Revealed: How Then Governor Goodluck Jonathan Gave Obaigbena $1 Million From Bayelsa’s Poverty Alleviation Funds For Beyonce And Jay Z's Visit To Nigeria

Beyonce and Jayzee in Nigeria in October 2006

By SaharaReporters, New York

SaharaReporters has uncovered a document indicating that a million dollars of Bayelsa State’s poverty alleviation fund was spent by then Governor Goodluck Jonathan on bringing American entertainers Beyonce and Jay Z to Nigeria in 2006.
In a letter stamped and signed by Bayelsa officials, N150 million (approximately a million dollars in 2006) was released from the state’s poverty alleviation fund for the first ThisDay Music Festival in Lagos.
The document came to light after a controversy was ignited over how much money American “reality TV” star Kim Kardashian was paid for a brief visit to Nigeria.
Ms. Kardashian, star of a US TV show about her idle rich family and who shot to international fame after a sex tape featuring her and her rapper boyfriend went viral, was reportedly paid half a million dollars for the 24-hour-visit last week.
The sources who provided the 2006 document for Beyonce and Jay Z’s visit told Saharareporters that there was a shady financial link between the producers of some high profile entertainment events and the governors and other officials who control budgets at the state and federal levels. Mr. Obaigbena’s newspaper, ThisDay, is a major sponsor of entertainment events that brings US music stars as well as top public figures for flying visits to Nigeria in exchange for gargantuan paychecks.
“Mr. Obaigbena often lines up financial bonanzas from numerous governors, ministers and other top government officials to finance his jamborees,” said one of the sources who is based in the UK and is knowledgeable about such deals.
SaharaReporters obtained a letter from Mr. Obaigbena to the Bayelsa State government soliciting funds from the oil-producing state ahead of Nigeria’s 46th independence celebrations in 2006. The publisher wrote, “We invite you to partner with us as co-hosts of the festival.” The letter added: “With a total budget of $10 million, the co-host is expected to contribute a minimum of $2.5 million (two million five hundred thousand USD).”
At the bottom of the letter, minuted by hand and signed by then Governor Jonathan’s aides as well as the Bayelsa State accountant general are the words, “Release N150,000,000.00 (One hundred and fifty million naira) only to be drawn from the poverty alleviation subhead.”
One source told SaharaReporters that Mr. Obaigbena sent similar letters to other south-south states.
SaharaReporters could not ascertain how much of the released funds was paid directly to performers at the festival. There is no indication that Beyonce, one of the few entertainment stars internationally famous enough to only need one name, was aware that her performance was being subsidized by the poor people of Bayelsa.
But during Beyonce’s celebrated rendition of the Nigerian national anthem, pictures of Bayelsa State were projected onto the wall of the Lagos concert venue.
According to the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics, 47% of Bayelsans live in poverty. The World Bank says that per capita gross domestic product in the Niger Delta is significantly below the country’s average. According to the state’s own 2005 development strategy, 80% of rural communities have no access to safe drinking water, a key indicator in judging poverty. In Yenagoa, the state capital and Bayelsa’s largest urban area, an estimated two out of every five residents do not have access to safe drinking water.
In 2005, as part of its UN-approved strategy to combat poverty, the state promised to make a fund of N100 million available as soft loans and micro-credit to Bayelsans. The allocated fund was N50 million less than Mr. Jonathan approved for Mr. Obaigbena’s music festival. That promise was made in the Bayelsa State Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy, published by the United Nations Development Program and signed by then Governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha. A civil rights activist in Yenogoa told SaharaReporters that the state “has been a woeful failure in its poverty reduction program.”
The letter from Mr. Obaigbena to then-governor Goodluck Jonathan said the concert was necessary to show that the news from Nigeria was “not just…HIV/AIDS, conflicts, poverty, kidnapping, strife and riots.”
The publisher added: “This is the longest ever period of democracy in Nigeria, over seven years and counting! And a stable democracy means more investment and economic prosperity for all.”
The publisher went on to give reasons why the state government should contribute to the concert.
The stars’ performances would “tell the world, through music, that Nigeria’s time has come,” Mr. Obaigbena wrote. The letter added, “And once the good news catches on with the young and upwardly mobile, music loving new generation it will catch on with the world of investments and bountiful opportunities.”
In 2006, Mr. Goodluck Jonathan had just become governor of Bayelsa after his boss, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, was impeached and convicted on corruption charges.  Mr. Jonathan was then elevated to Vice President to then President Umaru Yar’Adua. Mr. Yar’Adua's death in 2010 enabled Mr. Jonathan, a zoologist whose PhD focused on tropical fish, to assume the presidency.
Since 2006, Mr. Obaigbena’s parent company, Leaders & Company, has produced a number of high-profile events that have seen such American stars as Rihanna, R Kelly, and Usher perform for Nigerians. The ticket prices for these concerts are usually out of reach of the “average” Nigerian. The events feature tickets that cost many tens of thousands of naira, usually reserved for “VIP access.” ThisDay has also hosted political luminaries like former US President Bill Clinton and former economic adviser to the Obama presidency, Lawrence Summers. At an Africa Rising concert in London, former US Secretary of State Colin Powell came on stage and danced to the popular Naija jam “Yahooze” by Olu Maintain.
 

