President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), and owner of newly acquired jet plane, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, has responded to the criticisms trailing his acquisition of the jet plane, saying it was donated to him by members of a committee of his church, members he doesn't even know.
Oritsejafor, the pastor of the Word of Life Bible Church, has in the past weeks come under a string of biting criticisms following the donation of the jet by members of his church in commemoration of his 40th anniversary on the pulpit.
Bishop Matthew Kukah and Pastor Tunde Bakare had earlier thrown their voices behind the myriad of those against the ownership of jet planes by men of God, with Bishop Kukah describing Oritsejafor as an embarrassment to Christianity and Pastor Bakare saying clergymen like him who take advantage of their congregation and who buy private jets deserve to go to jail.
But in an interview he granted Nigeria Vanguard newspaper Sunday, Oritsejafor said given the nature of his work, a plane had become a necessity. "I’m not ashamed to own a plane, I think it is a necessity and not a luxury for some of us deeply involved in the work of God to own planes," the pastor said.
He said he did not know the church members who donated the jet, adding all he knew was that some members constituted a committee for the purpose and that his wife worked closely with the committee.
He said members of the congregation decided to donate the jet after they became aware of the suffering he underwent whenever he traveled in and out of Nigeria preaching the gospel. "They feel the pain I go through and they feel pained not seeing me most of the time," Oritsejafor explained.
"They don’t like it, they are troubled. I know some people buy planes, I can’t buy a plane. I can’t afford it. I don’t have that kind of money, I still don’t know the people that bought this plane, but I know that there is a committee."
He continued: "Sometimes, my schedule is so complicated. Now, with this plane, it changes everything about my movements. Now, I can move, I can even go and come back home. It is a bit more convenient for me and I suspect that this is one of the reasons a lot of these other preachers have planes."
It is true that VIP's schedules can be hectic, and that meeting these schedules in light of the inconsistencies and flight vagaries in airports all over the world make travel very difficult and can make a mess of timetables as well as your health, but then you have to ask:
Why are leaders always so eager to accept any manner of gift, without recourse to the sensitive nature of such gifts, only coming to terms with it when there is public outcry?
Now Pastor Oritsejafor is talking, but he could've TRIED to know the people who gave him the gift. What names will he table before God for blessings whenever he prays for these benefactors?
Isn't it normal human behaviour to want to know those who're generous to us?
The pastor has spoken well, but it seems not well enough to quell the raging firestorm of angst against those who've bought. . . the Uneasy Jets.
There are still unanswered questions afoot.
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