The Nigerian economy is not only had hit by the slump in the oil price in the international market or the activities in the public and private sectors affected by the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, it has also been seriously impacted negatively by the cancellation of church activities that had, over the years, helped.
Following the coronavirus outbreak and the consequent movement restriction and social distancing ordered by state and federal governments, churches have closed the doors of their worship centres.
Before the outbreak, some of the mega churches had announced activities to commemorate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, otherwise called Easter.
Usually, some churches hold annual Easter Retreat at this time which attracts hundreds of thousands of worshippers. To successfully hold such events, the transport sub-sector of the economy is impacted positively as the mega churches that host such events engage the activities of transporters to convey participants to and from the venues.
During such events, millions of naira is spent on food, water, sanitary materials, electronic, electrical equipment, plumbing materials, and a host of others.
During such huge gathering, banks and telecommunication companies open outlets to render services to participants at the venue.
Speaking with BDSUNDAY, a pastor with the Redeemed Christian Church of God, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said although an unquantifiable amount of money may be lost in Nigeria at this period, no amount of money equals the soul of man.
“The directive by government for the sit-at-home was to save lives. If we cancel Easter activities for this year to save lives, is it not better than insisting on going ahead with all our activities- crusades, retreats, and other large gatherings- and at the end people contract the deadly disease? We would have displeased God because we refused to apply wisdom,” he said.
“Don’t forget that Christ Himself, who is the reason for the season, said what shall it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his own soul? It means that no amount of money in this world is equal to the soul of man. We must always look at it from that point of view. Let us save lives first before talking about what was lost in monetary terms,” he further said.
Silas Adi, who claimed to be a leader of one of the mega Pentecostal churches in Lagos, said the country would lose a lot of money this Easter, even though it may be difficult to quantify at the moment.
Adi said: “Talking from experience, I belong to a church that holds large retreats twice every year, excluding leadership conferences, and I know the money that is usually involved. We do hire big buses to transport our members to and from the venues; we roll out over 70 luxurious buses belonging to the headquarters church; our members put their vehicles on the road; don’t forget that all these vehicles are fueled with diesel or petrol. Moreover, before the event, people spend a lot putting their vehicles in good shape for such journeys; so, they spend money on spare parts, paints, among others.”
According to him, “At the camp, we are fed three times a day. I am talking about several thousands of participants across the country; we buy soap; toiletries; and so many other things. Normally, this money goes into the economy.
“I have just talked about only one denomination. There is an uncountable number of churches in Nigeria that organise large events during Easter. Truth is, if anybody is looking at the losses in monetary terms, it is huge, but put side-by-side with the reason for the sit-at-home order, you will agree with me that it is only a living being that can talk about Easter celebration. We still have many years to celebrate if Christ tarries.”
ZEBULON AGOMUO
