Rev. Yomi Kasali, 2019 Director General of the former vice president Yemi Osinbajo Presidential Campaign Organisation, has blasted Nigerian churches for focusing on wealth and pleasure at the expense of the poor.
Kasali, who is the General Overseer of the Foundation of Truth Assembly, said churches in Nigeria must rise to help the poor to avoid the Nepal experience.
He lamented that while most of the churches are lavishing in wealth, pleasure and opulence, the people are dying in hunger.
“So I think the churches should do much more than just build gigantic buildings, buy Rolls Royces and things that are material.
“We should think about the lives of those that we pastor. We should do much more as a people, as a nation.
“Things are very hard for our people, as a result of that, I feel like I should make a clarion call to churches to say please, it’s important for us to do much more than we do right now.
“I think we should stop all these Rolls Royce competitions that we are doing online. I see churches bragging about their buildings and bragging about their Rolls Royces. It’s madness.
“It’s time for us to think about the hearts of the poor. 75 per cent of people that come to our churches are poor. Maybe 50 per cent of them come as people that have got two, three square meals.”
According to Kasali, While we are lavishing in wealth and pleasure and opulence. there is need to be careful so that Nigeria will not experience what happened in Nepal.
Kasali said that most Churches in Nigeria has failed the people by refraining from helping the poor amidst so much economic challenges.
Kasali, made the remarks at a news conference in Lagos on the State of the Nation and the Church’s upcoming 2025 “Giant Killers Conference”
The gen Z protesters, a generation of young Nepalis , on Monday, led a revolution against corruption, nepotism and a ban on social media site in their country.
Most of the protesters paid for it with bullet wounds and in some cases, their lives. Hundreds were injured and at least 22 were believed to have died.
Kasali said that Churches ought to be doing more than they are doing to assist the government by helping the poor as the country navigates through economic challenges.
“What happened in Nepal two, three days ago can happen in Nigeria. No country is immune to revolution.
“The myth that it can’t happen here, may not happen, may not be in our time. I was watching one of the TikTok videos of Nepal and I called my son out of the country, U.S. I said, look son, I’m scared. If this happens in Nigeria, people like us can be killed.
“The poor will think all the wealthy men are criminals and corrupt. And the
good and the innocent may be killed, butchered and murdered,” he said.
“Institutions should really work on alleviating poverty.”
He suggested that Nigeria should give tax breaks to corporate organisations willing to engage more in welfare of the people.
He also said that government should device a means of squeezing the Churches to do more for the people since they do not pay taxes.
“The tax break should only be given to corporate Nigeria, that will do welfare, not just Corporate Social Responsibility but companies willing to pump their resources for poverty alleviation.
“For instance, if MTN is going to vote in N20 billion in 2026 to fight poverty, that can be very viable. They should get tax break. That’s what is contained abroad.
“My fear is that if we fail to fix poverty, poverty will fix us. Imagine if 20 big firms in Nigeria brought N20 billion each from their resources, that’s about N400 billion that can be used for poverty alleviation.
“And when poverty fixes man, it
swallows us up. It comes like a tsunami because when the poor is pushed to the wall, it comes like a tsunami to eat up those that have oppressed them for years.
“I thank God for President Bola Tinubu and I thank God for the government of Lagos state in particular. Lagos is doing a good work.”
Speaking on insecurity, he said that crime will come down when poverty is reduced , saying that the upcoming conference of the party would dwell on praying for Nigeria among other things.
“Churches and Mosques must stop preaching materialism and focus on morals because they are chief moral institutions of the country.”
The Church’s 2025 conference titled: “The Stone And The Slingshot”, billed from Sept. 27 to Sept. 21 will feature past leaderships of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria.
The speakers will include Bishop Mike Okonkwo, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor and Dr Felix Omobude among others.
NAN
