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Bishop (Dr.) TOM SAMSON Reveals A Lot
Many of the young people these days may not know very well Bishop (Dr.) Tom Samson from way back. A lot of them have no idea what his antecedents are. But the older ones surely do know him. They will remember him very well for his massive crusades tagged ‘It Is War!” back then over 20 years ago. He is the presiding Bishop and General Overseer of CHRIST ROYAL FAMILY INTERNATIONAL Church. Many know him as that spirit-filled and energetic man of God that shook Lagos and its environs with his annual explosive programme, ‘IT IS WAR!’ about 20 years ago when it first started. He was hugely popular back then. He was everywhere. On all the major television stations, radio stations billboards, posters, fliers, Bishop (Dr.) Tom Samson was everywhere, especially during the period his annual crusade, “It Is War!” was set to hold.
No doubt about it, this very consistent and widely respected man of God has been around for a very long time. And he has remained extremely passionate about the word of God. Long before many of the so called men of God today became popular, this brilliant and charismatic man of God, was already a household name in the country. Around 20 years ago, with no social media to ride on, Bishop (Dr.) Tom Samson’s posters could be found in every nook and cranny of Lagos where he is based. And his church, Christ Royal Family International, was very popular as well. It is still hugely popular. It was the church a lot of young and upwardly mobile Lagosians trooped to and attended at the time. Whenever he had any of his church crusades, people came from far and wide, within and outside the country, to attend his power packed programmes.
Few days ago, City People Senior Editor, WALE LAWAL (08037209290) engaged this man of God for a very brief period and got him to share with us his thoughts on the political situation of the country. Though, as a Cleric, Bishop Tom Samson is not known to making political remarks or inflammatory statements against any government. He believes men of God should not be seen to be playing politics while on the pulpit. And you should refrain making inciting utterances against the government as well. But we got him to speak for a few minutes about his impression of the Tinubu led administration and what it can do to calm the anger of Nigerians down at this very critical time as we begin another new year. And you can trust this ever pleasant man of God, he was at his very best, giving us extremely intelligent responses to the questions we asked him. At almost sixty, Bishop Tom Samson has remained his jovial and unassuming self. He has remained hyper active, energetic on the pulpit and very humble to people around him, despite his status and immense resources at his disposal. It was vintage Bishop Tom Samson, he made it a truly enriching conversation. Here are excerpts of what he said.
I have noticed, sir, that you do not like talking politics and criticising government, is there a reason for this?
No, that is a misconception and I will like to quickly correct it. It is not that I don’t like talking politics, as a human being, and as a Nigerian, there is no way I won’t be interested or bothered about the political situation of the country. I mean, we wre all political in nature. There is no way I won’t have my own impression or perception about the political situation in my country. It is okay to criticise government and their policies, especially when they are not favouring the masses, it is appropriate to criticise the government, but I would prefer that it is done constructively so that the goverrnment can look at the criticisms and take it in good faith and work on it to help them turn things around. I don’t think its right for a man of God to get on the pulpit and start playing politics and openly supporting one party against the other and condemning the government. I don’t think that is right. So, I’m not saying that once in a while a pastor should not express himself politically, but I am saying that, as men of God, our primary responsibility is to pray for the government, pray for our leaders and ask God to lead them aright and guide them every step of the way. That, I believe, should be our role.
We are heading into a new year pretty soon, and the expectations of Nigerians are quite high. A lot of them are worried about the hardship in the country and wondering if it would get any better. Share with us, sir, your own worries about the prevailing economic situation, how concerned are you about the plight of the common man because I know that, as a pastor, you will even feel it more with hundreds of church members who need one assistant or the other knocking on your door all the time?
I am glad you already have an idea the kind of pressure we men of God face, especially during very difficult times like this. When people go through hardship, it’s only their church’s door that is open to them. Many do not even know the way to their Senator’s house or his office, but they can’t forget the way to their church where they can seek for help. The reason why you see the poor trooping to the church is because they know they can easily get help there. For instance, during Covid, we were busy giving out food. And some ministries cannot even afford that. Not every ministry has the capacity. And I’m not talking about the size of the church, but the volume of support the church is getting both from within and outside the church. A tuber of yam now is almost N6,000, pepper has become untouchable. But I want to encourage them, this will pass. I believe there’s going to be a solution very soon. I believe something is going to happen. Let me give you an example in the bible. There was a time in Samera things were so bad that two women conspired to kill their children to eat. So, when they kill the first child, they ate, when it was time for the other woman to kill her own child, she refused. They took the matter to the king. And the king said, if God will not help you, where will I help you?