 

2015: Another loud silence from Jonathan

By John Bulus
EVEN though Governor Babangida Aliyu of Niger State had caught another jaw in the controversy surrounding President Goodluck Jonathan’s alleged intent for a second term in 2015, the number one citizen has rather chosen to concentrate on his job rather than clearing the air. Vanguard Saturday’s JOHN BULUS in this piece analyses the danger of the seeming elongated silence.
“We wish to state categorically that this is neither the time nor the season to begin electioneering campaign or related discourse for the 2015 presidential elections and so, President Goodluck Jonathan will not jump the gun. Mr. President will therefore stoutly resist any disguised or open attempt to drag him into any debates, arguments or political discussions relating to a presidential election in 2015”.
With these words, Dr. Doyin Okupe, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs on Wednesday dashed the hope of many Nigerians who had hoped to hear from President Jonathan in another round of provocation of thoughts on whether he entertains a two-term rule ambition in 2015.

Okupe

To some people, that was being smart while to others, it smacks some theatrical garb. But to Jonathan’s critics and anti Jonathan’s 2015 ambition, Okupe’s defense of his master was devoid of courtesy to Nigerians who in the first place, elected Jonathan as their President in 2011. To them, President Jonathan even though he has a duty to perform still owes Nigerian the obligations of declaring his stand on the 2015 controversy.
Indeed, for months now, talks about whether the President will seek re-election in 2015 have reached a crescendo yet the President has continued to maintain what critical analysts referred to as “vexing silence”. In fact, more vexing is the fact that each passing day literally heralds one or two events that bring President Jonathan closer to the ring of contest. And when an opportunity presented itself for the President to line issues, he failed. Instead, chose to play politics.
But there have been arguments and counter-arguments over 2015 in the past, many however believe that none has been as sensitive as the “bombshell” dropped by the Niger State Governor, Alhaji Babangida Aliyu on Sunday on the issue. Aliyu during a Radio programme “Guest of the Week”, aired on Liberty Radio 91.7, Abuja said that governors of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) signed pact of one term for Jonathan in 2011. And with the governor, like a gadfly provoked a thought and seeming touched some raw nerves.
According to him:   “I recall that at the time he was going to declare for the 2011 election, all the PDP governors were brought together to ensure that we were all in the same frame of mind. “And I recall that some of us said that, given the circumstances of the death of President Umaru Yar’Adua and given the PDP zoning arrangement, it was expected that the North was to produce the president for a given number of years.
“I recall that at that discussion, it was agreed that Jonathan would serve only one term of four years and we all signed the agreement. Even when Jonathan went to Kampala , in Uganda , he also said he was going to serve a single term.
“For now, President Jonathan has not declared a second term ambition and we must not be speculating based on those who are benefiting from the campaign. I think we are all gentlemen enough; so when the time comes, we will all come together and see what is the right thing to do”.
Presidency’s response
According to analysts, this frontal statement is most sensitive of all issues surrounding 2015 and as such deserves either outright refutal or admission. But to the consternation of Nigerians, the Presidency, they said, played to the gallery and side-stepped the statement.
