WHERE ARE THEY?
There was a story of a rich man and a poor man, Lazarus in the Holy Bible.
They both died. The rich man went to hell and Lazarus was beside father Abraham in heaven.
The rich man became thirsty and begged Abraham to send Lazarus to dip his hand into water and drop it into his mouth. Alas! Abraham told him even if it was possible for him to agree to the request, it was not going to happen because there was a barricade between hell and heaven and neither of them could cross.
Okay! Going by the story of the rich man, it was not recorded of him that he was a sinner: a thief, an adulterous, a liar, etc.
In fact, it was not said of him that he didn’t fear or believe God. There was only one thing according to record that took him to hell; he did not have mercy on the man standing next to him.
For the past few months, the Nigerian government both at the Federal and State levels have refused to pay the workers what they are due.
They said there is a dwindling economy. Quiet alright, as an applied economist, a social observer, I am not blind, neither am I deaf.
But let me ask, does the dwindling economy affect the food budget at the
state house in the various 36 states and the Aso Villa?
Yet, the one who are doing the jobs despite not been paid are asked to go to work.
How?
They borrow money to feed their families, they borrow money to sustain their children’s education, they borrow money to pay rent, yet, the government still asked them to keep borrowing money to transport themselves to offices to go and work for which they will not be paid.
Wait! For some years now, the various Courts in Nigeria had collected a lot of money from corrupt politicians as bail bonds.
Where are the monies?
500m, 200m, 100m, 50m, etc, where are they?
Despite the dwindling economy, the best sensible decision the Governors of Ondo, Edo, Abia and their cohorts could give to the hungry citizens are requests for loans.
So unfortunate that it has taken longer than necessary for the so called bailout funds to be released.
However, I can only imagine the kind of speed, velocity and accurate enthusiasm with which the millions of dollar loan request of the Edo state Government passed through have.
No Governor has had the gut to borrow to pay workers their entitlements. How many weeks did it take the rubber
stamp House of Assembly of Abia and Ondo to approve the loan requests of their Governors?
Yet, they claim they are waiting for the bailout fund to come from above as the banks cannot borrow them money to pay workers. Good!
But the loans being approved will come from where?
Yet, you will see churches asking people to pray against demons and enemies of progress they cannot even see.
What about the ones we can
see?
Who is the greatest enemy?
The one that has refused to allow you to make a living by denying you work or they one that has refused to pay you despite borrowing to work for him?
If we cannot face the demons we can see, then I guess we should forget the demons we cannot see and let him rest.
The people are still being taught how
to give for the work of God, how to sow seed, how to give first offering.
Well, January will soon be here!
The best they have handed to the people
is to keep praying for the leaders that have drained the economy and still the only career they have is to keep draining the economy.
Many of these Governors have not reduced the percentage of the monthly allocation that they steal, they are
yet to reduce their security votes. I don’t care about their salaries.
Any reduction in salaries is an insult on the intelligence of vulnerable Nigerian society.
Tell the President and the Governors to declare in the open their allowances and estacodes.
Even those that promised to publicly declare assets have successfully lied to us as a people, though the people had so much trust in them as men of integrity and religious righteousness.
Let me take you back a bit! In South Africa, I really do not know much that Mandela would have done from prison if not for those who never gave up on the outside, of whom Arch. Bishop Desmond Tutu was one.
In fact, at a point, the struggle of Rev. Martin Luther King II was almost coming to an abrupt end if not his access to the
pulpit which gave him the opportunity to speak to10s of 100s of people at a time without calling for congress, conference or convention.
If not for that white priest, I really don’t know much that Mohandas K Ghandi will do as he was been faced with potential failure of his struggle.
However, the best we got in Nigeria is not active involvement of our religious leaders in governance for the good of the people but struggling for relevance.
They teach us to live holy life. Believe me, anyone that has no access to basic necessities of life: food,
cloth and shelter and still has to involve him/herself in social vices which makes him or her a certified hell
candidate.
How do I live holy life when I can’t
feed myself?
How do I wait for God to reward me
in heaven for living poor when my G.O. is riding Jet and assorted cars right on earth?
Who should wait till heaven to receive his reward?
Yet, they are quiet when their members can barely feed themselves. Nonetheless. They still expect Sunday offerings, love offerings, charity offerings and tithe from their members. From where?
The little they have borrowed to feed their children, and also transport themselves to offices /work?
A work they have no hope of been paid for?
What happened to a peaceful protest for good governance?
Or does the bible forbid it?
I am not a pastor or prophet. I may not have an idea if such is prohibited by the bible.
But I am a bit acquainted with history. I know the impact of religious leaders in the struggle of the liberation of the people from slavery of all kinds.
I cannot imagine what kind of social impact we would get if one Sunday, all roads in Nigeria are occupied by people from Anglica, Baptist, Methodist, Catholic, Redeem, Deeper Life, C&S, Celestial, etc.
I have not seen that President in this country that will stand the protest of such millions of people.
It is either he yields to their demands or leaves the office. I am not mincing words.
But the best we have got is more or less like what the white priests did to us when they arrived Africa.
They asked us to pray. When we opened our eyes, they already have our lands in their hands and we had bible in our hands.
If we need a real and true revolution, we must fight a good fight.
True freedom does not come to those who sit down and pray. How many countries are there in the world?
How many have oil under their feet?
Is Nigeria not one?
Yet, after giving us all we need to live good life, we still ask him to come and help us.
What else should he do?
We have the land, yet we ask him to come and cultivate for us. While he is ready to give us bountiful harvest, we have refused to plant.
We always wait for the rain to fall before we plant.
What happened to field preparation?
It will be a good guess to say Nigeria is one of the nation
with the highest number of religious leaders. Yet, corruption is one of the greatest economic indices in the country.
Where are those our mouth piece of God before the general elections?
Why are they on leave?
Are they not in the country again?
We know those whose pulpit preachings sold like Psquare’s
songs.
Every speaker around you was just
blasting them, telling people why they should not vote for this or that.
If you are in the Eastern Nigeria, you would know this.
Where are they?
Where are they?
It is indeed in the God of creation that an average Nigerian has hope.
People God has made to lord over their fellow men have failed in their capacities. They have failed to stand for and stay with the people.
The people have been left in the cold. They are like sheeps without shepherd.
It is indeed only God that will prepare the
generation that will ensure the liberation of the people from slavery he has not created for them.
WRITTEN BY : OKUNOLA AKINBODE
