THE Publisher of GatewayMail newspaper and immediate past President of Olumo Progressive Association Canada Inc, Chief Femi Shodunke, has blamed the Nigerian clerics on the high tuition and other fees in schools and higher institutions established by their various religious organisations in the country.
Shodunke alleged that both the Muslim and Christian clerics, who include General Overseer, Bishop, Superior Evangelist, Alfa, Missioner, Chief Imam and Sheik, have been using the money meant to help in the education of its members and their families to buy jets, houses and exotic cars, among other things.
The publisher, who expressed his mind during an interaction with our reporter, explained that clerics of yesteryears made it possible for many Nigerians to go to schools at the time there was no demand for special prayer fund, anointing oil money, holy mountain prayer money, and fire-consume-my-enemies donations by these religious organisations.
He, however, expressed dissatisfaction over the lavish spending of nowadays clerics, alleging that most of them used their members money to buy jets, limousines, and fly all over the world in first class, while the members live in abject poverty.
According to him, most of the religious-owned tertiary institutions are the most expensive in the country.
“Don’t be angry with me you ‘follow-follow,’ die-hard sympathisers of General Overseer Lagbaja, Bishop Temedu, Superior Evangelist Lakasegbe, Alfa Kandosoyiala, Missioner Kojumaribi, Chief Imam Mecca Medina and Sheik Wulampa Qudusmilahi,” he said, adding: “Just let me speak my own, and if you like, call me a sinner or anything. Good luck to you.”
He further said that “at the early stages of education in Nigeria, the churches (Catholics, Baptists, Anglicans, Methodists) and later Islamic organisations (Ansar-Ud-Deen, Ahmadiyya, and Nawair-Ud-Deen), among others, made it possible for many Nigerians to go to school to acquire western education, with affordable school fees, even at the time demands for seed money, pastor special prayer fund, anointing oil money, holy mountain prayer money, fire-consume-my-enemies donation, etc were not in vogue.”
“However, now that there are plenty and, in fact, unbelievable billions upon billions of naira in the churches, and some multi-millions of naira in the mosques too, it is then many of our people cannot afford tuition and fees being paid in some of these religious-owned secondary schools and universities!” Shodunke, who was a one-time Deputy Editor of the Nigerian Compass newspaper in Nigeria, stressed.
He added: “What magic was done that made fees affordable then, even for the children of the ‘common’ parents, who sell balls of akara, loaves of bread, logs of planks, assorted clothes, and even gallons of kerosene to pay our money?
“Well, I don’t really know, but my thinking is that instead of using the money realised then to buy jets, limousines, fly all over the world in first class, building multi-million naira auditoriums to occupy more members in a deliberate ‘business’ style to rake in humongous money, they (of the old) were using the fund to support education, which the parents of you and I could afford to an extent, and also providing other social services in the community.”
“What have we, nowadays, taken religions this far? Shodunke queried, adding: “Only God can judge, but we, as mortals, can speak our minds to the best of our understanding and knowledge.”
“But then, to me, SOME of these religions, the churches in particular, have become something else,” he emphasised.