Hear Okupe’s further defence on the issue. “Mr. President will therefore stoutly resist any disguised or open attempt to drag him into any debates, arguments or political discussions relating to a presidential election in 2015”.
Groups gathering for Jonathan in 2015
Like the days preceding the keenly contested primary election of PDP and the presidential contest in 2011, the polity is heating up again with various interest groups initiating moves for a Jonathan’s presidency in 2015 even when the President has not categorically said he would run.
Allow Jonathan enjoy his democratic rights – Dr. Frederick Fasehun, the President of the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC).
Leading a delegation of the OPC on a visit to Mr Kingsley Kuku, the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta Affairs, Mr. Fasehun on Thursday said in Abuja that President Jonathan should be allowed to “enjoy his democratic rights”
“We fought for the democracy. Democracy is a pervasive commitment and the President has his democratic rights to enjoy. I think Nigerians should allow him to enjoy his democratic rights by standing election in 2015. I agree that he should be allowed to enjoy his democratic rights.
“And if Nigerians think he has brought peace. He has encouraged growth and progress, they should give him another chance to continue,” the OPC boss said.
PDP women drum support for Jonathan’s presidency
PDP National Woman Leader, Mrs Kema Chikwe at a presentation and launch of the PDP Women in Power calendar on Thursday in Abuja said expressed hope that President Jonathan will return to power in 2015 to give women more political positions.
“We are confident that when President Jonathan returns in 2015, women would be talking about 50 per cent, no longer 35 per cent affirmative action.
“As we give him unequivocal, undiluted, unreserved support and as we match with him to 2015, PDP women will reach the promise land,” Chikwe said.
Jonathan /Sambo Solidarity Forum Home and Abroad (JSSFHA)
In a statement issued in Abuja on Thursday and jointly signed by the national President and secretary of the group, Hon. Franklin Ekong, and Mr. Idoko Hilary Nduka, the group explained President Jonathan should go for a second as president in office.
“We want to call on Nigerians to join hands with this God giving leader to transform Nigeria rather than trying to engage Mr. President in uninteresting, wasteful arguments that are uncalled for. “It is our desire as a group to advise good people of Nigeria to disregard any arguments that is of personal or group interest that President Jonathan agreed to do one term,” the statement reads.
We can’t be intimidated –Asari Dokubo
On his facebook page, Alhaji Dokubo Asari on Thursday said that President Jonathan does not have the right to sign off the constitutional right of the people of south- south.
“GEAJ does not have right to sign off the constitutional right of the people of the south-south to have to have the presidency for two terms…he cannot and no sane south southerner will allow him to do that. This is not an issue of integrity…the issue is the right of a whole region…we cannot be intimidated or cajoled to accept such perfidy”, he said.
Meanwhile, as 2015 inches close, it is left to be seen whether President Jonathan will fly the flag of his party, the PDP and square up in another round of contest with whosoever that emerges the Presidential candidate from the leading opposition parties which have fused to form All Progressive Congress (APC).
 Vanguard

