Sometime this week a news broke out of the detaining of a private jet in South Africa, while the government confiscated a $9.3m belonging to Nigerian tax payers that was erroneously ferried into the shores of the Republic of South Africa. The news quickly gained momentum and took a different dimension and coloring when it became crystal clear that a very high ranking religious cum spiritual leader owned the said private jet. Naturally given that we are nation divided cleanly along ethnic and religious lines, suspicions and conspiracies took its natured course in the discourse of this embarrassing episode. Yes, the president of the Christian Association of Nigeria, an umbrella group for Christians in Nigeria was confirmed to own the PJ. Mallam Nasir el-rufai fired his salvado, while the APC through its spokesman Lai Mohammed quickly had their concerns penned out and some eminent Nigerians have also joined the fray in alleging some grand conspiracy. I must admit that most of these people have legitimate concerns as any Nigerian not blinded by RELIGIOUS CATARACT would clearly see why, yet all their misgivings don’t bother me the least like the response of the CAN to the botched money laundry or arms deal fiasco. The CAN stated, ” The aircraft in question is owned by Eagle Air Company and the CAN President is an interested party in the company. Since August 2 2014, this Aircraft has been leased to Green Coast Produce Limited. They lease this aircraft and people rent it from them. Anybody in this country will attest to the fact that Pastor Ayo Oritsejfor has been following Chartered Airlines.”-end quote. You may wish to recall that on the 10th November, 2012 during the 40th anniversary of Ayo Oritsejafor in ministry, he was given a PJ and he stated thus, “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….. 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.” Remember it was for travel convenience that Ayo Oritsejafor was given a private jet, how come he jettisoned the use of his PJ only yo go and start renting chartered flights which he complained was very expensive and neccesitated the need for a PJ? Ayo Oritsejafor admitted he doesn’t know how the funds for acquiring the Private Jet came about, even though it has been alleged that church members donated to acquire it. This latest fiasco has got me thinking again, well, all the realm of what if: What if Ayo Oritsejafor is just a proxy owner of the jet? The answer to this pertinent question would change the whole imagery of this grotesque picture that was taken in South Africa. I think along this line because the CAN president said he acquired a private jet for travel convenience and to reduce expenses yet he jettisoned his PJ for chartered flights. Why? How long has this been ongoing? If not for this embarrassment his church members and indeed Christians in Nigeria would believe that the ambient CAN presido cruises on his palatial jet. Well, while we search in futility for the outcome of mission in South Africa, what we as a people should concern ourselves is unmasking the true identity of the owner of this private jet. I doubt in all sincerity that it belongs to Ayo Oritsejafor. He may just be a proxy owner who gets to use it sometimes to make the cover up more real. Lastly, the urgency with which religious and ethnic bodies come to the defence of their members is alarming and one which should be discouraged. CAN’s defence of Ayo Oritsejafor was uncalled for. What transpired was a private business gone awry, so to taint the picture with a religious coloration is at best most disappointing.
Posted on: Sat, 20 Sep 2014 14:21:55 +0000
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