By - By Ganiu Bamgbose, PhD
This is a question on the lips of some Nigerians. They wonder why church members should pay for what was built with their money. “Isn’t this extortion and exploitation?” Many would ask.
First things first, determine the smartness and openness of whoever asks a question such as this before investing your time into providing an explanation. Many persons cannot process anything that contradicts their thought and it is of course, a waste of time to engage such people. Arguments such as why should church members pay to attend schools owned by their pastors is similar to that of people who often ask, “why can’t this country just give every Nigerian 2 million naira each since the country is rich?” I asked this question as an eleven year old boy and I am surprised many still ask such as adults. When you hear people say such things, make a move to enlighten them if you think they are smart enough. Otherwise, just preserve your energy if they are dogmatic and incapable of processing alternative views.
Now, let us return to the gist of the article. In my reaction to the question of “why should worshippers in Living Faith pay to study in higher institutions of learning built with their money” by someone this morning, I made clear that even if we wake up one morning as Nigerians and find a university tagged “God University” with a heavenly voice saying “I am your God and I have built this for you over night”, such university will still have to charge school fees. It is not likely that God would pay the academic and administrative staff of the school, cleaners and gardeners. After building us a university, God would not equip the laboratories, stock the libraries, fund the research, fuel the official vehicles and maintain the infrastructure.
Germany is not as big as just the southwestern Nigeria in geographical size and population, and the number of their universities doubles that of the whole Nigeria. If a single man has now added two to the number of insufficient institutions of learning in Nigeria, it is okay to ask questions but it is important for such questions to be intelligent ones; not a question like why should church members pay tuitions. I am not sure Bishop Oyedepo told his church members that he was building a university for their children. Mark you, there is no where on earth where university education is cheap. Developed countries only have systems that make it easy to pay and see oneself through school. Nigeria is one of the countries with the cheapest rates of tuitions for higher institutions of learning in the whole world.
As I bring this short clarification to a close, let me remind you of something called delimitation of study in research. It is used to narrow a discussion/research to a perspective. Whatever you think of/about Bishop David Oyedepo as a pastor or a wealthy man is outside the purview of this piece. Also, your stance on religion and religiosity does not make a variable for what is discussed in this short article. The aim of the article is simply to make a case for why a university can never be free for anyone except those on scholarship (which would mean some persons or bodies are paying for them) and why we must do away with biases and sentiments when we process issues.
To round off, whatever you think of Bishop Oyedepo, the following are few of his reflections at 70 which may serve as guide for your lives too:
Don’t be possession driven; be contribution-craving.
It is those who think others who become leaders.
By thinking the wellbeing of others, God can entrust whatever plan He has in your hands.
Be a Contributor to the persons around you at the level you are par time.
Don’t ever call me an icon. I am representing the Icon– Jesus.
There is nothing you have that determines your worth. It is what you add that does.
It is impact that engenders influence.
Your legacy is not in a name pasted on a building; it is in the life of people.
Beware of pride. With pride you can’t locate your place.
To deny God’s grace upon Bishop David Oyedepo’s life is to deny God’s existence. Happy 70th birthday, Papa!
And yes! This writer is a Muslim. This is just where humanity sets in.
(c) 2024 Ganiu Bamgbose writes from the Department of English, Lagos State University.