UNILAG Name Change: Jonathan Makes U-turn

Protesting students resisted name change

Abuja – President Goodluck Jonathan has reversed the change of name of the University of Lagos which he renamed Moshood Abiola University in a broadcast to mark the 2012 Democracy Day.
Chairman, Governing Council of University of Lagos, Professor Jerry Gana disclosed this yesterday in Abuja during his inauguration alongside three others by the Minister of Education, Professor Ruqayyatu Rufai
The name change had been the subject of litigation and protests from students and alumni of the institution while a court recently ruled that the change was illegal.
Gana who hailed President Jonathan for retaining the name of the institution. said the president had upheld the Constitution by reversing the change of name of the university.
“This is a pointer to the fact that the current administration is committed to entrenching democracy and justice in the country.’’
Gana, who was responding on behalf of the four councils, said they would ensure that the universities’ communities settled down in peace.
“I assure you that we will do our best to be fair, just and honourable in the discharge of our duties.” He also promised effective leadership with integrity, honour and justice.
Gana said members would work according to the rules governing the institutions.
He thanked Jonathan for the appointments and said they would put in their best as Nigerians deserved nothing less.
The other governing councils inaugurated by the Minister of Education, Prof. Ruqayyatu Rufa’I, were for the University of Benin, ObafemiAwolowoUniversity, Ile-Ife and Michael Opara University of Agriculture, Umudike.
Their Chairmen are Sen. Bob Dickson, Prof. Rowland Ndoma-Egba and Prof. Anya O.Anya respectively.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Education, Sen. Uche Chukwumerijie said the lawmakers’ job had been made easier by the appointments.
Chukwumerijie said the committee’s oversight visits to the institutions had identified lack of leadership by the absence of governing councils and the quality of members of the boards as challenges facing the institutions.
He said the Federal Government had by the appointments taken care of the issues.
“There are councils for those that did not have and the members who have been appointed are men and women of proven integrity and experience in academics.’’
The lawmaker described the appointees as round pegs in round holes and the right captains in the ship.
Chukwumerijie charged the councils to immediately tackle falling standards of education, corruption, cultism and many ills that had continued to affect the development of education.
The Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission, Prof. Julius Okojie, said no university could function effectively without a governing council.
Okojie urged government to consider training and retreat for members to enable them to keep abreast of global best practices in university administration.
He also advocated financial autonomy for universities in the country.
Vanguard

Cynthia Osokogu’s Murder: Hotel Receptionist, Porter, Lodged Suspects With Forged Receipt to Defraud Hotel

By SaharaReporters, New York

Vivian Emenike, a receptionist at the hotel where Cynthia Osokogu was murdered, today explained to the court how she manipulated hotel records to exclude the presence of the suspects.
Ms. Emenike, 28, told the court that the room was originally booked by a couple who vacated the premises early, leaving some hours unused. When the suspects arrived and wanted a room, she gave them that room, ;issuing a fake receipt to them and making no official hotel record in respect of that transaction. She stated that the shady act was with the connivance of the hotel porter with whom she normally shared the proceeds from such deals.
The testimony contradicted an earlier statement she made to the police that the suspects were younger brothers of the original person who had booked the room, but who left use of the accommodation to his brother until the booking expired.
Ms. Emenike further revealed that her action was with the connivance of the hotel porter, whereby fake receipts were issued to new customers lodging in a room that had been checked out from, but the booking for which still had time on it. The same tactic, she said, was applied in granting accommodation to the suspects in Cynthia’s murder.
At the hearing, defence lawyers today lost ;a stay-of-proceedings bid for the second time, failing to persuade the judge that their clients would not get a fair hearing because of the wide media reportage of the matter. The court ruled out their application, saying it failed to see the effect of media coverage on fair hearing in court.
Cynthia, a student, was allegedly murdered by some of her Facebook friends last year.
Justice Akinlade, presiding, adjourned ;the hearing to March 22.

It’s in South-East’s interest to back APC – Annie Okonkwo

 

