I have been reading articles on Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) which has empowered the Registrar-General of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) to monitor the financial spending of the religious bodies in Nigeria. The law from what I can see empowers the CAC to probe the finances of the church and possibly sack trustees found to be fraudulent and appoint interim managers. And the Nigerian pastors are crying wolf over this.
Look, I am a Christian. Political government in the actual sense of the matter has no business in the affairs of the church. The reasons are that it is a spiritual institution which is answerable to God. Again, the government is not contributing anything to the church. And since the Nigerian government is not contributing anything to the church, there is no need pokenosing into the affair of the church.
What is the government going there for? If the money there is stolen, what concerns the government? Is it the government money? So much money of government is being stolen, what has the government done about that? Has it recover all the money from the political fraudsters before stretching the hand into the church?
Rather it is the church that is helping the government. During the COVID-19 lockdown, many churches donated money and other items to the federal government. Some donated to states in their respective domains. If I don’t know any, I think I remember Deeper Life donated N50million to the government. The church is helping the government in many ways. But I cannot pinpoint one thing the government has done for the church in Nigeria that would warrant government screening the account of churches and if found wanting, sack the trustees and appoint interim managers.
But I must say this, Nigerian pastors have not done too well. Many of them are flaunting wealth acquired from members of their churches. Some are establishing churches specifically for business, just to make money and feed their pockets and families. Some are buying expensive cars, jeeps and cruising the streets of Nigerian cities as politicians do. Some are flying private jets from city to city and from one country to the other. Yes, some are heavily rich as the politicians of this world. While their members are languishing in penury, the pastors are cruising in expensive cars.
Some are even richer than the politicians in the country. It pains my heart to see pastors now competing among themselves to know who is richer than the other. Forbes Magazine is now showing richest pastors in Nigeria, along with politicians and other business moguls. There is now a competition among pastors to outdo the other in terms of wealth and fame. And you think the government is not jealous, you lie. But look at this. Who owns the church money? Is it the pastor or the church? And if it’s the church, why attributing the assets of the church to the pastor?
The house of God being a centre for spiritual rejuvenation, many Nigerian pastors have turned it to business centres and since they have turned it to business centres, the Nigerian government must come in to supervise what the pastors are doing. Do you blame the government? You don’t need it, blame the pastors who are milking members and living larger than the people they are serving. Some people who do not have job in the circular world are turning to become overnight pastors and with their sugarcoated tongues, milk their members and within few years they join the league of rich pastors and the competition continues. Do you blame the government? No, you don’t need it! Blame the pastors. If the pastors were actually doing the will of God and not showing wealth, I do not think the government will think of probing their finances.
