When the billions begin to roll in
Timothy-Crown ADERIBIGBE
I have a piece of land, in case you want to start a church.
For a church, the first year is rent-free
One of the highlights of the just concluded convention of the Redeemed Christian Church of God is the request for donation of various amounts of money for certain projects in the church.
That may have been an aside, of the very many things that happened at the annual event. But like news, selectivity played up based on many reasons by the purveyors of the news one of which might have been to generate talk, generate conversation, and by extension money for themselves. I suppose that’s the reasons for many posts these days that one wonders if they came from the people they are alluded to.
The social media has taken advantage of man’s need of wanting to be heard. And, the more, the more. The more talk, reasonable or not, the more money. The unreasonable talks are even preferred than the well thought out opinions. They would rather the crux of the conversation is set aside while insults are traded along ethnic/racial or religious lines. That ‘dividesion’ is good for business and they know that, same way the Nigerian politician also knows where the division line of the Nigerian electorate lies.
As a social being, I’m selective of conversations to follow on any media. But I recall when a certain man buried his mother, the number of cows that littered the town in support. Aside from protein, many individuals seized the occasion to announce their wealth. One of Nigeria’s ‘Jack Bauer’ police investigator was said to be a friend to the celebrant then. Nigerians raised eye brow even when the police has always been said to be your friend. (I still wonder why people give the noun ‘police’ a plural verb. For example: police are coming. They claim it’s collective, then I ask what happens to army, navy, school, aren’t they collective enough?) Some even used their pictures together as some kind of evidence. There’s also the case of another man recently who gave conditions to whoever wanted to donate to his mother’s burial ceremony.
I’m not certain of too many condemnation of these ‘givings’, but fraud must be cited once the giving is done in or around a church setting; why?
I continue to say, if I do not question what you do in your house, you can’t hold an opinion over what happens in mine, once it’s not illegal or hampering anyone’s rights. For clarity purposes, I’m not a member of the denomination. I guess I don’t have to in order to straighten some reasoning.
Whoever can give one billion naira conveniently mostly likely don’t have just two billion naira. He/she most likely has more and so qualifies as a billionaire. To be a billionaire should mean that he/she has learnt the rules or laws of money. One of the laws is that you are not gullible even if it’s an inherited money. To have carried the money that far should count for something. Another law is that investment is non negotiable in keeping money for long. Another law is investing in terrain sometimes said to be foolish ( judging by the poor man’s eyes).
Anyone may choose to give everything he has, once it gives him/her joy. I know a special class of Nigerians who travel home every December to spend everything they had gathered in the course of the year. Some years, they borrow their transport fares back to their work station. The following year, they repeat the cycle. It gives them joy. If it does, why would anyone make himself an unfortunate counsellor.
My prayer is for God to so bless me that I will live out the lyrics of Gaise Baba’s song ‘We will spend for Jesus…We will spend the billions’.
But I guess the leadership of certain denominations in Nigeria should know that each of their actions is an ingredient for news. Both their actions and inactions are important. What they say, how they say it, when they say it and where, are all enzymes. And if they choose to tread with care and caution, it still won’t stop those whose job is to make a mountain out of a mole’s hill.
So, for those who are interested in opening a church to test how much their social or spiritual acumen can raise and to teach how to run a church that does not take donations from members and much more how to plow back every resource generated to the ministry in the form of free schools, hospitals, transportation, food, jobs and more for members, you may please reach out.
Timothy-Crown ADERIBIGBE is a journalist and strategic communication specialist
[email protected]