By CLIFFORD NDUJIHE
…•Says doubting Thomases’ll be disappointed…
Senator Clement Annie Okonkwo, who represented Anambra Central Senatorial District in the Sixth Assembly, led the delegation of a faction of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in the merger talks with other opposition parties to form the All Progressives Congress (APC). In a chat with reporters, Okonkwo said it was in the interest of the South-East to join other regions in the push to rescue Nigeria from the shackles of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
You were quoted as saying that your party, APGA was dead following the formation of APC. What informed that view?
I was misquoted. I made my point clear that the major political parties in the country are surrendering their party to form one strong platform and that if the merger works the political parties involved will cease to exist and this is what the law says. This is the first time that this has happened. What we use to have is alliance and not merger. I never said that APGA is a dead party. But the truth of the matter is that if the merger talk is successful there won’t be anything like APGA. Some people on their own have destroyed the party.
To be specific, a sponsored court order by the governor of Anambra State has kept APGA in an impotent condition from the national to state level. Today it has become very difficult for somebody to do anything that will yield good result in APGA. Most of them are in PDP but are still pretending to be in APGA. I will like to thank the Governor of Imo State, Owelle Rochas Okorocha as the only governor from the South-East that supported the merger of the major opposition parties into one strong platform, APC because there is no way this country can be rescued from the hands of the greedy and selfish PDP members.
So, to ensure that this does not continue, the people of the North have surrendered their major opposition parties, the oldest political party, the All Nigerian Peoples Party, ANPP and the leading political party in the area, the Congress for Progressives Change, CPC; the South-West has also sacrificed their own party, the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN. So, I don’t see any reason we in the South-East should not support the merger talk. I commend Okorocha for his courage to support the merger and this will make APC a strong political party because it has received the support of all the zones in the country. And each zone also has a governor.
The North-Central has a governor; the North-East has a governor, the North-West also has. In the South-West, there are governors, South-South, there is a governor and the South-east cannot be left aside, we also have a governor. So, people who are thinking that the merger will not work will be disappointed at the end of the day. I see APC as a party that is going to rescue this country from the problem of insecurity, corruption and others that the PDP government has failed to solve because of their selfish leadership system.

Sen. Annie Okonkwo

Do you think Ndigbo stand a chance of producing the president on the banner of the APC?
When we were talking of the Igbo president, a lot of people thought we weren’t serious. As far as I am concerned, I believe that APC is the only party that can compete and defeat the PDP in any election. So, the opportunity is that as time goes on, we are going to contest the presidential primary election and if we win, we will have the opportunity of producing the president. One of the policies of the party is that internal democracy must be maintained and once it is maintained we will progress.
In PDP, there is no hope for the Igbo nation. Presently, from the president, vice president, Senate President and the Speaker there is no Igbo representative. The Vice President, Namadi Sambo is from the North, the Senate President, David Mark is from the North and the Speaker of the House of Representatives is also from the North and they are all PDP members. Tell me, is that how we will achieve the Igbo dream of producing the President?
APC is dominated by the South-West and North. With APGA already divided, don’t you think the South-East would be a minority in the party? As the President of C21, how do you hope to convince the Igbo to buy into it?
Our people find it very difficult to believe in reality. The truth is that it will be difficult to convince people to move in at the same time but when they start seeing result, they will be convinced to join the movement. What we want to do is to put an enlightenment programme to enable them understand our plan. I believe that by the time we are through with that, the Igbo will understand that the only political party where we can achieve our vision is the APC.
How are you tackling the problem of logo facing APC, which was occasioned by the crisis in APGA?
Everybody is aware that for the past six months, there have been crisis in APGA which has also witnessed several court cases. So, it will be very difficult for any merging political party to accept an APGA logo because they will believe that it will attract a lot of litigations. But we are still making our case very clear to ensure that all the parties are accommodated.
With APC merger talk still in progress, are you still going to contest for Anambra governorship under its platform?
The major thing we are doing is to build the party. For me, I am still in still contesting the election but it is not a do-or-die affair. The most important thing is to make sure that APC wins the next election in Anambra State. So, if the party supports my ambition I will fly the flag of the party.
APC fielding candidates, how do you think the 2015 election would look like?
This is the kind of election that Nigerians have been waiting to witness. A lot of unimaginable things will happen. PDP will lose a lot of states. For 14 years of PDP leadership at the federal level, the masses have been suffering one problem or the other. You can imagine how many families that have lost their loved ones either through Boko Haram attacks, Niger Delta militants’ attacks, kidnapping or plane crash. It means that something is wrong somewhere. With the birth of APC, the country will witness another style of leadership that will end the sufferings of the people. A leadership that will provide jobs for the people, a leadership that will provide security for the people, a leadership that will provide electricity for the masses of this country and of course, a leadership that will develop this country in all aspect.
What gives you the confidence that APC will beat PDP at the presidential and state elections?
PDP is a failed party. They don’t care about the masses and with the kind of people in APC, PDP is going nowhere.
What is responsible for the problem that Chief Victor Umeh is facing in APGA?
Everybody is aware that the crisis is sponsored and masterminded by Governor Peter Obi who believes that he has nothing to do with APGA again and thinks the best way to pay the people of APGA the good thing they did for him is by destroying the party. Unfortunately for him, we have moved on.
Obi will be rounding up by next year, how would you assess his achievement so far?
I don’t like discussing people. But honestly, people are scared of going to Anambra State because the insecurity there is too high and it was caused by unemployment in the state. We have thousands of graduates roaming the streets of Anambra and the state government is not doing anything about it.

