IDPs: Succour from living faith Church 

Those women in the camps—comprising mothers, widows and young ladies—could hardly hide the involuntary tears that came pouring down their sun-beaten faces. Some cried openly. Others hid their agony under deceptive smiles as they hugged one another. It was a mixture of emotions—suffering and smiling. Some men—yes matured males surrounded by their children and wives—battled to contain hot tears rolling down their cheeks. These are fathers and uncles, who, under normal circumstances, would be proud bread winners for their families. But here they were—almost turned into beggars by events beyond their control.

As full-loaded trucks filled with bags, cartons of food items and clothes rolled into each of the eleven camps inhabited by stranded Nigerians deprived of normal livelihood by terrorists, shouts of joy by children filled the air. Almost nude, they jumped, stirred the dust and did what children will always do. Some of them have lost their parents to the terrorists. Others have known no other home except the camps because they were born there. Most of them do not still understand why they have been deprived of formal education and decent homes only to be stationed in camps, guarded by security agents, fed by strangers and treated by unfamiliar health officials. 
When news got to them that Living Faith Church, also known as Winners’ Chapel, would be visiting with truck loads of clothing materials and food items, even the unrepentant Muslims among the displaced persons sang alleluia—even if they did so in Arabic. In all the camps visited, the oneness of humanity was on display. Sorrow and deprivation have erased every form of bias—religious, tribal or language. Everybody ate together, cried together, got excited together and shared in each other’s agony. Joy is centralised. Sorrow is shared. 

Calamity respects no religion. Disaster recognises no border. When bullets fly in war, they hit whoever stands in their way. When dynamite explodes, the detonator, the ground and the intended targets are blown to pieces. Except you remove yourself from the scene of a disaster, you may become an unintended target and victim. Daily in Nigeria, the innocent are dying or getting maimed. While the north is set ablaze by terrorists, the South, the East and the West are engulfed in several other forms of violence, bloodshed and death. Kidnapping, armed robbery and collapsed buildings have always been with us. But recently, they have assumed dangerous dimensions. 

Out of the blues, the term IDP—Internally Displaced Persons—has involuntarily entered our vocabulary. It is an undesirable expression that describes fellow Nigerians whose homes and means of livelihood have been destroyed by some evil-minded groups and individuals. It must be noted that when terrorists strike—whether they come in the form of Boko Haram, cattle rustlers, killer Fulani herdsmen, kidnappers, armed robbers, or armed militants—they are merely fulfilling the scripture that says while God gives us life in abundance, the mission of the devil is to steal, kill and destroy; John 10:10. 

The mission of the church, however, is to restore—restoring mankind back to God through the preaching of the word and restoring hope among the deprived through charitable kindness. In these two important acts, the Living Faith Church is known to have always been in the forefront. During the wars in Liberia, Sierra Leone and other places, Living Faith Church never looked the other way while people suffered. Its founder, Bishop David Oyedepo, believes that the gospel is better understood and opportunities for salvation more enhanced when the hungry is fed and hope is restored to the deprived. This informed the decision of Pastor Abraham Ojeme, the pastor in-charge of the church in the Federal Capital Territory and the Resident Pastor of the church in Durumi to approve and disburse funds for the purchase of food items for distribution to eleven IDP camps in Abuja. 

Among the items distributed were 77 bags of rice, 2,400 tubers of yam, 44 bags of white beans, 72 bags of millet, 83 bags of maize, 254 cartons of indomie, 57 bags of sugar, 21 cartons of magi cubes, 36 bags of salt and 23 cartons of five-litres oil. In addition to these food items were three trailer-load clothing items contributed as love gifts by members of the church. The aim was to show love to the displaced persons and alleviate their suffering. Among the camps visited were those in Dagba Area 1, New Kuchingoro, near Games Village, Wasa in Apo, Waro, in Apo, Sabo Lugbe along the Airport Road, Gongola in Lugbe, Kekeshi in Abaji, Pandagi in Abaji and Vine Heritage in Gwagwalada. 

Pastor Ojeme, a former university teacher and later, the Quality Assurance Manager at Nestle before receiving a call to ministry, explained reasons behind the donations: “You see, Jesus said something. He said ‘I was in prison, you did not visit me, I was naked you did not cloth me, I was hungry you did not feed me.’ That’s a responsibility He has given to the body of Christ. It’s not just for us to know the Lord and escape to Heaven. We should add value to our community; we should make people experience the blessings of God. The book of James says something to the effect that it is not proper when a brother is naked and cold and you simply say ‘God bless you, be warmed’ and you go away. We are expected to do something to touch him and change his situation.” 

Further linking the act of benevolence to certain Biblical directives, he said, “I like the way it is explained in Matthew Chapter 5 verse 16. It says ‘let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your father which is in Heaven.’ Not your good word, your good work. Christianity is a work—a work of blessing—and I think that is where the Church really needs to come in. We really need to bless our community, we need to be the extension of the hand of Jesus bringing succour to the people and that is what this Commission (Living Faith Church) is all about—in our educational system, in everything we do, it is for people to be able to recognize the goodness of the Lord. So, that is what is behind this. As God is blessing us, we spread the blessings around so that people can taste and see that God is good. 

Pastor Ojeme disclosed that the decision of the church to spend several millions of naira to feed the dislocated people was not based on personal gains; but on instructions from God. It was also not based on whether they were Christians or Muslims. The primary consideration is the fact that they are human beings created by the same God. They are people reduced by the wickedness of the wicked to where they are not supposed to be.He said, “You see, it’s not about what we can gain, it’s about the instructions we have been given by the Lord. When it comes to Christianity, personal gain is not the first thing you look at, it’s about obedience of faith. Christianity means practicing the instruction that God has given to you. It is not about what you gain, it is about what they gain. It is about bringing them close to Jesus. 

On the issue of discrimination between Christians and Muslims in the camp, he said, shaking his head, “That does not come in. Jesus died for everybody. He died for the Muslims. He died for Hindus. He died for everybody. So, that’s not the way we look at it. First, we want to see them as people that God loves, people that Jesus died for.” 

As would be expected, while donating the physical materials to the people, they were also fed with the spiritual food—the word of God. It did not come by way of full-blown crusading. It was still ‘alleluia anyhow.’ Pastor Ojeme explained, “You see, in Matthew Chapter 11 verse 28, Jesus says, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” That is the message of the cross. The message of the cross is a spiritual transaction, you don’t have to remain in your squalor, you don’t have to remain in your sickness, you don’t have to remain in your sin, and you don’t have to remain in your poverty. Come, let’s do some exchange, somebody paid the price for this. That is the message of the Bible. So, we tell them, “Come and meet Jesus” and leave the rest to Him and as they come.” 

In each of the camps visited, people living within the neighbourhood almost out-numbered the certified IDPs. How they got information about the visit still remains a wonder. Just before the trucks arrived with goods—or while the trucks were being driven in, they arrived in dozens. This made it difficult to know the exact number of authentic IDPs in each camp. There were also reports of camp leaders who refuse to render proper account of the items usually donated by agencies of government. To avoid this, the church committee that handled the disbursement of items supervised the sharing of those items before their departure. Indeed, Living Faith Church has brought smiles to the afflicted.
Akpe, a journalist, writes from Abuja.