Apostle David Elo of the Believers’ House of Freedom (BHF) is on a mission to rescue Nigerian youths from the grips of drugs, sexual perversion, cultism and other vices as well as give hope to the indigents. The Apostle, who was the guest preacher at the succession service of the late Bishop Irene Ayalogu, founder of City of Life Bible Church, Lagos, speaks with SEYI JOHN SALAU on succession and believers’ disposition to prayers.
Succession is a major challenge faced by many churches in Nigeria. Why is it so?
It is simply out of greed because these days people see church as a business. To some church heads or founders, even if God does not call their children, they call their children themselves. It is not about God but about the properties they will be leaving behind. It is selfishness. Church is a big business now and we have so many gullible people. Once people begin to call some leaders ‘Daddy’, they look for how to take advantage of the people’s gullibility and manipulate them. When you have about 100 people in your church, it is like having 100 ATMs. Because of the ‘Daddy in the Lord’ thing going on, some are engaging in self-worship. The truth is that those whom God calls hardly want to go because the spiritual assignment is very tough. Once you are for God you are against the devil and the devil is the one in charge of this world. So, the will of God is very difficult; even Jesus found it difficult to do the will of God. In the garden of Gethsemane, He was pained and found it difficult as he uttered, ‘Let your will be done’. So the will of God is not easy.
How can the church address the issue of self-praise/worship?
It has to do with enlightenment. Once people are enlightened, it will be easy for them to know their rights. Once there is market for fake prophets, you cannot stop the market from growing. Nigeria is a very big market for fake prophets because most Nigerians are gullible. Again, we are very religious but we do not know God. The only truth people know is that they are going to church. They are not taught wisdom, creativity and how to use their talents. That you spend 30 years in vigils or on the mountain does not mean you will be successful. In churches today the prayer warriors are the poorest. You don’t pray to be rich; you provide services and get paid for it. Some churches today lie to people; they make people believe that once you are anointed, even if you don’t provide services, you will prosper. So you cannot sleep in blunder and wake up in wonder. The only thing is for people to be enlightened, though no matter the level of enlightenment people who choose to remain gullible will still be gullible.
You said prayer warriors are the poorest; how do you mean?
Of course, they are. How much prayer does Bill Gates or Dangote pray? It is about providing services. They provide services which people pay for. Take the telecommunications firms, for example; they make money per second because they provide services per second.
Does it mean that God does not answer prayers?
God answers prayers; He has already answered before you started praying. The answer to your prayer is in your talent. God told me six years ago, ‘Your education may give you a job but your talent will make you an employer of labour’. I have written about 35 books on how to be successful. What I’m trying to say is that when you use your talents, you get paid for it. Christians have to be creative as prayer is supposed to be an addition. It is like someone going to the farm and without digging to sow the corn seeds, continues to say, ‘Corn you must grow’. That is foolish prayer.
Is that to say Christians do not possess creative mindset?
Very few of them do. The ones that are not creative are that way because of the teachings they are being exposed to. Anointing oil or mantle does not make you successful. For example, I would rather take my car to a pagan who I am sure will fix it perfectly than take it to a Christian whose expertise I am in doubt of. So, in essence, people should be good at what they do.
Bishop Irene Ayalogu’s successor is not in any way related to her; what is the lesson for other preachers of the gospel?
That is how it is meant to be. There is no blood relation between the late founder and Rev. Etinosa Aigbedion because that is how the church should be. It is not supposed to be hereditary because it is God’s business and not man’s business. That God calls a father does not mean he automatically calls the son. Bishop Ayalogu was from the East while her successor is from Edo State.
What is your message to Bishop Ayalogu’s successor?
During the sermon, I advised him to be weary of pastors – these are the people that can make or mar his ministry. We have quite a lot of pastors that are not saved. I was teaching somewhere when a pastor said he was about to be made a provincial pastor when he got saved. So, we have many pastors who are not Christians. If he makes friends with pastors who visit native doctors, use prophecies to deceive members and sleep with church members, he will do the same because the bible says, ‘Evil communication corrupts good manners’. In Nigeria today, we have many unbelievers as pastors. We have few churches who are genuinely serving God but the truth is that Jesus is coming back again for the true church because these churches that thrive on immorality would fade away.
The level of vices seems to be getting high despite all the churches scattered across Nigeria…
Yes, till Jesus comes, it won’t get better. The world will get worse, but let’s know that heaven is real and hell is real. If you continue to live in sin, when you die you will go to hell. What is making immorality and other forms of evil thrive is the message of grace that these ‘pastors’ preach. They say, ‘Once saved, forever saved’. I call this kind of grace satanic grace.
What is your assessment of the Christian bodies in Nigeria?
They are good but I’m not a member. I used to be a member of Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) but pulled away because of what I saw. I expect a situation where the PFN and Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) can add more value. There is nothing stopping us from having PFN and CAN farm. What are the churches in Nigeria generating billions doing with the billions? We have a lot of lands lying fallow which can be converted to farmlands, from which even Africa as a continent can be fed. So PFN and CAN should create jobs. They can also identify those that have talents and invest in them. It can come like a soft loan with the aim to help businesses to grow. I love these bodies and pray for them but I want them to create more value. The church must come together as one for it is in unity that we can make progress, not as individuals.
Your ministry, Believers’ House of Freedom (BHF), how is it faring?
It has been wonderful. God is helping us to save lives. We just came from Sapele and Agbaro, both in the Niger Delta region. These days there are a lot of cultists in secondary schools and even in primary schools. We try to evangelise and help these cultists get saved; that is, if the politicians will allow these youths because they are the ones funding them.
Many argue that the present administration is not doing enough to bring lasting solutions to prevailing challenges in the country. What is your view on this?
We are not yet a nation but a collection of tribes. Unfortunately, we have a leader who seems to be protecting his region. If it were to be the Igbo or the Niger Delta people carrying out the killings, there would have been more than Operation Python and Crocodile Dance. But these guys are busy killing with impunity and are not being brought to book. This administration came with the mantra of change but there is so much hunger in the land. The leadership is also surrounded with sycophants saying, ‘Baba you are doing well’. Except they sit up before the next election, I would be surprised if this kind of government returns, because I have not seen what they have done other than to increase poverty and insecurity. As far as I am concerned, the system has failed.
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