The Church Should Preach Righteousness, Not Politics – Archbishop Sunday Okokoni
Archbishop Sunday Okokoni is the General Overseer of Praise God Christian Chapel Int’l: Lagos and the Presiding Prelate of The United Pentecostal College of Bishops (TUPCB).
In this interview with Gracious Akintayo, he candidly shared his mind on various issues, including the Church, the church leadership, and society, and went on to offer solutions. Excerpt:
Kindly describe your leadership journeys..
I give God the glory for what He has done in my life. My leadership journey started in 1982 when I was ordained a deacon. Even as a deacon, I was going for evangelism.
After my Bible school, I was ordained an evangelist because of what God was doing through me. I never knew I could be where I am today. If I had been told I would be a pastor, I would not have believed it, because pastors in the ’80s wore worn-out shoes and had only one suit to manage. But when I came out of the Bible school, my eyes were opened. I ministered from village to village, city to city, and also travelled to Ghana for a crusade, ministering in churches before becoming a full-time minister.
When God told me I was going to be for Him, I doubted the voice. A pastor from Ghana shared with me what God told him, and a lecturer from the Bible school shared with me the dream he had about me. But I doubted them and said, They are trying to trick me into the ministry. Then, I was an assistant manager in the European Community (EC) and was well paid with a steward, cook and three drivers for three cars. When the call came, my family disagreed; only my mother and my wife agreed with me to answer the call.
When I resigned from my workplace, they said maybe I have malaria. They gave me a month to think about it, but I told the ambassador, if you give me three years, I will come back with the same answer. I eventually left with an award, a medal, a certificate, and a letter of recommendation, which was not given to any Nigerian.
I ventured into the ministry in 1991 and started Praise God Christian Church from my living room with my wife, three little children, and a housemaid. We grew until we got first place, and I sold one of my cars to renovate the place. After the renovation, we organised a crusade that led to a revival. It was at that revival that the owner of the place, an apostle in the C&S church, had a son with one leg longer than the other who was miraculously healed. On the evening of the last day of that revival, I laid hands on the boy and prayed, as God would have the glory, the boy’s other leg healed, and the two legs were together. The mother rolled on the floor and gave glory to God. When the boy’s father came the following morning, he sent for me and as I went there, he asked me, Is it church I came to do, or something else? Who asked you to pray for my son? I answered, It’s God. He queried, Which God?, and said he had been there before me; did I know his position as an apostle? I was dumbfounded, and some members that are with me were also surprised, asking, Is it a sin that God has done a miracle in the life of your son? You are questioning the pastor why he prayed for your son.
That Sunday, before the service started, we saw a snake inside the church, and we killed and burned the snake. That was our crime, he said, we have no right to kill the snake; therefore, we must leave. We appealed to him and sent emissaries, but he refused and said he had given the place for a hotel business. That was how we left the place.
Someone later gave us another piece of land, where we cleared and built a small structure. The day we declared the place open for service, someone else came and said, We must leave. I pleaded and explained things to him, but he said, I must remove the structure and leave. I told him, I don’t destroy whatever I build, and he should help me do that, but I won’t do it, and I left. In the same street, another person gave us a place, and we moved in after paying a 10-year lease and filling the place with loads of sand. The man later came and divided the place, saying one part for him, and the other part for us. Thank God, there was a document backing the lease. He later asked a lawyer to issue a quit notice promising to return our money.
The matter was taken to court, and when he realised he might lose the case, he opted out and agreed we should be there. One night, I got a revelation that he had gone diabolical, and I should go there in the morning. I went and saw where he dug and buried something. We prayed over it, and since then, till he died, the man could not sleep in his house; he ran away from that house and never came back. We were there till God provided us a permanent place.
In leadership, it has been a journey, and until Jesus tarry, I remain a leader. I have served in PFN and CAN, and I am currently a leader in both organisations. I was ordained a reverend in 1993, became a bishop in 2004, and in 2022, I was enthroned as archbishop.
What has been your life principle?
Truth, honesty, faith, fairness, and justice. I don’t dine with the devil; no one can buy me, and I remain a servant of God, calling me to minister.
I believed the key to serving God in truth and honesty, and when you want to be a leader, you must learn from God. The Bible says we should be imitators of God, and we can’t become God’s imitators when we have no truth, fairness, and integrity. To be like God, you must speak like God, act as God would, and not go where God will not go.
Who are your role models?
My number one role model is Jesus Christ. There are other men, but Jesus is number one in my life. I looked at Jesus’ ministry, you can’t identify between Jesus and His disciples.
They dressed the same way, also did things the same way, and went to places together. Jesus never showed himself as a leader or as the Lord. That’s my model and why I love moving with the younger ones. I am closer to the young than the older ones like me. I love moving with the younger ones, eating, playing, and talking with them.