Vanguard

The Counterfeit Christian Church 2

 

By Femi Aribisala

Most of today’s Christians do not have the kind of faith Jesus is looking for.

Jesus says the kingdom of heaven is like putting yeast in a large portion of dough. (Matthew 13:33).  While pastors with limited understanding of kingdom dynamics see this yeast as beneficial on the grounds that it is designed to promote the rapid numerical growth of the church; those with better insight see it as spiritually counter-productive precisely because it leads to the exponential growth of the church.  This growth is contrary to God’s design.

Abnormal church

Yeast in the bible is a metaphor for a corrupting agent.  The yeast “infects” the dough and makes the bread puffed up and “proud.”  Therefore, yeast was required to be thrown away at the Passover. (Exodus 12:15).  No meal offering was acceptable with yeast. (Leviticus 6:17).  Jesus himself uses yeast to characterise the duplicitous doctrine of the religious leaders.  He warns: “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.” (Luke 12:1).

As the church grew from a tiny seed into a small mustard bush, it was as God designed it.  But over time, with the yeast of pastors, it mutated into a large tree, something God never intended.  It became a freak giant of a tree not in keeping with its genetic-code.  It therefore ceased to be God’s church when we perverted the doctrines of Jesus on the altar of church growth.  It became a counterfeit of the true church, even though it still claimed to be “Christian.”  It formed an unholy alliance with Rome and took on many facets of pagan mystery religions.

Jesus defined the acceptable parameters of his church.  It is small in size: “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” (Luke 12:32).  Its workers are small in number: “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few.” (Luke 10:2).  Its membership is a small elect: “Many are called, but few chosen.” (Matthew 20:16).  Its pathway is found only by a small number of people: “Narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” (Matthew 7:14).  Therefore, the crowd should not be confused with the church.  

Jesus says: “When the Son of Man comes, will he really find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8).  Since according to the reputable Pew Research Centre there are now over 2 billion Christians on earth, more than any other religion, the conclusion is inescapable.  Most of today’s Christians do not have the kind of faith Jesus is looking for.

Demonic church

In effect, Jesus’ parables portray the current deviant form of the kingdom of God.  His mustard tree not only experiences aberrant growth; the birds of the air nesting in its branches are demons.  They are messengers of Satan: “the wicked one,” with the objective to steal the word of God from men’s hearts. (Matthew 13:4/19; Mark 4:4/15; Luke 8:5/12).  Jesus’ portrait is therefore identifiable in its perverseness as the end-time “mystery Babylon” which represents today’s Christian church. (Revelation 17:5).  The church is “a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird!” (Revelation 18:2).

Jesus says: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat.” (Matthew 13:24-25).  Accordingly, the modern church is overrun by demons who plant weeds among God’s wheat.  These weeds now occupy strategic positions as pastors, bishops and general overseers.  They are revered as “father,” “papa” and “daddy,” in contravention of Jesus’ directive to call no one father but God. (Matthew 23:9).  God allows this to happen, just as he allowed Satan to tempt Job; just as Jesus was led of the Holy Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil; and just as Jesus allowed Satan to sift Peter like wheat. (Luke 22:31).

Out of this adversity, God is nevertheless determined to bring forth his true children.  Jesus says: “The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.” (Matthew 13:45-46).  This presents another remarkable kingdom dynamic.  The pearl is the only “jewel” that is not buried in the earth.  It comes from a living organism: the oyster.  The first thing of note about the oyster is that it is not kosher.  It is forbidden food in the Law of Moses. (Deuteronomy 14:10).  The second thing of note is that oysters only produce pearls in response to irritation.  When the oyster gets hot and bothered, it produces the pearl in self-defence.

