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| Supreme Archbishop Powerson |
Supreme Archbishop Olusegun Ojo Powerson is the General Overseer of Holy Ghost Royal House of Restoration Church Worldwide; President, Family Restoration Ministry, an arm of the church. He is also the Global Chief Presiding Prelate of Global Congress of Bishops and Apostles. In this interview, the revered man of God bared his mind on national issues as well as causes of the rampant cases of divorce? Excepts
How did you find yourself in God's vineyard?
It's a long story, I could write a whole book even in series, I hate any thing called Church then, but to cut it short, I became a Christian in an attempt to kill my pastor who is my spiritual father now. I was a bad boy , I schooled in Kiriji Memorial College, Igbajo, I started a gang and cult group in the school, I trying to kill the man of God, shot the gun, it won't fire, and he preached, repent or perish" that caught my attention and I called one of the evangelist there and asked what it meant, people had ran away because they saw me and my gang . He did his best to explain the two words and I said to him , " keep the perish, I will keep the repent" and out of the crowd of about 3,000 people, I was the only person that came out and got saved. Being his son spiritually gave me an idea of why that was. After then, I started having funny dreams and I had to travel to my village to get power to cast it out but it would not work. Then the owner of heaven and earth showed up , a mighty hand with a hole appeared to him, I wasn't sleeping. I started going to places here and there. It was people in the traditional religion that actually told me that God wants to use me. "Eludua lo fe lo e" God then spoke to me about it.
How long have you been in the Ministry?
I have been in the ministry for 43 years , March 24 of this year, makes it 43 years
What is your advice to President Bola Tinubu on how to make the country better than it is?
My advise to Tinubu to make the country more better than it is, is that he should embrace justice and equity. In the real sense of it , nobody knows how to run any nation until you have a good heart for the people. The problem of our nation to really get our people out of the situation we are , financially, politically is that we need a leader who must be narrow minded. Nigeria is not a place where you want to rule and listen to everybody's opinion, you must have your goal and purpose to make a change, try to become a patriarch for a change. I would say this and I know I will get a call and be scolded for saying it, this is where I felt out former president, Olusegun Obasanjo missed it. He is the most qualified person when it comes to that, his integrity is strong and not easily persuaded but along the line, he lost focus, may be the nation is too big for him to handle but the best way to handle this nation is for a leader to be narrow minded in whatever he wants to do.
Would you say President Tinubu is on the right track going by what he is doing presently?
Am going to answer it this way, I was an amateur wrestler and trained my son how to wrestle and also a footballer. In a football match, you don't rejoice that you have won the match even when you are leading by three goals to nothing until the final whistle is blown, so that's the way I will answer but all indicators shows that things would work if we permit it. But then, I think we have ghost rulers in this nation that makes decisions for the president or whoever. I have been saying it since the regime of former military president, General Ibrahim Babangida, somebody is probably behind the scene that people don't know by name, he could be an entity, principality or human being. This person is so powerful that whatever he demands, you can't say no. But somebody has to wake up someday and say "damn it, if I die, I die" there must be a change. If President Bola Tinubu continues like this, we would all rejoice but it is not be over until the fat lady shrinks, that's all I will say about that.
The current administration has introduced N8,000 conditional cash transfer for poor Nigerians as parliative to cushion the effect of the removal of subsidy on price of petrol, what is your opinion on this?
That's what we call welfare system. The N8,000 might look so small or peanut as it were, but welfare is not meant to actually satisfy you but to provoke you to still get something doing. We call it parliative here, look the meaning that I will tell you is not something you should just relax on. So, I think, it's still a step in the right direction, at least something is coming out, if it will reach the people. We are used to the old system of doing things that little things doesn't even mean much, but it's little things that becomes great. Anyone who doesn't have fifty naira and you give hundred naira, that is a lot. That's an unbelievable quantum leap. It can prevent someone from not going to dumpsites to eat. If they start from there I believe it can still be increased, I live in the United States for forty years and I know what welfare system is. Two of my siblings actually are still working for them my immediate elder sister is a manager in the entire city of New York. I have people in my church that survives on this alone. Peanuts as it were but it brings smiles on their faces when they have it.
But we don't have that data base and it sometimes crash?
When I read about it, I said may be because of BVN or NIN because you can't even get the social welfare without social security number, I have mine which I carry all over the world, that is what qualifies you as an American or you are permitted to have all kinds of benefits as it were. Looking at it , I would say, we are still heading in the right direction. We have BVN, NIN now to be able to collect it, you have to provide that. The problem of inadequate power supply should be addressed so that the database can be effective. The database will always crash if there is no constant electricity. The nation's electrical system needs to be fixed. The only thing this government will do to fix the problem of this country is to fix the power sector and nothing else.
What do you have to say about the security situation in the country?
Security has to do with individuals because the security officers themselves are corrupt. Security system in Nigeria will always fail if it's not about the system. There is no system that works, everything is about money. People go into politics because of money. The system always fail us because everybody is after money .
Has religious houses failed in their duties to curb the high rate of divorce in marriages and social vices among youth?
It has nothing to do with religion. understand this, the family predated any religion,
It has to do with the moral decadent of our nature. Do you know that I have it on record that Nigerian women are the most unfaithful wives all over the world.? Our women are deceitful, am very sorry my mothers, sisters wife are women, but the reality is that men can not be that perverse if women are not allowing it. So divorce will come because our women wants to be Europeans in this part of the world. Among the Europeans, family doesn't mean much to them, my son in America can just call me and say "dad, Bisi and I just got married yesterday, one day you will see your daughter -in- law" that's it. If it's in Africa here you will say "you did what? " The thing about marriage that leads to divorce nowadays is that everybody goes into it based on emotion not on reality. The church or religious houses are not to blame but the family that have failed, family, marriage, wrong family, this days, everything is about outer beauty not inner beauty, I will take a woman who has destiny over a woman who is beautiful. Beauty will fade, but destiny doesn't give up , even at the point of death , some people are still trying to make it.
You take the hand of a woman and say I love you but in reality , she is a liability , one day you wake up and discover that beauty is a deceit. I don't care if you are on the pulpit, you will walk away because I have to fulfill my destiny and this is a liability, a curse in my life. They say what God has joined together, let no man put asunder, has God joined it? Because you are in court or church does not mean God joined it. Whatever God joined, no man has the ability to put asunder, that is what the Bible is saying. I was able to settle a divorce case of 23 years here within three days. The man was having fun all these years and when asked why he divorced her, he said because the wife had a higher education she was lording it over him which the woman could not deny. So ,does that have anything to do with the church? No. It has to do with home etiquette .
Domestic violence on women is happening more in Europe and America, why is this so?
In
America, it's probably few or nothing if it comes to our own people. I
am talking in Nigeria now, if you are talking of Europe, it's horrible.
What calls for that is the economic situation of the nation. Why would
somebody be doing hookups if the home is good. It's a terrible thing.
