Grazing cows, roaming goats and sheep, quacking ducks and singing birds were the norm in this rural setting of Nigeria. The local populace was majorly made of peasant farmers and shepherds. The nomadic cattle rearers often passed by as they herded their cows in search of pasture. Occasionally, scorpions, snakes and other dangerous reptiles threatened the tranquility of the environment but mostly every day was a delight and humans and animals lived harmoniously together.

 

Children of the research station officers lived a better standard of life relative to the native’s. Most of our parents had come from different parts of Nigeria and from different ethnicities in search of their daily bread in this remote part of the nation. The blend of various tribes helped us develop a pan Nigerian outlook from childhood. Knowledge of other tribes from close quarters gave we the children a sort of ethic blindness that united us at play and at the village school. After school however, as we returned home, spending our afternoons at play, the locals had to work hard on their farms. We wore nicer clothes while they often made do with under wears. Our Dad in particular on official trips to Lagos would shop for clothing’s from the defunct Kingsway Stores, making us wear ‘Marks and Spencer’ clothing in a village. The story wasn’t different when we went to our native town ‘Odo Ere’ at Christmas time. Among the villagers we felt like kings. The whole family cramped into beetle cars or the old ‘Vauxhall Victor’ sold to Daddy by his expatriate boss called Mr Marriot. I always felt on top of the world as a child. Prosperity indeed is relative. We truly had enough to eat, to wear and elementary education was free.

 

Concerned that his sons would be limited by the environment, Daddy relocated us to Ilorin, a city of about 500,000 at the time and suddenly the ‘Kings’ of Ndayako became commoners. Even then though humbling, we quickly adjusted. Certainly, horizons changed as exposure brought new interests, greater ambitions and bigger dreams. Building a new business and forsaking the security of monthly wages came with it’s challenges as there were periods of plenty and that of scarcity too. Then, business took an unexpected downturn when the military took over power in 1983. Feeding became a daily miracle, house rent unpaid for months, faded clothes, tattered shoes, disconnected electric power supply, delayed school fees etc became the order of the day. My teenage heart ached, my self esteem plunged to dangerous lows, days were either filled with tears of sorrow or day dreams of affluence to escape reality. Bathing soaps gave way to the ancient black one, body creams were far fetched, tooth pastes substituted by salt or chewing sticks, regular barbing forsaken and soft drinks became luxuries.

 

Today, all that is a long past history, thanks to the discovery of my life’s purpose through Christ Jesus and the practical application of biblical principles of God’s Word. What however aches my heart is to see God’s children like myself still wallowing in poverty many years after knowing Christ. It is a complete anomaly and a frustration of the grace of God. I have tasted poverty and can never fathom how a holy, loving, caring Heavenly Father will want poverty for any of His children.

 

 

I believe the beginning of change is found in a personal rebellion against the status quo. I did not embrace poverty when it came and I did not see it as God’s plan for me.

 

 

I remember laying hands on a lady years ago after herself and her husband had complained of missed opportunities and financial difficulties. As I prayed, a demon spirit yelled in desperation asking me to leave him alone. As Christ did with the mad man of gadara, I asked for his name and he said ‘poverty’. How God will now collaborate with Satan by sending poverty to ‘bless’ His children is beyond my comprehension. Yet, some in the body of Christ would even claim that there is a spiritual gift of poverty. The truth of God’s Word is that redemption from poverty is a part of Christ’s substitutionary work on calvary’s cross.

 

 

Dear friend, rebel against poverty and commit to a change of status quo. If blessed by God, don’t settle for little because there are multitudes in poverty who need your help. It is not enough to be blessed, you need to be a blessing. If you have the opportunity to serve in government, remember the poor. If you can create jobs, please do so that others also may eat and live decent lives. By all and every means, make your personal contribution to alleviate the sufferings of the needy. Preacher, don’t scheme to get all the money you can from people but rather teach the Word so they may prosper. Do all you can to empower others to meet their needs.

 

The rebellion which started over 30 years ago in my heart continues today. With a desire to meet the needs of others, I refuse to settle for current status quo. It may not be one of poverty but it is not feeding enough people, not clothing enough, not doing enough.