Why I returned to Nigeria two years after relocating to UK – Redeemed pastor, Awosika
Pastor with the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Grace Sanctuary, Ogba, Ikeja, Lagos State, Dapo Awosika, tells AYOOLA OLASUPO about his perspective on the rise of broken marriages, fake prophecies in Nigeria, among other issues
As a pastor and a Nigerian, what do you think is the biggest challenge facing the country today?
I think the recent challenges stem from the fact that almost everyone seems to have lost their sense of value. At times, we erroneously blame the government as if it were an abstract entity, forgetting that the people in government are human beings. I was recently trying to look at the percentage of people in government relative to the population of Nigeria. I don’t think they can account for more than one or two per cent at most. So, I don’t think they are the ones creating problems for the country. I think the problem is that many Nigerians have lost their values. If we can restore these values, I believe things will improve in the country.
But some believe that the government should initiate such values into society with some of its policies. Do you agree with that?
Let’s assume that a few people drive policy. The policy drafters are not the ones to implement it. So, the government drafts the policies and sends them to the National Assembly, where they are supposed to represent our interests, but the National Assembly members only consider their interests because they lack values. The members of society who elected some of these representatives also placed them there because they had received money from them.
Let’s assume that the president is the one who drafted the policy. He is not the one in all the ministries where it will be implemented. The people there are fathers, uncles, and brothers to some of us. So, the government will put forward the policies, but the danger is that they are not domesticated. They are also controlled by some external, international factors.
What is your message to Nigerian youths who are leaving the country in search of greener pastures?
The “Japa syndrome” is not new; it’s just like we are making a lot of noise about it. When you even go to the Bible, you’ll discover that it didn’t start today. Jesus Christ never stayed in one place. He kept moving from one region to another. I relocated to London in 1995 and had to return in 1997 when I couldn’t cope with the environment. We are the ones making the government look bad. It’s not today that people have been travelling. We have brothers who studied abroad and they all came back home when they were tired.
Some have been there since that period. I visit abroad regularly and I know what I’m talking about. If you go to some of those countries, you will hear about the things our citizens are going through. It’s not that they are enjoying themselves over there too. The people back home think they are enjoying, whereas they are suffering. This thing is more of a psychological issue.
As someone who had also travelled abroad before settling down in the country, can you share some of the experiences you had at that time?
I obtained my Master’s in Business Administration at the university in 1992 and retired in 1994. I just decided to go and see what they were doing in London, and when I got there, you would sympathise with me regarding the kind of jobs I was doing, which my mother should not even hear about. They were very unpleasant experiences. So, in 1997, I packed my things and came back home. Since then, I’ve not regretted it.
The only thing I had there was that I was a churchman, and I was voluntarily working for the church. We want to give the impression that we are something we are not. The only problem we have is that some of us want to uplift our status. People are throwing parties, and you want to go there and show off.
What I’m saying is that anybody who wants to travel should do so for a good purpose. If you travel to further your education, after you’re done, come back home. Our people don’t know that when you are even there, they give you a two-year visa for your education, and before you can stay there again, you will pay another 2,000 pounds to extend your stay.
Some people are clamouring for the adoption of Sharia Law in the South-West. What is your view on the matter?
Is it in our constitution that Sharia law should be nationalised? I’m not aware of the section of the constitution that says Sharia law should be nationalised; I think it’s a restriction. I think it’s restricted to the northern part of the country, but people will always say things when they want to create problems. The question is whether Sharia law is what we need now. The laws that we already have, have they been fully implemented and obeyed? Are our judges being sincere?
I just discovered that there are many political digressions we are going through, which will eventually create problems for this country. I sympathise with those talking about Sharia law. I expect those who are sensible enough to say that it’s not what we need for now. How can we develop our agriculture, health system, and educational system?
Are you going to use Sharia law to deliver judgment on a Christian or even a Muslim? My idea is that if it is in the constitution, they should go ahead, and if it is not, they should also look at the moral aspect and how important it is to the South-West. I think it has more of a political undertone than a legal one.
Can you share some defining moments in your life that have shaped who you are today?
One of the moments of my life that I’m grateful for is the fact that I was born into a very good family. I’m very thankful to God, and another significant moment was the day I gave my life to Jesus Christ. That is a day I will never forget because that has helped me to keep myself in check. I married late, around the age of 33. The day I married my wife, I discovered that she is more of a friend than an enemy because the worst thing that can happen to anyone is to mistakenly marry your enemy.
Another landmark are the two children God has given us. One of them had a First-Class degree, and then one of the things I never believed they give in university was when I saw them awarding him the title of Best-Behaved Student in the school. I was there during his graduation, and I was happy.
