WISHED THE HEAVENS WOULD FINALLY SPEAK OUT

  There was a time in Nigeria when Pastors lived exemplary lives; an austere and honorable kind of life within the stipulated dictates of the almighty God as endorsed in the holy book, then our problem was just our government. But today, self styled pastors have taken the total advantage of the desperation and dejection created by our vicious and corrupt leaders to join the train of avaricious capitalists to further bamboozle an already dejected society and cart away the remnant of their riches.  

  Needless to begin to dwell on how a lot of Nigerian pastors have swooped on the deterioration of our academic institutions to set up private universities from tithes and offerings collected from members whose children cannot afterwards gain access into these institutions of learning because of its exorbitant tuition fees.

  Most of these pastors who were very humble at their uncomfortable beginnings have grown to become so pompous and draconian in their approach and interactions with the rest of the society, like most power drunk politicians they too now see themselves above the law and oftentimes act as gods over their teeming desperate and dehumanized fans. Excusing themselves on the premise that no one should accuse or attack the anointed of God.

  Very recently, notable Nigerian pastors have been involved with illicit activities that further reiterates the impunity they have acquired with their status, among them Lady Pastor Helen Ukpabio popularly known as the witch hunter, she had acted with reckless impunity in Nigeria and believing that she can act with the same impunity outside our shores but got the shock of her life when the British government deported her shamefully.

  Another of such Pastors whose acquired wealth has made to assume an uncontrollable status is Pastor Mathew Oshimolowo who is presently being investigated by the British authorities in a fraudulent case. Then also is Pastor Chris Oyakhilome whose condescending tone on the role and the position of the woman in matrimony and his controversial exculpation of masturbators from any sinful act against God generated a public debate and just when some of us were still trying to digest that, his wife has filed in a divorce suit against him on the basis of his alleged adulterous activities, and he is taking it with his usual aura of pomposity which is very characteristic in almost all these our modern day self acclaimed men of God.

  Also in the list is Pastor Oyedepo who is alleged to be worth 93.m pounds sterling, and currently being indicted by the British government for cynical exploitation of church members in Britain, to the tune of 16.7 million pounds sterling.

  Recently in Nigeria, 80 people have been declared dead so far in the collapse of an illegally constructed building belonging to Pastor T.B Joshua who is alleging a conspiratorial terrorist attack as the reason for the collapse of the building, rather than admitting the illegality committed by converting a two storey building into a five storey building without the necessary permission from the competent authorities.  

  Just some days back, we had of the seizure by the South African authorities of a private jet belonging to the President of the Christian association of Nigeria CAN, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, with about $10 million undeclared currency on board which the federal government of Nigeria has immediately come out to say was money meant for the acquisition of arms for the Nigerian army for use against the Boko Haram. Although, the Pastor had tried to disassociate himself from any responsibility about the purported arms deal by claiming that he had an agency that is accountable for the leasing out of the private jet who was responsible for eventually leasing it out to government agents for whatever use without his own knowledge, his response still leaves many doubts in the air.

  What is worrisome is the way these self styled men of God have institutionalized their activities and in many instances linked it directly with the existing government agencies in Nigeria in order to assume even more powers and act with even more impunity, feasting on the 2^nd hand victims of a dysfunctional government with reckless abandon, each one claiming to be the real voice of the heavens on the earth.