flawed that no matter how smart a person may feel, the moment you participate in these kinds of argument, you are in the realm of the obtuse.

Nobody says true Churches are beyond criticism, they are not; nobody says there are no fake churches or feigned Christianity practices, there are. But in terms of many of the arguments against the Church of GOD, conflicted for the role of government, it is complete foolishness no matter who you are.



The mission of the Church of GOD is not to develop Nigeria. The Church is not even as cash rich as major oil, telecommunication, bank or top lotto, companies. The Church is about the Kingdom of GOD and the message of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

So many useless CSR in Nigeria, nobody can face them relentlessly as Daddy Freeze against the Church of GOD. So many companies with opaque deductions and charges with nothing revolutionary back into the country sympathizers of these companies say they are a business with shareholders for profit, not development.



They are exempted, but the Church of GOD is responsible for development, OK.

Entertainment in Nigeria is already saturated. Most contents are low quality, vulgar songs, awkward insensitive jokes, terrible film plots, mediocre football and other sport performance, yet entertainment sponsorship is highest in Nigeria. Entertainment is not development. In fact those low quality, uninspiring, entertainment are not relevant to mental or national development.

Yet, nobody can touch or criticize entertainment. How many songs can a person listen to or movies in Nigeria that will make an individual think to become a better professional? Yet people go to the Church of GOD, learn, get encouraged, and want to be better and ambitious on earth and for heaven. So this true Church is the problem, OK.

In Nigeria, why should you not go to Church, and pray, whether it is answered or not, if the prayer or well-wishing prophecies makes you feel better, why not? There is no security, no hospital, no safety, no light, no road, no money, no water, no order, no guarantee, no fire extinguisher, no law, no transparency, no equal opportunity, no investigation, no justice, fraud everywhere, corruption everywhere, no progress, no quality control, dirty environment, fetidness, direct and indirect prostitution, no sound education, no work, only one state is trying to be functional, no food, and no future, nothing, why should a person not go to Church?

Young Nigerians are leaving the country desperately, some drown at sea, some are stranded abroad, but finding ways to solve all the causes of this problem with the federal and state governments or some very useful CSR is not the case. It is the Church online giving that is the problem, OK.

People forget that the problems of Nigeria drove Church growth, not otherwise. If you want economic and infrastructural development from the Church of GOD, ask the government to pay taxes and oil revenues there. But the Church of GOD does what it has to do for its mission from the Scriptures.

Some people will like the option to pay online instead of cash, if the option is not for you ignore, it is not a reason for cheap shot at the Church when there are other organization options too and so many problems around, with no good sense or suggestion and realistic solutions with your vile platform.

If an overseer, truly called of GOD rides a private jet, let GOD who called that overseer be the judge. But that a Church owns a private jet and it is a reason to connect jet to poverty, sorry, the Church of GOD does not have the political power, policies and resources to alleviate poverty in this oddish Nigeria. Besides, if the worst thing an overseer will do is use a private jet that everyone knows about, it is far better than so many appalling things many kinds of terrible religious clerics do that no one knows about.

There are so many sectors and industries in Nigeria not under the power of the government, but those people there by themselves cannot reform themselves to shape their work to make Nigeria a better place. But from every angle, the Church is adjudged the problem, false, lie, false.

There are righteous rich people in true Churches in Nigeria, they support the work. Those who do not have enough, give what they have, not under any force. The Church of GOD is where true Christians connect with the Comforter, and they come, rich or poor, in joy or sadness. The Church of GOD is a place where lives are touched and minds are renewed.

But this Church is under attack. Not fair attack, not wise attacks, foolishness, and you watch how it has now become normal, on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, by those who opted to blindfold themselves and think the Church should be what they interpret not about the Kingdom of GOD.

Until Nigeria as a country starts to focus on actual development, there is almost no way it will move forward. There is nobody in this world that can turn off the Light of the Church of GOD, no matter the bitter attacks. Christians started in the Acts of the Apostles, and will remain until Jesus Christ of Nazareth returns, to redeem them to Him...

https://www.pmnewsnigeria.com/2018/02/09/church-god-nigeria-not-government-nigeria/

Lalasticlala

The National body of Joint Action Committee (JAC) of Nigerian universities have declared the 44th matriculation of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka illegal.

According to the body, the matriculation was conceived on crisis of illegality over the ongoing national strike of the unions across universities in the country.


DAILY POST reports that JAC is made up of three trade unions as follows: Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), Non Academic Staff Union (NASU) and National Association of Technologies (NATS).

