General Overseer of Champions Royal Assembly, Abuja, Prophet Joshua Iginla, has expressed disgust over corruption in the church of God as well as government.
According to the man of God, greed is the breathing ground for corruption and wherever there is greed, there must be corruption.
He said, “You have to be satisfied with what God has given you. The unsearchable ways of acquiring wealth you might not necessarily spend in your life time is one of the reason we have corruption.”
Prophet Iginla said, “As a clergy, I believe the first place to fight corruption is our religious institutions. The church, the mosque and fighting corruption isn’t preaching against it alone but also putting structure in place that will kill greed. There’s what I call spiritual greed. It’s when the man of God thinks he is the only one God can use or God has called.
“Some people can be so greedy that they feel they are the only one God has called and every other person are counterfeits.
“We live in a world where people have acquired and keep acquiring even though they have made billions of dollars. Some have acquired wealth that even if they spend N50 million everyday till they leave this world, it won’t finish. Yet they are still acquiring and they can’t give out.”
The cleric described greed as one level of danger, pointing out that, “When you move from the church to the secular world, I never know how greed has eaten the fabric of Nigeria until the current Government came in.
“I have my reservation for their fight for corruption and I think they have made some bold steps in exposing certain cankerworms in our nation where certain minority have become very rich to the detriment of certain majority. This is all because of greed.
“Where a single individual builds houses everywhere, yet you cannot live in this houses you have built or bought. It is in this dispensation that we see people burying money in farms, soak away and other unlikely places.
“You just need to go out and see how people are suffering; no food to eat while some little minority have impoverished this nation, taking our oil money and put them in their pocket but still visit churches and mosques. I feel it’s a failure of spiritual leaders, be it Christians or Muslims from the altar and that is why when we say charity must begin at home it has to begin with our religious institutions.
“We live in a nation where senior pastors build schools their pastors cannot even afford them, yet they get the tithe and offering from the church. I feel it is corruption on its own when we build schools, universities that pastors cannot attend. Even their children and members cannot attend. I feel its absolute corruption. If we must fight corruption it must start from our religious institution.
“I have seen a lot of Muslims flying private jet, there’s nothing bad in it but the problem is how did they get the money? They were ex politicians. So how much was their salary as Governors, Senators that they have such?
“I have my reservation in the fight for corruption. It is not holistic. It is one sided and that isn’t what we need at this time. I will throw more accolades to the present regime for the bold step to fight corruption because everybody now seems to be careful.
“Some people can’t take their money to bank, some are afraid and that is to show that the battle against corruption is taking a new dimension, a new pace and a new view.
“Still I feel it is corruption itself when a leader is voted into power, to be in power for four years and he or she has made vows to the citizens that he will do some certain things,
“You will give free meal, give people money and while you haven’t delivered such promises, you have started thinking of contesting for the next election, it is corruption itself, if we must fight corruption, we must come with pure hand and make sure our heart merges with what we are promising.
“There is corruption everywhere, I’m yet to see an holy angel that will really fight corruption the way it should be but we want to thank God for the steps this current regime is taking but I still say if everybody from a particular party are corrupt and some people in a particular party are not corrupt, it is corruption itself when the battle is one sided.
“The root of all this is greed and may God help us from this greed that has eaten up the fabrics, everywhere, Greed! It is corruption to take oil from certain place and feel that they don’t have a right to demand for equity, justice and total balance, it is corruption.
“I think the battle against corruption hasn’t been defined properly. That is why there is restlessness, so much agitation and struggle until we all come to a drawing board to be realistic to ourselves. It is corruption itself when I’m elected and I elect people from my tribe to fill all the position, and neglect people from other place.”
