Apostle (Dr) Clement Olu Olajimi, is the senior pastor of Shining Light Christian Ministries worldwide. In this interview with SEYI SOKOYA, he speaks about the responsibility of the church in nation-building and how Nigerian can be reshaped.
Nigerians have been facing serious challenges lately, especially with the consistent hardship, as a cleric, what is your take on this?
Nigeria is a blessed country and everyone can testify that God has indeed blessed this nation. He blessed us spiritually and materially. Even the most intelligent people on the planet are from Nigeria. We have resources and everything not only to survive but to advance as a nation compared to other countries. We have so much potential as a nation, but the major problem in my own opinion is that we lack great vision and this lies in the leadership of the country. It is clear that we have the problem of leadership. Not that we don’t have competent leaders, but they lack vision and solutions to the problems of the country.
To have the right vision, we need to have the right people with the right understanding and the love of the country and the people in their hearts. I believe change is possible. We just have to trust the Lord to give us people with the right vision to make the country come out of these many challenges.
The current government claimed to bring renewed hope to Nigerians. Could the current happenings in the country be described as a genuine hope for Nigeria?
I would say the present leadership is enjoying a privilege. This is an opportunity for them to prove their worth and show their competence as well as fulfill the promises made to people during the campaign period. It is my belief that God has given this administration an opportunity to prove their worth to bring about change in the nation.
We cannot determine their performance now, because they just started. Though people are expressing their grievances on the state of the nation, I believe the present leadership still has ample time to make a great change and help the nation.
My candid opinion is that Nigerians need more than palliatives. The problem has gone so deep into the fabric of the country that people’s orientation needs to be changed. Our mentality, behaviours and focus need to be changed. Corruption has overwhelmed the nation. The responsibility does not lay alone on the leadership; we need to work on the people too. The law of the land needs to be enforced. The nation must not tolerate lawlessness irrespective of status or age if we want Nigeria to work. The government should also defend accountability.
Importantly, the leadership of the nation should focus more on the youth. The youths need to be engaged through job creation and address major problems affecting job creation in the country such as electricity and security. It may not be sudden; we know that it is a gradual process, but if all these highlighted are addressed Nigeria will change for the better.
The church is also feeling the heat of the current state of the country. How do you think the church can survive this pressure?
Though our fathers of faith are trying, we need to do more because we are the light of the world according to the scripture and I believe God is depending on the world to initiate the kind of change we wish to see. So, this means we need to look inward before we look outside the church. As a church, we need to stand to work on any necessary thing we need to work on. We must portray the image of Christ. We must at all times display our integrity and trustworthiness. The church needs to be worked upon and we must emphasis the importance of Christ’s likeness. It is the church that will affect the community and the community with affect the state and the state will affect the nation.
If we the church leaders and the church at large portray Christ we will easily influence the nation positively.
What has God told you about the nation, even at these trying times?
God has spoken to me in so many ways and at different times and as well to various people. The truth is that Christians across the board need to turn to their prayer rooms and intercede for the country. We must not give up on our prayers for the nation. We should also be confident to confront the evil afflicting the nation. If we can allow sanctity, truth, and uprightness to prevail in this nation we will be at peace and experience divine growth. In fact, truthfulness is the answer to Nigeria’s problem.
Your ministry witnessed some developments, how do you think these will add greater value to the propagation of the gospel?
I thank God for the development we have experienced over the years. Especially, God has been so good to us in recent times. We have been through a lot of challenges, but He remains faithful to us. We have enjoyed steady progress that has moved the ministry forward beyond our imagination. Many things we have been trusting God for are now coming into a reality, such as our ongoing project including radio and television stations.
We also have our library and prayer tower. Part of the development was the recent street naming. We are trusting God also for our clinic. All these projects will kick off any time from now. But aside from all these, we have not relented on our outreach food and medical programmes. God has used us to be a blessing to the people. We are grateful to God that all these initiatives are beneficial to people. This is what we have been called to do my God and we are glad to take up the responsibility.
Going by your exposure, how will you compare the gospel abroad and Nigeria?
I think it depends on the people and sometimes the culture. Christianity is supposed to be one, but there are many factors that determine the kind of Christianity some people practice. There are some places where some Christians face precaution and these set of people can have a sensitive way of life unlike in other places where Christians live more relaxed lives. Denominations, leadership, and the kind of messages some Christians hear in Nigeria are also determinant factors. We have so many great churches in Nigeria same as other countries too.
But I desire and I pray that every church will be heaven-bound, Bible-based, and committed. All these things are very important if we have dynamic Christians who can change their community for good.
How did you receive the call?
I have been in the ministry for over three decades. Shining Light Christian Church has been in existence for about 32 years and I have been a cleric before the establishment of the ministry. God called me by giving me so many revelations and several encounters with Him. I am so certain about the message and the word to propagate the gospel. What came first before the calling was my salvation. I have been a committed praying Christian before my high school. My faith became stronger in late 1984 and my commitment became more meaningful to the Lord. To the glory of God, I became a dynamic Christian in 1985. I later graduated from my first Bible school in 1987 and had my theological studies in 1993 and since that time God has given me so many privileges to learn and develop myself physically and spiritually to the glory of God.
I also had my Master’s degree in theological studies in the United States in 2007. I had my PhD in Pastoral Ministry later. God has given me the privilege to publish 10 books. So, I believe God still has greater things to do through me.
What is your advice to the Christians?
I believe that we are at the end time. We don’t have any time to waste. We just have to make ourselves right with God. The aim of any Christian is to be pleasing and acceptable to God anywhere you are because we are aware that Christ is coming very soon and you don’t want to miss heaven. So, we have to watch and pray always. This is the time Christians need to be examining themselves always.
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