Dr. Leku Ador, National Vice President of Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) made the declaration at the university of Nigeria, Nsukka during a peaceful protest by JAC members

Dr. Ador said that the matriculation was illegal because management of university of Nigeria, Nsukka hired the services of postgraduate students and youth coppers to do the work of the non teaching staff of the university in order to hold the matriculation against the earlier warning of JAC not to hold the matriculation till the strike is called off.

He explained that the national body of JAC held closed door meeting with the university management for five hours on the issue of the matriculation but the management would not listen and were hell-bent on holding the matriculation.


“We assembled at the gate of the university chanting solidarity songs to show the world that non teaching staff of universities across the country were not in support of the matriculation only for the police to throw canister tear gases on harmless members of JAC, chased us to a point on the instructions of the two deputy vice chancellors of administration and academic who stood at the gate with team of police men. Some of the members sustained wounds while trying to escape the tear gases being released on us at intervals” he noted.

“The UNN branch of JAC had earlier issued stern warning to the management and went round to faculties and hostels appealed to staff and students to disregard the matriculation as most the first year students have not been giving registration numbers while some are still grappling to pay school fees but the management defiled the warning and held the matrix in crisis”, he added.

He pointed out that the Vice Chancellors in Nigerian universities used the internally generated revenue (IGR) in the wrong way than solving immediate needs of universities, adding that the case of University of Nigeria, Nsukka was peculiar as the vice chancellor Prof Benjamin Ozumba had taken the national strike personal by arresting JAC chairman of UNN branch Mr. Paul Obodoike Erua twice.

“Paul Erua was recently bundled out from his home around 3am with his two sons after breaking his window from where police gained entry, tear-gased the apartment , his wife fainted and was rushed to hospital for medical attention.


“The canister tear gases expended on us the national executives of JAC at university of Nigeria, Nsukka was the climax of the whole show while protesting for our legitimate right for the federal government to pay us. Federal government reneged on the MoUs it signed with the unions since 2009 to date which prompted the ongoing national strike which is total till the needful is done and the earned allowances paid in full”, he added.

Dr Ador said that the case of UNN had been taken over by the national body of JAC and warned the local branch not to engage in any meeting with the management of the university of Nigeria, Nsukka.

He added that JAC National Body would henceforth over see the activities of the UNN branch since the meeting with the management ended in deadlock as they refused to listen..

https://www.google.com.ng/amp/dailypost.ng/2018/02/11/unn-44th-matriculation-illegal-jac/amp/

Lalasticlala

Then they(PDP) should understand they would NEVER win Lagos. never! The heritage of Lagos is not a free for all. We have our Heritage and our unique indigenous identity - which is Yoruba and we must preserve it just like everyone else preserve theirs. For this singular action of the PDP I would never ever vote PDP in Lagos, even for local govt chairman, irrespective of who their candidate is. Never!

4icu ranks web popularity and nothing more. Webometrics is the koko.

Well that's Christianity's biblical belief. If you are not a Christian you won't make heaven.

NPComplete:
Now that we have agreed on the bone of contention, let me address this.

The link you just shared does not in any way validate the argument that biblical principles helped any of those inventors. They could have as well been Muslims and still said God inspired them.

Lol don't be funny. Have you read Carson's Gifted hands before, you should pick it up and read it... There are many Christians who credit their work to inspiration from faith while I don't have a compendium for now. I would definitely make a thread of it some day.

Saverin:
HigherEd

It is called progression

There is nothing progressive about it. The Ivy leagues were always relevant even in those days that they were christian.

NPComplete:
Hey, Higherdeadhead.
Why don't u direct your arguments at Desyner who keeps insisting contrary to your argument that christian principles propelled great scientists forward? Could it because you are a mòron and can't tell he is making u look bad? He is the guy making the stupid arguments I am countering.
I have said time and again that Desyner's argument is why I am here. U keep pretending it is another because that relieves u of the burden of calling another Christian out.
Stupid Christians that can't correct each other when one is wrong.

How many Christians does it take to screw a lightbulb? Two. One to screw the wrong lightbulb and another to pretend he didn't just see the first do the wrong thing.
Fcking nincompoops.

Well I do believe that science can be inspired by faith. There are numerous scientist who built their science on spiritual inspiration. And if that's DesyNer point I still support it 100%

You can read examples of such innovations which were inspired by faith in God
http://www.beliefnet.com/inspiration/galleries/5-inventions-that-were-god-inspired-ideas.aspx?p=2

Naa Nigerians aren't bothered about things like this. They would rather run after churches that own jets which members are fully aware of...