Blessed with sharp prophetic insights, the general overseer of Victory Life Bible Church (VLBC), Apostle Lawrence Achudume, spoke with Sunday Oguntola on issues surrounding the forthcoming general elections. Excerpts:
You have been off the radar lately on national issues. Are you hiding or afraid to throw in your hat?
First of all, I am not hiding; rather I have been busy with the assignment. There are lots to be done for the kingdom. That is what I have been busy with. Also, I am not afraid because there is nothing to be afraid of. People live once and there is nothing to be afraid of.
Many prominent preachers have indicated or signified where they stand on the forthcoming elections. Why haven’t you taken a stand?
The elders you expected to hear from are rather making noise. So, I have a challenge with that. As a result, I felt it’s better to be silent and keep on praying, rather than join the foray.
What challenge do you have with what some of the elders who have spoken?
I am worried that spiritual leaders now speak based on internet and newspaper reports. There is no more ‘thou saith the Lord’. We have left the place of spiritual sanity to play with the madness of the marketplace. When that happens, you know there is a problem.
Are you bothered by the recent bashings the church has received over bribery allegations to support one candidate over the other?
To be candid, I am bothered. I was not around when the issue of cash-for-support allegation arose. But before then, I had been bothered about the divergent of voices from the church. The church is not speaking with one voice and that is painful and sad. No matter what, the church should have maintained its stance and spoken as spiritual lights of the nation.
I wouldn’t say the elders of the church are confused or divided but they have not had a clear direction. The issue is that they didn’t manage information from meetings well. The church has the right to meet and decide but when it should become public should be a decision of the church. In a case where they are still discussing and everything is already out then there is a problem.
What does that tell us?
I think it’s a reflection of the bias and sentiments among church leaders. Many of them have allowed personal sentiments and emotions to interfere with their spiritual responsibility. That has also affected the ‘thou says the Lord’ from them. In a case where we meet, you have your candidate and I have mine, then there wouldn’t be a ‘Thou says the Lord’. What we need is thou says the Lord, not an endorsement or ‘this one has seen me and I like how he spoke’.
Even those saying ‘thou says the Lord’ are simply countering what others have said in the past. So, the bias and sentiments will never allow us to hear what God really has to say on the forthcoming elections.
Maybe that is because of the need to prove ‘I can also hear God’ or mobilise more people for candidates that catch my fancy.
There is no need for competition because there is no prize for someone that hears God betters. If you mix your apostolic or prophetic ministry with politics, you will be in trouble. Many of the pastors talking now cannot play politics. If you throw them there, there will be worse off than the devil in politics. Governance is not as easy as standing in your office and talking. It’s not as easy as you criticise them.
Are you rooting for any candidate?
I am not
Why?
Well, there are about 16 political parties but you only hear about the PDP and the APC. There could be other presidential candidates who will make better leaders but there is no fund and nobody gets to hear about them. Have I prayed? Yes, I have. Has he spoken to about somebody? Yes, He has. Is that person the right candidate? I will say he is like a King Saul. The absence of a better candidate will make him emerge.
You know politics is not about who God wants; it is about who the people want. God does not vote but it is people who do. So, even if God wants somebody, He cannot bring him in. It’s the people who will determine who they want. Who will they vote for? It is the person they see and hear, not the person God wants.
Are you supporting any of two major presidential candidates then?
I am not supporting any of them but I am praying and weeping for my country. You see, money is what dominates our politics now. If we want credible elections, then we must deemphasise money politics. If you don’t have money in Nigeria today, you cannot win elections and that is the truth. There are better candidates with better ideas and plans but they don’t have money to make noise.
Most of our governors, I have listened to them and been to many states in this country, given the right circumstances, most of them are unfit to be governors. I listen to them and realise they are empty but then they have the money. We need decent people in politics.
How much did you collect from the alleged N7billion allocated to pastors?
(Laughs) Like I said, I was not around then. But let me ask you: do you know how much N7billion is? Amaechi may know N6billion because he is a governor. Is all that each CAN chapter got is N3million, what happens to the balance? Is it with the CAN or PFN President? If you give Christians N7billion, how much did he give Muslims?
You see, I have called my friends who are CAN chairmen in various states and they told me there was nothing like that. There are people who could say, ‘Look Apostle, we got the money’. I called people and they told me there was nothing like that.
Are you confident these elections will still hold?
I am an optimist. I think Nigeria has left the level of one president changing things like they like. I don’t think the presidency or the PDP can influence Jega not to conduct a credible election too. If the chief services can still hold us to ransom, then something is wrong with our armed forces.
Do you still believe these elections will not consume Nigeria?
I still don’t think so. You see break-offs in a country like Nigeria would be too expensive and bloody. It will be difficult to manage. Break-up into how many? If you break into South West for example, how do you manage the traditional politics? Will the Ishans want to be part of the state where the Binis are? You see many complexities difficult to handle.
We have so inter-married that we cannot break. The Egba man has a house in every state. The Hausa man has in-laws in the west and other places. So, I don’t see these elections breaking us up. There will be pockets of crisis but no break-ups. If we can downplay the roles of money, some of these challenges won’t be there.
What is the next level for the church?
First, the church is going social to affect the society. We are working at the permanent site of the College, which we started in October. We are at the final stage of construction. We are focused to make sure the less privileged have access to education.
We are rebuilding our permanent site too. That one too is at the final stage. We are empowering the people through provision of funds and training. We are about to open an entrepreneurial school after which we can offer take-off grants for them.
When will you ever stop your apostolic trips?
I tried to stop many times but I couldn’t. Many years ago, I prayed to God to help me slow down to stay more at home. And the answer came from God: If you want to rest, just come home. I stood up from the prayer and never said it again.