Even so, those who seek the Lord even in the counterfeit church will become his pearls.  They will be rescued from their inconvenient places of growth and become God’s glorious adornment: “‘They shall be mine,’ says the LORD of hosts, ‘on the day that I make them my jewels. And I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him. Then you shall again discern between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him.” (Malachi 3:17-18).

Counterfeit church

Therefore, what we see all around us today is the false church headed by false popes, pastors and bishops.  This counterfeit church is large, flamboyant and worldly.  But God’s true church is a “little flock” of “little ones” led by one Good Shepherd. (Luke 12:32; Matthew 18:14).  By presenting the kingdom of God as a mustard seed which grows to become a tree, Jesus was giving a prophecy about the coming perversion of church growth, which is already upon us.

Thus, Jesus’ parable of the mustard seed is designed to dispel all grandiose mythical and self-serving expectations of the kingdom of God.  But thanks to “Nicodemus pastors,” the myth has once again recaptured Jesus’ true portrait.  We are back again to planting cedars of Lebanon everywhere.

What we have now in the churches is the kingdom of pastors, which has little to do with the kingdom of God.  There, personal empires are built through the distortion of the scriptures for the sake of collecting as much tithes and offerings as possible.  Jesus says: “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’” (Matthew 21:13).

Our so-called “men of God” now include jet-flying, designer-suited internationally-acclaimed superstars.  However, true “children of God” are despised and rejected by the people. (Isaiah 49:7).  The authentic ministry of Christ is not glamorous: it is humiliating and frustrating.  The Messiah himself laments: “I have labored to no purpose; I have spent my strength in vain and for nothing. Yet what is due me is in the LORD’s hand, and my reward is with my God.’” (Isaiah 49:4).  Therefore, today’s celebrated pastor is a contradiction in terms.

This is the Lord’s final verdict: “Many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Vanguard

The Counterfeit Christian Church I

 

By Femi Aribisala

The modern Christian church, with its mega-pastors and highfalutin cathedrals, is nothing but a counterfeit of the true church of Christ.

One day, the Lord asked me one of those questions that turn my faith upside down.  ”Femi,” he said, “does a mustard seed ever become a tree?”

The question was confusing.  Jesus himself says: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.” (Matthew 13:31-32).  Nevertheless at your word Lord Jesus, I decided to investigate.  Does the mustard seed actually become a tree?

The answer was so unexpected, it made me angry.  The mustard seed never becomes a tree.  At best, it grows to become a shrub.  Mustard trees don’t exist; except of course in Christian circles where they are planted fictitiously by “Nicodemus” pastors and televangelists.

Double-edged parables

The disciples asked Jesus why he spoke to the people in parables.  Why not just speak plainly to them?  Jesus replied that since they don’t want to understand what he was saying, he was also going to make sure they don’t understand. (Matthew 13:10-15).

Jesus’ parables are often designed to conceal and not to reveal.  In the portrait of the kingdom of God, his parables turn everything upside down.  The despised Samaritan, and not the “godly” priest or Levite, turns out to be the righteous hero of the story of the Good Samaritan.  Jesus’ Good Shepherd is so reckless; he leaves ninety-nine sheep unattended while looking for just one lost sheep.  In another parable, the despised tax collector is justified, while the presumably “godly” Pharisee is condemned.  In the story of the Prodigal Son, a party is thrown for the sinful prodigal son, instead of for the older, more faithful son.  In yet another parable, a master commended an unrighteous servant for his unrighteousness, and proclaimed him to be wise.

That is kingdom dynamics.  The first become last and the last become first.  Jesus’ parables confound our preconceptions by telling us what we know the way we have never known it.  This is because the ways of the kingdom are not the ways of men.  Therefore, his parables expose many religious myths as false answers to life’s hard realities.  They shatter our comfortable social sensibilities by confounding accepted norms and values.  Unfortunately, we are no longer offended today because the myths have reclaimed the parables once again.

