Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor will soon hand over the reins as the president of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN). Always adorning a gold chain around his neck, many would say the controversial pastor is the embodiment of materialism in Christendom in Nigeria. Ironically, he preached against those values in an interview with Punch newspapers.
“Where is the place of business in the church? I think the problem we have in the church is that a lot of these pastors are not “men of God” as they were not called. They are mercenaries, commercially minded people. The duty of the church is to preach morality not materialism and because Nigerians are very gullible; they are easy victims of deceit. They fall prey to some of these pastors or prophets of doom. The way they live gives a wrong impression of what should be in a church of God. There should be no room for material possessions. I am not saying a man of God should not live a life of comfort but it should be a life of good comfort”.
Oritsejafor also pointed at commercialization of the church as one reason why the body has become the target of kidnappers.
“It is unfortunate that we are having this kind of problem because most places of religious gathering, particularly of the Christian faith, are seemingly reducing their faith to commercials. So many people think they have money and most of them live a flamboyant lifestyle. As such, the kidnappers mistake them for money men but there is nothing there. The kidnappers would be kept at bay if they stopped preaching prosperity and allowing dirty money to go into the church coffers. I also think the church is losing its moral values. The values are disappearing gradually. We should preach values and not materialism. I think the churches themselves should look inwards and correct the poor impression they are giving people outside that there is money in the church, whereas there is none”.
Oritsejafor had a very good relationship with former president Goodluck Jonathan. He says that hasn’t changed, calling the erstwhile Nigerian leader his son.
“I’m often shocked to read on the pages of newspapers negative reports about him (Jonathan). Goodluck Jonathan is my son and he is still my son. He meant well for the nation and he did his best, but if critics say he was bad; I don’t know the parameter they measured that with. It is unfortunate that Nigeria’s governance speaks different processes, especially those termed to have failed. Nigerians see that as an avenue to pour out their anger, insults and others. Goodluck Jonathan did his best to fix Nigeria but sabotage swung into action to ensure he did not succeed. It is laughable to read so many negative and unfounded stories about him. However, he had played his role as President and the rest is history. Our relationship is still cordial and as a leader of a church, I’m the father of all”.
What does he make of Kaduna state governor El-Rufai’s bill to curb noise pollution from the altar?
“Governor Nasir el-Rufai has seemingly taken the wrong step. He should call a meeting of all the stakeholders in that state with respect to religious activities before rushing to the state Assembly for any bill. Be that as it may, we have to be very careful if there is any bill intended to wear religious colouration. When Sharia was introduced into this country we were lucky to have a Christian President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, who tamed it. Nigeria would have been engulfed by the conflagration. Sharia would have been misunderstood. There are already enough laws in the statue book that take care of what Governor El-Rufai has in mind. I have no objection if he wants to curb noise pollution in the name of religion. I quite agree if this is the basis. But in a situation where it is meant to tackle extremism, libel, sedition, incitement and more, there are enough laws in our statute book for this. Doing otherwise is not good for him. I have tremendous respect for him for he was the person bold enough to say that there should be no more street begging. Yes, that was a sensible thing because even in the Islamic countries such is not allowed”.
Oritsejafor also scored current president Muhammadu Buhari high thus far.
“I thank God for all that has happened. Nigeria is at present undergoing processes with a view to improving the economy and well-being. I am glad with the slogan ‘change’, but we must pray hard for the manifestation of the change. President Buhari has the integrity of no food for lazy persons. It is okay but we must make moves for consistent prayers for him to succeed, Nigeria is our noble country, we must salvage it together consistently with prayers. Buhari’s reformation should be holistic and not targeted at particular persons or sectors. It is a welcome development to fix Nigeria as a noble country”.
You can read the full interview in Punch
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