At his Kara church in Eleko, Lekki, Lagos, Revd. Apostle Samson Albert (Arojah) of the St Peter C&S Band again emphasizes how Christian leaders abandoned their calling for government criticism, creating division, and making the Project Nigeria ever more difficult to achieve now.
The country today is in confusion. Religion doesn’t seem to help the matter. What role can you say religion is playing in all these?
Whatever happens in Nigeria now, we’re all in the midst of it. Christians aren’t helping the matter. Truth is the only thing that can fix the problem. I am sorry to say: there is no truth among us Christians. What’s happening among us, especially the so-called prophets—we have them now all over the internet. What you hear them prophesy is: that person is not good; this one will die; this church is bad. And your members arewatching as you relate with the public, and abuse the government. You are teaching them something. You criticize the leaders, criticize the government, abusing them just for no just cause. Obasanjo is not good; this one is not good. When are we going to have that good leader? Why are we criticizing everybody? I have said it: until we begin to appreciate God in the lives of our leaders, by following the word of God, we won’t get there. But I doubt if that will happen in this generation. The church is polluted; our society is polluted.
Have the leaders done anything for which the people could be grateful?
They have done many things, but not to their satisfaction. The problem is the church leaders who keep condemning the government, prophesying how God will curse the president, overturn the government. And that’s how their church members spread these. No respect for elders. No respect for authorities. It is not the will of God. If we want to get it right, we have to go back to the will of God. But to go back there now—the journey is too difficult.
Maybe you are a pacifist. But looking at what is happening today, things are so hard it will be difficult for anyone to take sides with you.
I am not supporting the government. But I am telling the truth that will help this nation. These people are our leaders. It’s against the will of God to abuse our leaders That’s what happened in Israel. And God gave them a worse leader in the place of the one they complained was bad. Before Samuel, we had Eli. God told Eli, “Your children are not doing the right thing.” Then Samuel came. But His children did worse than Eli’s. So Israel decided to end theocracy. They asked God for a king. That singular act annoyed God, and He told Samuel, “They didn’t reject you, but me?” Some people say the Bible contradicts itself. No. We say that whenever a particular knowledge is missing. What it was saying was that any leader we had—God put him there. God was furious when they grumbled against Samuel, but didn’t complain under Eli. So He dealt with them by giving them Saul. It was God who moved Saul to do all he did in order for Him to deal with Israel. Nigerians Christians don’t appreciate or pray for their leaders. They never appreciate whatever good things the government does. All the citizens do is complain.
From the Bible’s standpoint, you insist Christians should not criticize the government, no matter what. How do we relate this to Nigerians who aren’t Christians?
We do that through our characters towards government. If we know it and act accordingly, people will emulate us. And if it works, they believe us. A prophet cursing the government openly is wrong. The Holy Spirit—the Holy Spirit whom I know—can’t push you to do that. If you speak as a man of God, the Spirit of God controls you. Leadership is a very sensitive position. And it doesn’t seem we even know what we complain of or criticize the government for. A bag of rice is N70, 000. Somewhere like America, a 10kg is $25. Calculate that. A room is about $1000 per month in America. How much do we pay here? And yet we compare the naira with the dollar. And we won’t listen to those who can clarify these issues.
Governments in those places are alive to their responsibilities; they pay wages and salaries promptly, unlike here. Why won’t people curse the government?
I believe the leaders here have good intentions, too. At least they want posterity to remember them for something good—even if it’s just one. But when they get there, things change. That means there is something in there we don’t know. That’s why I think they need our prayers.
Since you said the journey back to fixing Nigeria is difficult. Are we damned then?
We are more than damned. What I believe is to go back, and let the truth start from the church. All the ministers, pastors, and prophets should start declaring the truth
Is that possible—all ministers, pastors, and prophets?
That is why I said the journey is difficult. It’s a hopeless situation. If we are capable of terrible things like these then things will only get worse given the way we call on God. We’d better keep God out of this—like the US and the UK—and let’s know it’s our own making. A police officer recently said things are not as bad as we claim in Nigeria. The good ones are the ones giving birth to the bad ones now. He said by the time the bad ones start giving birth to the bad ones, then we are in for it. And what’s causing all these problems is the love of money. A mother once came to a prophet with N100, 000, asking for prayers for her son. She wanted somebody who’d agreed to send him dollars to start having headaches so the person would quickly send the money. And a prophet took that. Is he not a murderer? We the critics and complainers are worse than the government itself. And a government leader, even if sent by God, would doubt his calling in an environment like ours.