If you were not a pastor, what would you be doing today?
If I weren’t a pastor today, perhaps I would have been a tailor.
Do you like fashion?
Yes, I like fashion. I’m a fashionable person. From childhood, I’ve always loved to be a tailor, but eventually, I didn’t settle for it.
You’re turning 60 years old in March. What are you grateful for?
I’m grateful for everything – for the kind of family I have and where I come from. I’m grateful for the fact that I’m a child of God from my childhood and for the fact that I’ve always been in leadership positions throughout my life. I’ve been in Christian leadership roles. I’m a sociable person, but I have limits as to where I go and what I do.
I’m grateful for the fact that I’m intentional about my life and that at the end of my journey here on earth, I’m heaven-bound. I’m going straight to heaven to be with God. So, I’m just grateful for the kind of friends I have around me, my Christian brethren, for everyone around me, and the fact that I’m neither a useless father nor a useless person. Especially the fact that when people mention my name, it resonates. People can identify with me as an honest man.
The church is sometimes criticised for being too focused on wealth and prosperity. What is your stance on this issue?
People criticise the church for wealth because they don’t know who God is. When you know the capacity of God and what He has, there is a story in the Bible about Jesus Christ, where they took the clothes that He was wearing and cast lots on it. You don’t cast lots on a rag. It shows that Jesus was wearing one of the best garments for them to be casting lots for His clothes.
At times, when you see a man of God buy a plane, there is one man of God who we expect at my birthday, and he said on the night before my birthday that he had ministration in about three to four places. You can’t imagine if he had to navigate on a motorcycle or tricycle. At the end of the day, the people he’s going to preach to will just say, “Look, this pastor also needs help.”
I thank God that even in the recent past, people have stopped saying, “You are as poor as church mice,” because they know that all the poor church mice in the church have left. So, the church is supposed to be the centre of wealth. Of course, if you get to any church and they don’t talk about giving and receiving, I told my members, “You better leave the place or you will die a poor person.”
Some believe that the church has lost its prophetic voice in Nigeria due to certain fake prophecies in recent times. Do you agree with that?
Some are called to full-time service to God. Like myself, I don’t take money from the church; I rather give money to the church. Some are called to part-time service to God, but what I just say to all of us is that there should be limits in whatever you do. Be cautious because the work of the kingdom demands a lot of expenses.
There are some big men of God who I think owe Nigerians some apologies, but they have yet to apologise. I’m not going to hide that feeling because some of them gave several prophecies that did not manifest. I call them political prophecies or political prophets. You discover that they only prophesy during election periods. This is because some of these leaders come to their churches and they deceive them.
So, some of these prophecies are very annoying, and those prophets have not come out to apologise for the fact that they goofed because we have always been taught that men of God should not be criticised. They should avoid all these prophecies that do not hold water.
Most churches are aware of the crime rate in the country but have not preached against social vices like armed robbery, kidnapping, and killings. Those who preach against the burgeoning crime rate do so sparingly. Don’t you think the church has failed in its responsibility to help build a good society?
The church is trying its best. I expect that the leadership of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria would have sought an audience with the President (Bola Tinubu), sat with him, and advised him. I discovered that since the present leadership, the church has gone to sleep. In those days, the Christian leadership would go to the president and tell him when we were not doing well, but none has done that now. Some of our leaders are selfish and jealous.
So, I don’t think we have seen them together in the recent past to form a formidable voice. You can see that the Christian Association of Nigeria does not seem to be functional. I’ve not heard anything about CAN and PFN recently. These are the people who need to stand up and influence opinion. They need to go to the presidency, sponsor people to the National Assembly, and talk more about it to the people. All our spiritual leaders have gone solo.
Some couples now find it difficult to protect their marriages as divorce rates have been on the rise. What is the reason for this?
The reason, most of the time, is our Christian foundation. When you say a Christian home, there are parameters you use to measure a Christian home. The fact that some people attend church doesn’t make them Christians. So, if you want to define Christians, the litmus test we use to measure your spiritual maturity is your ability to stand the test of time. Challenges are part of what aligns with marriages, but the grace to manage them depends on how much you have yielded to God.
What role can the church play in correcting this?
The role the church can play is to keep talking. You can only lead the horse to the water; you cannot force it to drink.
What message will you give to some of these couples?
It’s what you allow that will happen to you. I don’t want us to do what they call “diverted aggression”. Many people hide under this economy to perpetuate what is not. What I’m saying is that you don’t sit down in a relationship and be hoping. Some people are poor but proud. So, the husband and wife should sit down to strategise.
