Homepage About us  
 

CAN, PFN are blindfolded from God’s leadership –Ayodele


Primate Babatunde Elijah Ayodele is the founder and spiritual head of INRI Evangelical Church, Oke Afa, Isolo, Lagos. He is also a philanthropist whose INRI Widows Foundation (IWF) has been assisting a number of widows and vulnerable children in the society.

At present he has over 300 school children he caters for every term. The cleric speaks on the problems confronting Nigerian families and the country as a whole. In this interview with INNOCENT OKONKWO , Ayodele says he has put together a two day revival programme entitled "What the Lord says" starting from next week through which Nigerians will hear what the Lord says concerning their situation. He also berated Christian bodies like CAN and PFN saying that they have failed the Christians.


What is your impression about an average Nigerian home?

A lot of homes are being ravaged because of poverty. Poverty like cankerworm has eaten deep into the fibres of many homes today. Now most heads of families are helpless and women are now struggling on their own, unlike in those days when women were not struggling as such, but today you see women taking the position of men. So it is now time for the nation and those concerned to know what the Lord says about this.

Can we now attribute the increase in divorce rate today to poverty?

One of the factors responsible for increase in divorce today is ignorance because many people don’t know what the Lord says about their marriage. Some people married the wrong person while some married out of frustration. Some others married because they are overaged all these are factors to many unstable homes and increase in divorce within the society.

How would this programme affect the families going by what you said earlier that the programme is meant to know what the Lord says about individual homes?

That is why I said at each matrimonial home what the Lord says. The families will come and the families that are not in proper position will now know what the Lord says concerning them and this will enable them to adjust. Career wise, some people are doing the wrong work, God wants to direct His people and wants them to know what He says about all their situations. The society too is being ravaged by diseases. it is either that the people are facing one type of sickness or the other, or that their loved ones are suffering one affliction or the other. And most sicknesses are on the increase, Diabetes is on a high rate not even HIV any more. We have high rate of hypertension, typhoid fever and malaria as well so we have to come to hear what the Lord says about this increase in sicknesses and diseases. Although we are not doctors but the Lord will offer spiritual treatment which is always the best.

Also, what the Lord says about the country Nigeria, we are going to hear it during the revival. A lot of things are wrong with the nation.

Even in the Christendom, for example a man of God recently spent about 10 million naira on marriage and at the end of the day the marriage did not workout and because they were ignorant of what the Lord says, they went into the marriage and it collapsed.

How can a man of God spent about N10m to organize a wedding when a lot of people are suffering. There is need for people especially the rich to know what the Lord says about their life and wealth.

The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) are blind folded, they don’t know what the Lord says that is why Christianity in Nigeria is in disarray.

That is why there are factions in the churches and discrimination among the believers persists. Some say this one is a living church and this is not a living church. Are they God to determine church where God lives. How many pastors and GOs know what the Lord says. It is a serious matter.

Now the trend is about family church where a church belongs to Mr. & Mrs. But in this very church, it is not like that because all the members here are my brothers and sisters, uncles and aunts, fathers and mothers and the church belongs to them, church is meant to unite us by bringing us together and should not be a personal belonging or a family affair where the wife is the treasurer or things like that. The Lord is not pleased about this and other segregations in Christian faith.

Are you saying that the church leadership in Nigeria has not done enough about Christian unity?

They have not done what they should do because the leadership of such umbrella bodies like (CAN) and (PFN) should have known that separating Christianity should not do anybody any good but because most of these leaders are selfish and self centered. They seek those things that would favour them.

They only want to showcase their designer suits, wrist watches, shoes and the number of cars they have. They are not being motivated by the desire to preach the word of God. A man of God with curly hair style appearing on air, A man of God displaying a Rolex wrist watch. How many times have you traveled to America, is what the men of God want to preach to the listeners. They are doing so many things nowadays to extort money from the people, a lot of things need to be corrected in Christianity. CAN has failed the Christians and PFN as well.

What is the way forward?

The way forward is to listen to what the Lord says about the whole matter.

Is there any spiritual interpretation to the increase in crime and accident rates towards the year end?

Many factors are responsible for that, which include evil forces and the level of poverty in the land.

If people know what the Lord says about their lives, they would not travel at the wrong time or board the wrong vehicle because when you board the wrong vehicle someone under a curse maybe on board, as a result something mysterious could happen.

Many people travel towards the end of the year because they want to have a change and in most cases the demonic forces don’t want a change for such people and there will be conflict as a result. For some others, their death has been programmed by the devil and because such people are ignorant they are going to run into trouble.

Many people don’t know that December marks the beginning of trouble for a number of people. Many rich people will crash because the forces in their area will go against their riches. It is the duty of the Prophet to go to God and enquire about what the Lord said about the people and the prophet has the responsibility of telling the people the mind of God.

When you are in a church and you plan to travel and the Prophet tells you not to travel that day or that there is something good coming up in your office that you should be there by a particular time to partake in it. These are some of the prophetic utterances we are talking about.

So many people are going about just like blind sheep even with their so called leaders because they don’t know the correct interpretation of the Bible, rather they turn it upside down. It is time for the nation to know what the Lord is saying.

Your word of advice to Nigerians?

Nigerians should always appreciate the goodness of God in their lives. You are alive today when some have died moments ago, so appreciate the goodness of God now that you are alive. But for our country what the Lord says concerning it is very important.

You have INRI widows foundation through which you reach out to the less privileged members of the society, when exactly did you receive this call to look after the poor?

I can say that I received this call right from my mother’s womb. Helping people is not an easy task. Giving out to the needy is not an easy task, trying to elevate people from their helpless situation is not an easy task because it takes determination and sacrifice because you will spend your money and other resources but you either get it positively or negatively. You can invest about N2 million in the life of somebody now, but before you realize it, the business will crash and when such happens what about your own life. Again, don’t forget that it is only when you have assisted someone to stand on his feet that you can then say that you have helped. However, when that person keeps on crashing and crashing, it takes a lot.

To be a helper is not determined by the number of cars that you have or the amount of money in your bank account. These don’t make you a philanthropist but it is the number of people that you have raised from poverty to a higher level, the number of people you have changed their status and the ones you have contributed positively to their lives this is what makes you a philanthropist. Many may hurt you after you have assisted them. Some others may not live up to expectation will that stop you from helping people, No. Unfortunately for our country, we have rich people who don’t want to deal with the poor at all. They only deal with people at the top.

But when you are dealing with the poor, you believe that there is nothing you can gain, you only hope in the Lord for your reward. It is not an easy task to help people.

How many people have benefited from your foundation?

I can’t count the number

Do they always come back to show appreciation?

I am not interested in their appreciation, Appreciation for what? I don’t need that and I am not ready for any appreciation. I have 300 school children that I cater for every term. Do you know how much that alone cost. We also go their schools to monitor them and take care of their needs.

 

 
 
Copyright 2006.All right reserved.Any duplication of our news or document in any format is agaist the law.Site license by champion newspapers.Powered by NigeriaNet