The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) is the body that comprises all Christian bodies in Nigeria. In the real sense, if you were to dissect some – not all – churches in Nigeria, you will see a “CAN” of worms.
Firstly , I want to say there are true men of God out there, but some are actually god of men. The poverty in Nigeria has created hardship for a lot of people. Many people actually saw a fledging “industry” in church business. These are the money-conscious pastors talking about man robbing God every Sunday, when it is they that rob God.
In any case, are you God? Why don’t you let God bother about it? After the sermon of tithing, the bank account numbers are displayed on the screen, after which the pastor receives all the alerts. The Church combined may be richer than some components of the state. Some of the things they eventually use the money for, which are eventually stolen for, are not just ungodly, but sometimes are devilish.
While I will not mention names, I will give real life instances of scenarios. The examples are got from instances all over the world.
A young girl told a pastor that he got her pregnant and that she wanted to keep the child. The pastor had told her that he would divorce his wife and marry her. She was excited to relate the news to the pastor. He had promised to buy her a house abroad. At one of the crusades in a European city, he gave her all the offerings in the crusade, which was in thousands euros.
The girl was comfortable and even relocated to Nigeria because of the pregnancy. What was to befall her was like a scene from a Nollywood blockbuster. She visited the god of man and she was given juice laced with a concoction. That was how she got a miscarriage.
Livid with anger at the deceit, the girl took to the social media to get social media justice. The god of man called a friend of his who was one of the bosses in one of the agencies. What he said next was like a word from Lucifer: “I want you to kill her. Name your price.”
His friend right there told him he could not do that. He indicated that he could not take the life of another person.
You can imagine a security agent dissuading a pastor from killing an innocent girl! That is the new normal in some shrines misquarading as churches.
Let me tell you, your geographical location of birth determines your religion. You do not choose your religion, it is imposed on you by birth.
What many people do not understand is that Nigerian churches are registered under the Company and Allied Matters Act (CAMA), 2020. There is no position in the CAMA known as General Overseer or General SupretedentI. If the wife of a doctor does not automatically become a doctor and the wife of a lawyer does not automatically become a lawyer, why should the wife of pastor automatically become a pastor? Being a pastor cannot be sexually transmitted.
There are only five possible positions of authority in a church under the law: president or chairman, cice President or vice-chairman, secretary, treasurer and trustees. All of them are trustees of the board of the church. When have you ever seen your church vice-chairman, secretary or treasurer?
The church cannot purchase a car, a land, a house or make a huge expenditure without a resolution reached and signed by majority of the trustees, duly filed with the Corporate Affairs Commission ((CAC).
There is a provision for the organisation of a compulsory Annual General Meeting for every church and every other non-governmental organisation. Churches are exempted from taxes because of an expected charitable work. There is supposed to be the rendering of accounts of funds of the church to members annually at the AGM, which should be encapsulated in the auditor’s report.
The church is required to file its state of affairs to the CAC annually. You, as a member of your church, are a stakeholder, just like the head pastor. You have a right to ask questions. Your name should be in the Register of Members filed at the CAC. Do you know that your church has a constitution filed with the CAC and, by the constitution, the tenure of office of all the trustees is for a defined term and you cannot be president or chairman for life? This is also applicable to the other positions.
The church is not a secret cult. Why are its finances and affairs secret? Even secret societies are more transparently administered than our churches. If we open the books of our churches, it is going to be a “CAN” of worms. Many pastors are going to be in jail for many years for fraud!
In one of the countries, a popular televangelist was recently convicted and jailed for wire fraud for deceiving people, more like 419. This televangelist at the time had two private jets and many exotic properties. As we speak, he is likely to spend the rest of his life in jail.
A certain Nigerian pastor cannot enter the United Kingdom because of fraud, but here in Nigeria the same person is having a field day milking his members.
The divorced wife of a popular pastor in London simply removed the signboard of the church her husband was running during their divorce and she put hers there. The pastor simply kept mum. Read about the relationship between the church and the state online, you will understand why governments are turning a blind eye.
Those universities that you think were built by your church are owned by the pastor and his family. That is why you see a pastor having ABC Church of God and XYZ Outreach (in his name). A pastor used his name to collect a loan from the bank and the church paid back with great speed every Monday. Now the pastor is dead and the university belongs to his family.
It is not every anointing oil you put in your head and it is not every bread and juice you drink. You must understand that these things can become deeper, depending on your congregation.
It is one system that runs the world. Open your eyes and be wise. You are a child of God, not a grandchild. No human is a co-redemptist to Jesus. If you say, “The God of Pastor ABC is my God,” do you know who the God of Pastor ABC is?The fact that you are a Christian does not mean you should suspend your sense. Even in the supernatural world, there exists supernatural rationality.
In all, believe in your God because only a fool will say there is no God.
* Mr. Douglas Ogbankwa, Esq. is a lawyer, writer and policy analyst. Email: douglasogbankwa@gmail.com.
