A lot has been written about Primate Ayodele Elijah, the founder and leader of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church. A lot has been said about him. If truth be told, there is probably no man of God who has made the headlines in recent times as much as Primate Ayodele did. He is always in the news, releasing astonishing prophecies or showing claims of prophecies that have just come to fulfillment. And at other times, the man is speaking truth to power, telling our leaders what they’re doing wrong and the consequences of their actions or inactions on the populace. Whenever the government has taken action or implemented a policy that he fears may be unfavourable to the citizenry, Primate Ayodele is one of the first few people to speak out against such policies or action. Most times, while trying to fight for the masses, Primate Ayodele often critcizes the government with such intensity and passion that sometimes make you wonder if he is not taking things a little personal with our leaders. He gets emotional about these issues sometimes and says out of anger things that make you afraid for his own safety. But the truth is it’s nothing personal, that’s simply how deeply concerned and worried Primate Ayodele is about the plight of the less privileged.
Many may have been wondering why Primate Ayodele has not been seen in company of some prominent men of God like himself. Many wonder why he has not joined the long list of prophets and men of God who, for years running, have been making regular visits to Aso Rock to wine and dine with our leaders when the Nigerian masses that depend on them to speak truth to power are languishing in penury. The answer is obvious – Primate Ayodele does not frolick with men of God who do not have the interest of the masses at heart. If, as a man of God, you want to really annoy Primate Ayodele, just begin to flaunt your wealth at your congregation or the general public and you will instantly incur the wrath of this great man of God. He dislikes with a passion men of God who do not use their wealth and God given resources to help the needy around them and the society at large. Indeed, some of these men of God who run massive churches and boast of humongous congregations actually bully their church members with their wealth, flaunting before them their multi million naira exotic cars and expensive gold wrist watches and designer outfits. This is exactly what Primate Ayodele despises and one of the reasons why he cannot be seen in any form of fraternity with these flambuoyant men of God who have been consumed by all the vanities of life. While Primate Ayodele is driven more by his love for the masses as evident in his phenomenal philanthropy, most of these other prominent men of God are driven more by love for money and hunger for recognition by the government. Let us call a spade a spade, Primate Ayodele and these so called men of God have nothing in common, they cannot be friends. They cannot understand the depth of Primate Ayodele’s compassion when it comes to showing concern about the plight of the man on the street.
In the last few weeks alone, starting from the month of February, Primate Ayodele, embarked on what can only be described as super mega philanthropy. It is something unprecedented in Christendom. No Pastor, no man of God has ever done this before. Many will recall that this extremely humble and unassuming man of God had a palliative market late last year that shook the entire nation. Many women from far and near thronged Oke-Afa where Primate Ayodele’s Church, INRI Evangelical Spiritual church is located to benefit from the large heart of this incredible man of God who took it upon himself to help the needy cushion the biting effect of the economic hardship that was triggered by the removal of the fuel subsidy. There were hundreds of different food items in large volumes on sale at incredibly low prices. Primate Ayodele slashed down the prices of many expensive food items such as rice which was selling at N70,000 at the time but sold at N20,000 per bag. The women couldn’t believe their luck. They were all full of prayers for the renowned man of God. But the second Palliative market held last month February 14 was even bigger and more astonishing. Women who had heard of the first Palliative market stormed the venue of the second edition of the Palliative market. And this time, the prices were slashed beyond imagination. Imagine a bag of rice sold in the market at N80,000 was sold for N20,000, a bag of beans was sold for N2,000, tubers of yam were sold for N1,500, a bag of Semovita was sold for N1,500, garri was sold for N3,000, a carton of Indomie sold for N1,500, wheat was sold for N2,000 and many more.
Not done yet, Primate Ayodele gave out monetry gifts to different people to empower them. He handed a cheque of N700,000 to support a young growing ministry. Others got N500,000 to support their businesses while several others got endowment funds to support their education. JAMB and WAEC forms were paid for to support less privileged children who are desirous of going to school, while the aged and the widows too were not left out of empowerment support of various kinds. But the high point of the day was when Primate Ayodele gave about five cars to different people including this writer. Indeed, after giving out the 5 cars, he gave out more cars in the days that followed. It is needless to remind anyone of the price of the smallest brand of cars in the market in this inflation driven economy.
He has also commissioned a healthcare facility where medical care will be given to the. Community at very little cost. It is expected to be an ultra modern health care facility. The prominent man of God also commissioned a bakery where bread of different sizes will be sold at unbelievably cheap prices.
How many men of God can do this for those around them? How many of them do actually feel the pain of the masses like Primate Ayodele does? How many do share in his spirit of giving and can show compassion the way he does? It must be very few, and we are yet to see those few. Just like they say, you cannot give what you don’t have. And once you don’t have this passion for philanthropy burning in you as a man of God, then you cannot be Primate Ayodele’s friend. The minute he discovers you’re a vain man of God who does nothing but bully people with his wealth, he will move far away from you. As far as he is concerned, there is no meeting point between both of you. You are extremely stingy, he is an incurable giver. You are an oppressor, he is a fighter of the masses. You are darkness, he is light. So, how can these two different individuals with totally contrasting personalities be friends? This is also one of the reasons why Primate Ayodele has chosen to stay away fron CAN and PFN. He believes they do not share in his ideologies and he does not agree with theirs either.
Clearly, for those wondering why Primate Ayodele does not frolick with other men of God, let us be honest, can a man like this have the time to be frivolous with his resources like his other colleagues in the vineyard of God? Certainly not Primate Ayodele. The man is a lone ranger. A one man riot squad. He needs no friends to operate. He chooses his friends, his friends don’t choose him. But the last person Primate Ayodele will choose as a friend is a man of God who does nothing but flaunt his flmbuoyant lifestyle in the faces of the poor and hungry!
-WALE LAWAL
