From Taiwo Oluwadare, Ibadan
Senior Pastor, Megalife Chapel Church, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Oluseye Taiwo, was recxently in Ibadan, Oyo State. He told Daily Sun that the recession bedeviling the country has spiritual implications. He traced it to the killings of righteous men of God in the North. He queried:
“How can God smile on a nation wherein the blood of His people are being shed like water? The doctrine of bible does not say Christians should surrender themselves to death but self-defense against attack from these extremists. Jesus endorsed self defense as it is in the constitutions of any reasonable government. He that has no sword let him sell his garment, and buy one.
“Economic meltdown, decline, recession and depression are not just characteristics of Nigeria. Various nations of the world have gone through these at one time or the other. Some nations are simultaneously undergoing it at the moment.
“I got familiar with these terms first by reading the history of the United State of America. Even in the Bible, recession and depression were referred to as famine or siege happened several times. It happened in the times of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Elijah and Elisha.
“The basis for these hard times in the Bible is that God trying to get the attention of His idolatrous people. It is very easy to forget God in the times of plenty. God also uses times as these to create uncommon opportunities for some folks whose divine moments have come. That is why the Bible says in Isaiah 60 that when darkness shall cover the earth, it shall be the time for some people to shine because the only thing that gives value to light is darkness.
“Another reason for the recession is that God is making a fool of self-sufficient and arrogant folks who thought everything works by experience and academic qualifications, with little or no regard for God.
“Nigeria needs God to smile on her. The blessing of God produces riches without sorrow. That is what we need primarily. It is revelation that produces revolution in the history of individuals, establishments or nations, and revelation is not a product of education or consultations. It comes from God.
On the killings of Christians: “These extremists are unfortunate victims of wrong doctrines and beliefs. They were wrongly and demonically taught that killing Christians is their visa to the ‘oven’ which they belief to be the heaven. Since these extremists have been diagnosed of religious mental problem predicated on wrong thinking, the government would do a good job by translating all the “Holy Books” to at least to English Language so that we can fish out the ones that are indoctrinatingfollowers to become blood thirsty.
“These extremists are also victims of deceit and delusion. Like Saul that became Paul in the Bible, they thought they know God or serving God while the direct opposite is the case.”
Taiwo does not believe President Muhammadu Buhari supports the fundamentalists to perpetrate evil: “The one that gives us concern is his seeming indifference about this matter. A wise man once said that if there is a will, a man will find a thousand ways but if not, a man will find a thousand excuses.”
He berated the immediate past administration of Goodluck Jonathan for signing Financial Report Council of Nigeria (FRCN) Code of Corporate Governance, conduct bill into law that made Pastor Enoch Adeboye of Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG ceded his position.
He said: “Who could have imagined that such ungodly, unrighteous and unreasonable laws were enacted by a group of church insiders or Judases. Little wonder the Bible says the real enemies of a man are members of his household. They tried to unseat the fathers of the church who have so much influence over the people, knowing that it would be easier for them to bribe their ways through the younger pastors in order to gain power over the people. But God in His supremacy disappointed the devices of the crafty, so that their hands couldn’t perform their enterprise. (Job. 5:12).”