Pastors living large at members’ expense are altar robbers —Prophet John

Founder, Ori Oke Jesu Kii Baati Prayer and Evangelical Ministry Worldwide, Prophet Femi John, in an interaction with SEYI SOKOYA, speaks on his dissatisfaction with Christianity in Nigeria.

DESPITE its spread, Christianity in Nigeria has recorded various challenges, especially among clerics. How do you think this can be solved?

Would you say all the clerics we have today are really called? Even if they are called, do they hearken to the word of God? To be candid, it is crazy when you see ministers of God living large and their church members are suffering. By the grace of God, I am well known and well travelled; that is not how it is in the western world. I describe this set of people as altar robbers.  They don’t carry guns, but they use tongues to rob and hypnotise people. You see young lads today telling you they own mountains; there is no cleric that owns a mountain of prayer (Baba ori oke). It is God that owns the mountain. Personally, irrespective of what God has deposited in me and what I have become today, I’m still myself, even till I die. The fact remains that people want to hear the truth, but we ministers of God starve them of the truth. There are lots of discrepancies and envy among denominations today.

Would you say you deliberately isolated yourself from the city following the things you noticed among some clerics?

I am a prophet and there is no school of theology for prophets. Prophets are ordained and controlled by God. God instructed me to sit down in the bush and that people of different calibres, from far and near, would come for counselling and prayers. I was once in the city, but nothing was working, and I was in debt. I once presided over a church and also had an agro-allied business, which collapsed. I called on God about my situation and He told me to go to the mountain. I heeded the instruction and my life has changed for good.

Why did you refuse to be addressed as a prophet?

God gave me a revelation about Apostle Ayo Babalola. He asked me if I know why he was addressed as Bra Apostle Babalola, which also means bro. He revealed the secret to me and I got fascinated by the name. To me, it is not derogatory. I am comfortable with my life and I cherish my integrity. Despite the fact that I have many mountains of prayer, I always ensure people know the value of heaven. In fact, even as a cleric I am still striving to make heaven, because God’s ways are not our ways.

What is your assessment of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN)?

The first group of Christians in Antioch were addressed as Christians, because they were Christ-like, but today CAN officials have become politicians. They make too much noise; look at their position on Islamisation. The Bible says the weapon of our welfare is not carnal, to move every mountainous power. But where is that power, that when we call on the name of the Lord everything turns out negative? It is because we don’t possess the power of God. The body needs to focus more on the underprivileged. If they want corruption to fizzle out of the country, EFCC should start from CAN and churches.

In the way you are speaking, are you not afraid of being stigmatised?

I have been stigmatised for many years now, and even till tomorrow. Jesus Christ was stigmatised before he was executed. If they kill you today for speaking the truth, five million people will rise up from where your blood is spilled.

What was your growing up like?

I was born in Ogbese in Ondo State, though I am from Ifira, Akoko. My father was a prophet; my grandfather was a herbalist, so also my grandmother. We are known for standing by the truth, no matter the consequences. After my secondary education, I went for paramilitary training. Along the line, I studied Computer Technology before venturing into agric course. Now, I am still planning to go to school.

Is it that agric business is no longer lucrative and that made you dump it for the work of God?

Agric business is lucrative. Go to the Bible and study the history of Cain and Abel, as well as the Garden of Eden. From the beginning was farming; farming is lucrative. However, what God sent me to do is greater than farming. I have acquired land that I will still farm because it goes hand in hand with my work. I have the underprivileged in my care and I won’t venture into fraudulent business to cater for them

Why are you so passionate about the underprivileged?

The fundamental goal of Christianity is the underprivileged. Jesus Christ came for the underprivileged.  It is not to create wealth. You see, today, when an average church member fails to bring offering to the church, he becomes the enemy of the pastor. Recall that Paul was a tent builder. I’m not saying when they bring something you should reject it, but it should be in conformity with the instruction of God.

What is your greatest challenge as a cleric?

Eight years ago, my daughter was attacked; the young little girl that was walking couldn’t walk again. It all happened in a day; I left home to pray and when I got home, I just found she was having cerebral palsy and she has been bedridden since then. When temptation comes, I just run to God. Atimes, temptations come for God to elevate you. When I turned to God in prayer, He told me to forget about it. When I fall into sin, I go to my altar and tell it to God and to my people. I will prostrate and ask for forgiveness.