Nigerian pastors are making the news for the wrong reasons, writes TEMITOPE DAVID-ADEGBOYE…
This may not be the best of times for some pastors in Nigeria. The news of Pastors Chris and Anita Oyakhilome’s divorce seems to have set off a cataclysmic era in other pastors’ lives and ministries.
Messy divorce
Arguably one of the most famous couple-pastors in Nigeria and beyond, Chris and Anita have also been explaining why an end has to come to their marriage of several years.
Anita, through her lawyers, Attwaters Jameson Hill Solicitors, said the main reason the marriage broke irretrievably was due to an “unreasonable behaviour” by her estranged husband.
But Chris, speaking to United Kingdom church leaders earlier in the year, had described Anita as “a bitter and angry woman who is being influenced by bad friends who are out to seek my downfall”.
Recently, the founding president of Believers’ LoveWorld Incorporated allegedly suspended a female pastor over what the church termed “subversive activities” which the congregation believe is inimical to the growth of the church.
Deaths in the Synagogue
Just as the dust was about to settle over the divorce of the Oyakhilomes, death came calling in the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) headed by Prophet Temitope Balogun Joshua. A two-storey guest house under construction came crashing, killing scores of people and injuring over a 100 people. As at the time of filling this report, more than 80 people have been reported dead while rescue efforts were still going on in the church.
According to South African President, Jacob Zuma, his country suffered the highest casualty with 67 of its nationals dead in the collapsed building. The tally of South African dead exceeds the previous toll of 62 thought dead in the disaster, a grim signal that the number of fatalities is likely to rise.
But T.B. Joshua has, in a press conference, told the public that the collapse was caused by an aircraft. According to the cleric, the attack was targeted at him by Boko Haram insurgents. He showed a Close Circuit Television footage of the collapse where he purportedly told his congregation that a missile was fired at the building, thereby causing the collapse.
To ascertain the real cause of the tragedy, the Lagos State government has commenced investigation into the collapse.
On Tuesday T.B. Joshua tweeted: “Hard times may test me; they cannot destroy me.”
According to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA)’s Ibrahim Farinloye, much about the incident remains unclear.
$10m in Oritsejafor’s aircraft
Then came the scandal on the neck of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) President, Pastor Ayo Oritsajafor, who is the founding and Senior Pastor of Word of Life Bible Church, located in Warri, Delta State.
A jet he has interest in was intercepted with $9.3 million of laundered money in South Africa. There were suspicions that the money could be meant for arms. The Nigerians, coming from Abuja, were not identified, according to a report by Reuters.
The plane, a Bombardier Challenger 600, had a Nigerian flight crew on board. It was piloted by Captain Tunde Ojongbede, according to City Press.
Adrian Lackay, spokesperson for the South Africa Revenue Service (SARS), confirmed that Customs officers became suspicious when the passengers’ luggage was unloaded and put through the scanners just after 7pm. The officers then investigated and found three suitcases full of cash.
The passengers apparently told officials they were acting on behalf of the Nigerian Intelligence Service. They provided documentation confirming they had come to South Africa to buy weapons. It is not clear whether the Israeli passenger was an intelligence operative or an arms dealer.
A lot of people have wondered what is it that has triggered so much controversy in the lives of these pastors, who, hitherto, had been seen as role models by their members and the society in general.