True to form, very few things about Jesus’ parable of the mustard seed conform to reality.  The mustard seed is not the smallest of all seeds.  That distinction actually belongs to the orchid seed.  The mustard is a herb, so it never grows into anything like a tree.  All the varieties of the mustard family have thin stems and branches.  At best, they grow to become shrubs.  Most birds would not be inclined to build their nest in a mustard plant because of the stinging aroma.

Of course, Jesus is aware of these anomalies.  But true to form, he is a rock of offence to the sensibilities of the Jewish farmer.  To expose the falsehood of a myth, a story must sometimes be outrageous and offensive.  The mustard is appropriately a biting, irritating and disturbing condiment.  It is therefore well-suited to the gospel, which irritates and disturbs those at ease in this world.

Cedars of Lebanon

The Jews believed the kingdom of God would bring about the restoration of Israel to its former power and glory.  The symbol of this expectation was the cedar of Lebanon.  With the advent of the kingdom, it was anticipated that Israel would be restored as a mighty cedar, head and shoulders above its neighbours. The cedar was magnificent by all accounts.  It grew straight up, sometimes for two to three hundred feet.

This expectation seemed to be confirmed by the vision given to Daniel: “I was looking, and behold, a tree in the midst of the earth, and its height was great.  The tree grew and became strong; its height reached to the heavens, and it could be seen to the ends of all the earth.  Its leaves were lovely, its fruit abundant, and in it was food for all. The beasts of the field found shade under it, the birds of the heavens dwelt in its branches, and all flesh was fed from it.” (Daniel 4:10-12).

However, no sooner had Daniel received this vision than the Lord asked that the tree be cut down. (Daniel 4:13-14).  Ezekiel notes that the counsel of the Lord is to bring down the high tree and exalt the low tree. (Ezekiel 17:24).  Isaiah also gives a similar message: “The day of the LORD of hosts shall come upon everything proud and lofty, upon everything lifted up- and it shall be brought low.” (Isaiah 2:12-17).

So, when Jesus told the parable of the mustard seed, he actually wanted his listeners to know that the kingdom of God does not come as a tree, growing high up into the sky.  On the contrary, it grows like a weed.  It grows as under-bush.  It spreads out on the ground.  The kingdom of God is like a little mustard seed that is sown in us.  It is growing, but it is not going to turn us into cedars of Lebanon.  We would be doing excellently well if we were to become modest shrubs.

The modern Christian church, with its mega-pastors and highfalutin cathedrals, is nothing but a counterfeit of the true church of Christ.

Invisible church

Jesus wants Christians to think small and not big.  The tasks before us are not accomplished by filling huge stadiums and mausoleums or by making intercontinental television broadcasts.  God’s great works are not done on such vainglorious levels.  Jesus says: “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.” (Luke 17:20-21).

It is Bethlehem Ephratah which, though little among the clans of Judah, is nevertheless singled out to bring forth great things. (Micah 5:2).  The kingdom is accomplished in us in the mundane details of everyday life, with its ups and downs.  It is fulfilled by small acts of love and kindness; encouraging the afflicted; supporting the weak.  Nothing about this will be carried in the news, proclaimed on billboards or extolled on television.

Those things that meet the approval of men are not God’s idea of success.  In his eyes, they constitute abject failures. (Luke 16:15).  The greatest works of the kingdom are accomplished in secret.  They are unseen and unsung.  They are reflected in our beatitudes.

Thus, God says to the counterfeit Christian church: “Quit your worship charades. I can’t stand your trivial religious games: Monthly conferences, weekly Sabbaths, special meetings- meetings, meetings, meetings- I can’t stand one more! Meetings for this, meetings for that.  I hate them! You’ve worn me out! I’m sick of your religion, religion, religion, while you go right on sinning. When you put on your next prayer-performance, I’ll be looking the other way. No matter how long or loud or often you pray, I’ll not be listening.” (Isaiah 1:13-14).  (Continued)
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