Senior Pastor of Life Bible Church, Akure, Ondo State, Moses Adaramola, has called on Nigerians to stop falsifying or using invalid documents for international travels in the move to secure visa.
Adaramola, president of Harvest of Nations Ministry, spoke while reacting to a viral report alleging a Nigerian pastor was deported from Canada for falsifying travel papers.
The cleric, while distancing himself from the report, condemned use of his photograph to illustrate the story, saying it is false and embarrassing.
“Only a few are, maybe have gone there to read, and later they do fine work. Many over there are suffering.
“So, my advice is, as a man of God, I don’t believe in falsifying documents, telling lies, just to go to another country.
“If you find a means of going abroad, make sure you don’t cut corners. Do it according to the law. Do it in the right way,” Adaramola said.
Pastor Adaramola lamented that many Nigerians who travel abroad through illegal or deceitful means often end up facing hardship.
He described Nigeria as a blessed nation with abundant opportunities, despite the current economic challenges.
“Those who are travelling abroad, I used to tell them that those who ‘Japa’, it is not even the best. Even when I was preaching on the pulpit, I still mentioned it in my sermon. I’ve been in these places, except Canada, I’ve been in the UK, and I see many of these people that are going there.”
He added, “I know that in our country here in Nigeria now, because of the present economic situation, which is not limited to Nigeria alone, it is the same all over.
“Only that we have our own special case. Everybody wants to just leave the country and go to another country. But if you want to go, don’t go in a dubious way. Make sure you don’t cut corners.
“Don’t go in a way that will make you to tell lies and falsify documents and do a lot of things. It’s not good. So that’s my counsel for those who eventually want to make it to leave this country.” the cleric said.
Pastor Adaramola also expressed shock over the use of his picture in the report about the deported pastor, which mentioned another name entirely.
“Somebody called my attention to a report on Friday that they saw my picture and that they said that I was trying to bribe a Nigerian police so that I can be exempted from prosecution, that they have deported me from Canada.
“And they just told me the story as it’s spreading in the social media now. And people felt that, since they see my picture, they put my picture there, but the body of the article is not my name that is mentioned.
“So, I said they should post it to me. So when I saw it, I was so much embarrassed because, number one, I don’t think there’s any reason why my picture should be there. The name they put in that article is not my name,” he said.
“I’m not Lucky because they put one Lucky Bidemi in that article. I’ve not been to Canada before. I don’t even have a visa for Canada. Let alone being deported.”
The minister of God, who recently marked his 70th birthday, said the incident was particularly distressing as it coincided with his milestone celebration.
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“And as a man of God, I’m not even planning to relocate to any other country. At what age? I’m 70. And it happens at the time I’m celebrating my 70th birthday in Nigeria here. Not to talk of somebody who is seeking an asylum in any country.
“Even the America that I’ve been going almost every day for the past 15 years, I’ve never sought any, I’ve never found any reason for me to even be a citizen of that place.
“If I had wanted to be a citizen of America, I would have applied not even seeking asylum or telling lies that I need to seek,” Pastor Adaramola said.
According to him, “For a news, reportedly painting me as somebody who has tried to fabricate lies so that they can grant me asylum, I think it’s out of place.
“So, I’m also embarrassed to see my picture being used for such a news. So that’s just what I discovered.”
He demanded that all media platforms that published the misleading story immediately remove his photograph from their reports and issue corrections.
“For any news to portray me as someone seeking asylum through falsehood is out of place. I’m deeply embarrassed by it,” Pastor Adaramola stated.