With owning private jets being the new trend for Nigerian pastors at the
moment, I keep wondering whether Jesus would agree to have one if He
were in the shoes of these same pastors today. Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor,
Bishop David Oyedepo, Enoch Adeboye and Pastor T.B. Joshua are
Nigerian pastors reported to have private jets.
As a christian who believes a lot in humility, I disagree with the
ownership of such luxurious vessels in the name of evangelism. Here are
the reasons why I feel that private jets are not necessary for christian
leaders;
1. Diplomats and International business executives manage travelling
a lot without it; there are many jobs that require a lot of travel such as
being a diplomat or an international aid worker or a top level executive
of an international firm. A lot of people travel frequently and globally as
part of their job without the aid of a private jet and so, why can’t pastors
do the same? Some of the rich business executives probably travel more
than these pastors. Even the pope doesn’t own a private jet, and he is
responsible for all catholic churches across the world! Honestly, it is
hard to muster up an excuse for a pastor’s private jet when even the pope
doesn’t own one.
2. Private jets actually hamper evangelism by consuming more time,
effort and money than a commercial flight; The time and effort needed
to maintain a private jet and keep it running is ridiculous when one
considers the fact that a commercial flight is a far cheaper and less
tedious service to use for global evangelism. As a private jet owner, you
will have to think about numerous issues such as the pilot’s fees and
demands, the scheduling of the maintenance or repairs of the plane, and
also the international restrictions/laws regarding the flight of the private
jet. This means that a private jet owner will have less time to think about
preaching the word of God because of all the time and effort spent on the
private jet’s issues. A first class commercial flight will only involve
buying your ticket online, checking in and then going early for your
flight- isn’t that just easier?
3. Jesus rode on donkeys and not on chariots; horses and chariots were
the highest level of transport in biblical times but Jesus chose to humbly
enter the city of Jerusalem with a donkey in what we know as the
triumphal entry in the New Testament. Conversely, we have pastors
riding on the highest levels of transports in the form of private jets that
reeks of the very materialism that Jesus speaks against in Matthew 6;24.
4. Private jets are bad for the Nigerian economy; private jets and
planes in general are not manufactured in Nigeria and so, a lot of the
repairs and maintenance will require importation of labour and spare
parts from countries like the USA or Canada. This also means that lot of
transactions will be done in thousands of Dollars, rather than our local
Naira. One can imagine the exorbitant cost to the Nigerian private jet
owner if he or she has to pay the pilots, technicians and mechanics in
Dollars given that the exchange rate doesn’t favour the Naira. Should a
church really contribute to this leakage to our economy?
5. Private jets do not help the image of Nigerian leaders; one has to
consider the bad image our Nigerian leaders have in the eyes of the
foreign press- flamboyant and corrupt people who care little for the
suffering of their impoverished masses. A pastor owning a private jet
worth millions of dollars while many of his church members struggle to
survive everyday is not going to help such an image. Whatever happened
to the John the Baptist type of preachers who lived a chaste life not
corrupted by the illusions of vanity? I think some of our religious leaders
should learn from Jose Mujica, a man who chose a simple life despite
wielding so much power and influence as the president of Uruguay.