•Reveals A Lot
•Says We Must All Re-Engineer Our Lives
It is no longer a news flash that the Coronavirus, otherwise known as COVID-19 has brought the global economy to its knees, threatening to pull into recession even economies with strong economic buffers, and into a depression, economies with weak or almost non-existent buffers just like in the case of Nigeria. The COVID-19 pandemic has depressed global export and production, leaving many businesses like Oil & Gas, Education (except sector could leverage on technology), financial services, manufacturing, construction & real estate, Transportation, Aviation & Maritime, Tourism & Leisure sectors of the economy a potential losers, While Medical Supply & Service, ICT, Personal & Healthcare, Ecommerce, Agriculture, Food processing and Retail are potential winners.
It is obvious Nigeria is currently in a dire state amid this pandemic. A state that is synonymous to the paradox of thrift theory. A vicious cycle where households fear, panic and containment force down spending hence more savings, producers not producing hence suppliers out of work and ultimately decrease in gross output (GDP). With no business activities, many companiestry to cut down cost by lying off workers which in turn increase unemployment and lowers total savings.
How exactly will the economy look like after this difficult time has become the question of the moment? There’s never a predestined image of a post-crisis economy.
During one of the Sunday Services of KICC London, led by the General Overseer of the Ministry, Pastor Mathew Ashimolowo, hespoke briefly on 3 or 4 things that will probably happen after the lockdown and laid emphasis on why it is important for everyone to re-engineer their life now. In his word, “Wisdom is the principal thing and with all your understanding you need to get it. If you don’t have wisdom you are likely to lose. Our world is changing. The Coronavirus is changing the whole world. Jobs are been lost. Things are turning around. And when the lockdown is totally over some people will find out that there job does not exist anymore, what will you do? How would you cope?Might this just be the time to start your own thing? Launch your own vision, have your own dream, have your own assignment. Find what you are call to do, stay in it. The wisdom you need for creation of wealth is already giving to you, coded in the bible; you now need to know how to decode it to apply it in your life. Is the teaching I’m doing now necessary, oh yes, because very soon the lockdown will be over and 3 or 4 things will happen. Have you noticed during the lockdown somepeople are still working?If you are not invited to any zoom meeting, and they didn’t think you should work at home, it is possible that your work was not necessary. You probably need to begin to think on how to re-engineer yourself. No.2. probably 6million people lost their job in the United Kingdom and there may be more, because when the thing is over some employers will find that they were caring people on their books whom they could have done without because they’ve learnt a new way to now operate without those people. Will you be one of them? What are you going to do to re-engineer your life?How were you going to re-engineer your life so that you find focus, you find direction and meaning to your life.”
Recall that Matthew Ashimolowo is the Senior Pastor of Kingsway International Christian Centre (KICC) in London. He converted to Christianity from Islam when he was 22 years of age after the death of his father. After his conversion, he enrolled with a Bible school. He was born in Kaduna in the Muslim dominated Northern part of Nigeria to Muslim parents. He is the 4th in a family 5 children. His father was a military officer. As Army officer, his father was constantly transferred on official duties and this meant his family was also on the move. His Islamic name was Ahmed. He lost his father to Nigerian-Biafran War.After Matthew Ashimolowo graduated from the Bible school, he began his ministerial work as an Assistant Pastor at the Foursquare Gospel Church. He later traveled to the United Kingdom, where he started his own ministry.
Ashimolowo is notable for his radio programme called the Winning Ways. His Winning Ways programme is aired on daily basis on Premier Radio (London) and Spirit FM (Amsterdam) and on television in Nigeria, Ghana, Zimbabwe, TV Africa, the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) and Europe on The God Channel and Inspirational Network.
Pastor Matthew Ashimolowo’ s Kingsway International Christian Centre (KICC) is said to have started in the year 1992 with just eleven members in a school hall in the North London. Over time, the membership of the church grew and the church had to move to Hackney town center after which it acquired a building at Mare Street. The building later became too small for the community. KICC is currently housed by another building which situates at 57 Waterden Road.
As an author, Pastor Matthew Ashimolowo have received accolades for his outstanding books. He won the Nigerian Booksellers Award for Tongues of Fire. He has also won numerous other awards.
–SUNDAY ADIGUN