I believe prayer works. Prayer makes things happen. Where there’s a problem, there’s a solution. Somebody said it’s the white man that created pencil that also created the eraser.So, I need to encourage our people, they shoud not give up. And many times, difficult times help people to discover themselves. I started over 35 years ago and it has not been rosy all the way. I have a thousand staff to pay. I have schools. I have over 500 teachers. I have one college of Education and I’m building a university. I have professors, doctors, I have hospitals. I have mebers to care for. But somehow, I always get help. But I want Nigerians to learn something from this difficult time. The Bible says Jesus learnt obidience through the things he suffered. Many times, tough situations make some people come out of their laziness, so everything works together for good. This will soon pass. There is a solution in sight and I just want to believe it. I am not a pessimist. We have the resources and the man power to turn things around in this nation, something will surely happen. Secondly, I want to appeal to the voice of the people, somewhere there, there’s a way out. Look at the way God created the body, for every disease within you, there are certains organisms in your body that can destroy the disease. So, within us here, there will surely be a way out.
My message is encouragement. We will survive it. And one thing I want to appreciate Nigerians for, there’s this communal living way of life that we have become accustomed to. That’s why it’s good to be in church. Church is a community. It’s a place you unwind. When you see people committing suicide, it’s because they are far from family unit. You might see your brother for two years but in church, we see ourselve every week. And again, the church is a place where you can easily ask for help. Make sure you’re in church. Then, when you’re in church, don’t stay all alone, mix up and open up where you need help. Bible says he that asketh receiveth. I have been to many churches out there, this is a difficult time. Yet, churches are always welcoming new members.
Many peope don’t know the role the church has played in this country in ministering at the grass root, and, trust me, church is the real grassroot. People are always welcomed. And where you’re not treated with love, you leave the place. So, my advice in this hard time is, look for a church to attend, you will find love there. Not for money, but people to talk to, people to relate with. And if you feel you’re not welcomed in the church, please walk away and look for another one. It’s better than committing suicide. It’s better than being lonely. But like I said, this too will pass away, it won’t last. Thank God for democracy. Come 2027, we have the power to vote them out if they don’t deliver what we want. And again, I want us to stay away from violence, it never does any good. Everytime we embrace violence, somebody dies. When we take a life, that’s somebody’s father, somebody’s husband that died, that’s somebody’s wife, that pain will never leave them. So, I want to plead to the government, to listen to the people and sincerely work towards finding a solution to our problems. Above all of these, let us pray. Prayer is getting help from God. It always works. When people pray, there is always help. And when help will come, it doesn’t come as God, he uses your neighbour.
2024 is about drawing to a close, how would you rate the performance of the president? What do you think he should do in the coming months?
You want me to be honest with you? The president is trying. Its not easy. Considering what he met on ground, Nigeria was almost gone. He knew what he met and believe me, its not child’s play. That’s why I laugh when I hear that people actually expected that Tinubu will just get there and turn everythng around within one year, something that was repeatedly destroyed for more than three decades? It’s not easy to correct all that has gone wrong within such a short while. I know that when he came in we all had high hopes. But things have not gone that way. I think he needs to periodically look at his ministers and decide who has performed and who has not. There has been a cabinet reshuffle already, but we need more of it. The president can’t do it alone, he needs ministers that can perform. He needs governors who can perform too. And this is the point where I will plead with the government. They must quickly do something about food, fuel, once the poor man has fuel to power his small generator and with his food in his stomach, he is good to go. Light is very important. Let power be available. Everybody needs power to run their businesses. In Ghana there, the light is working. They must work on these three things as quickly as possible; light, food and fuel, and every other thing can begin to fall in place. So, while the president may be working on other things, he must make food priority.
And you know, in Nigeria, when things go up, they don’t come down, except the government has the willpower. But should we be ruled like the days of Idiagbon? We don’t need to. We have advanced in everything. But it’s annoying because people are generally inflating prices and also hoarding so msny items. My counsel is that the president should do something immediately about food. Then, with the fuel and light, let the government step up and do the right thing. If not for the fact that the hunger is biting, you won’t see them complaining much. It has come to the extent that the poor can no longer afford to buy yam, plantain and even ordinary garri! That’s why Nigerians are talking and complaining. We are resilient people. We have the ability to survive on our own. We are not lazy people and we have the survival instincts in all of us, but this is biting hard. Once you take this food problem out of the way, many people will be okay. That’s why I’m pleading with the government and anyone else that has a solution to this food crisis, let them speak. The poor man is really suffering. I know that it’s possible that people around the president are giving him wrong information, they tell him all is well, but they know they are lying.
