Prophet Johnson Adeagbo, the general overseer of the Christ Beloved Evangelical Ministry, Ibadan, Oyo State, speaks on religious and national issues in this interview with SEYI SOKOYA. Excerpts:
How would you assess Nigeria in 2016?
Our greatest joy is that, against all odds, we as Nigerians still have reasons to thank God. The memories of 2016 will always remain in the hearts of many Nigerians, especially those that felt the heat of the most challenging problems, especially the recession that almost crippled the country’s economy. To me, the past year is not the worst in history. All what we experienced as a nation in 2016 and that we will still encounter this year and subsequent ones is as a result of the atrocities that we have committed long ago in the nation. People only started complaining when the results were manifesting. We have been experiencing lots of corrupt acts such as fraud, embezzlement and the likes in the government of Nigeria which are not supposed to happen because of the abundant resources we have in our possession. The revelation I received is that 2016 is a minor reflection of what we are likely to encounter if we don’t take caution and make u-turn to our Creator.
What would you suggest as the way out?
What we need is divine intervention because most of the plans that the government and the people are trying to introduce may not work properly without God’s intervention. The first thing that we need to do is to seek God’s face and that is where prayer is needed. When we talk about corruption, what usually comes into our mind is that it only has to do with people in government, whereas everybody in one way or the other is corrupt. Nigeria cannot become good until we change our perception concerning these things.
Do you think the church is doing enough in the face of these challenges?
I believe we are trying our best, but I also think the church contributes to these problems because the sermons nowadays are concentrated more on materialism than spirituality and that has encouraged people into corruption because everybody wants to be rich in the shortest time possible. The church has left its real duty undone and moved to other things. Some pastors are afraid to caution and preach the truth so that they will not lose members, especially those that are criminals. But the truth is that, things will not work out the way it should be until we change. If the church can concentrate on righteousness, holiness and the biblical standard of living, I believe that our nation will experience total liberty.
Do you think that the concept of building massive structures as churches will affect propagation of the gospel?
It is good to worship God in conducive environment. Notwithstanding, it must be a place where there is anointing. Even if it is a tent, it will surely become a tabernacle. To use our church as an example, we started from nothing. Then, we used to sit on cement blocks and wooden planks in an uncompleted building, but the church started growing because people began to discover the presence of God here. Many churches that are great today started from the scratch.
What is your advice for the Federal Government on addressing the economic situation in 2017?
If anybody is going to rule 170 million people, such a person must be fully connected to God; such a person should seek the face of God because it is not an easy task. I would advise President Muhammadu Buhari to seek the face of God and also note those who are working with him so that he can rest assured that they are working towards the same goal.
I want the present administration to know that people are suffering. Sometime last year, God laid it in my heart to give to some people in my church. I wasn’t sure those God wanted me to reach out to, but God ministered to me again to ask for those that had not eaten dinner in the last three nights and I did exactly what I was told and to my surprise, many people rushed out not knowing that I wanted to give them something because I only told them that I wanted to pray for them. In fact, what I prepared to give to them was not enough. I want to tell the government to look critically at what they can do to ensure that the welfare of the people is addressed, especially in the area of job creation and economic stability. The government should also shift concentration from oil to other things. Awolowo concentrated more on agriculture in his time with which he built Cocoa House and NTA, among many resources in the country. The money taken from looters should not be kept, but be used for the betterment of the nation so that people can smile again.