Other men who are my role models are Oral Roberts and Shambach. I followed their humility, honesty, and faithfulness. They remain my heroes.
Can you remember any memorable moments in your life and ministry?
Memorable moments and disappointments were when I started in the ministry, and the enemy wanted to frustrate me. We paid for a place and sold my Peugeot 504 car station wagon to renovate the whole house. Later, the man drove us out without taking anything from that place, except my Bible. It will remain memorable, but today, God glorifies His name.
What is missing in today’s Christianity?
Many things are missing and have gone wrong. When I gave my life to Christ, I was intoxicated, as if I drank local gin. I was hungry for more of God and daily eating the word like food.
What is missing today is that the church has become a hub of social activities and political parties. Turned into a likeable place to trade, make money, and gamble. Nathan was able to rebuke David, and who is Nathan today, to rebuke the David of our time? When Nathan told David of his sin, he fell to the earth and passed dust and ashes on his head, he said, I have sinned against heaven and against God. Who amongst the present-day leaders will say I have sinned against God?
When Christians become politicians, they become part of them, and the Bible says, Come out among them and be separated. Instead of coming out among them, we joined them, saying, If you can’t beat them, join them. But Jesus says, if you can’t beat them, come out of them. Paul says, “I beseech you therefore brethren, by the mercy of God, …do not be conformed to the things of this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
The truth that was supposed to be in the church is outside the church, and the church that was supposed to affect society is now being affected by society, and its affecting the church. The love for material things, social life, and mansions rather than God has kept us within the four walls of the church. The fire for God is no longer burning in the church, and what the church is doing today is motivation.
People are more interested in manipulation than in hearing the true gospel of Christ. What is happening now is that people don’t have a love for the things of God, but love the things of the world.
The church is no longer preaching about the rapture, does not speak about repentance and teaches about the second coming of Christ. Any church that preaches against sin, you don’t see people there, but where they say you can be anything within a short time is where people go.
Unfortunately, the church has lost its value by dancing to worldly music, and what the Church needs to do is return to the core gospel message that Jesus is Lord and He came to save the lost.
When Jesus was born, the king said, I’ll kill him. How did he die? Eaten by worms. No one stops God when He decides to do something.
Many claimed to be prophets but only about politics, elections, and football. Are those prophecies Biblical? Did God send them to prophesy about an election or a football match? These prophets are political jobbers, astrologers, and gamblers. We are supposed to preach Jesus, His love, and how we can escape the coming judgment on this world.
Are you satisfied with the present state of the country?
Nigeria is God’s own country, and Nigerians should stop complaining, but bless God who rules in the affairs of men, and give power to whosoever He will. Whoever God says should be there, would be there, and whoever forced himself to be there, God will force him out of there.
There are no resources that are not available in this country. We were the source when we were growing timber, cocoa, rubber, and palm carnel. Granite, cotton wool, and others were what Nigeria was built on.
But when oil surfaced, we forgot where we were coming from. If I were God, and I’m not God anyway, and I can’t be God, what would I have done to Nigeria? One day, the oil would dry, and from everywhere, there would be no oil.
Remove oil from Nigeria, and everybody will sit right. God will do something one day, oil will cease. They will dry, and we will have nothing to drill. All the oil companies will leave because there will be nothing to drill and export anymore, so dollars will not be missed on the way. We would be satisfied with what we have and return to cocoa, granite, rubber, timber, cotton wool, cassava, and all those resources God has given us, which we have neglected to concentrate on, only oil.
We feel satisfied and comfortable because oil is there. Some individuals have oil wells, yet there are Nigerians who cannot eat one square meal a day, and some Nigerians are throwing away food. Regardless of the situation, God has not made anyone a slave, and it is not in His will that anyone should be a slave. Some can be poor, but not to be a slave. Unfortunately, we have made ourselves slaves, and until God does what He plans to do, Nigeria will continue to complain in the midst of surplus.
The Bible says, When the righteous rule, people rejoice. When the wicked rule, people mourn. Let’s judge, which one are we? Is it the righteous?
What is the way forward for Nigeria?
Until we realise that whatever we have in this country belongs to God. It does not belong to any human being, tribe or group. In any way God has privileged you to serve, see yourself as a servant of God in that position and office. You are there to lead the people of God for God. No politician created any human being; God created all of us and gave responsibility with privilege to some people to serve the people of God. Don’t see yourself as a champion and the owner of the people. No one belongs to anyone or was created for anyone.
Nigerians must love one another. Tribalism, ethnicity, nepotism, religion, and politics are killing us instead of being advantageous to our value system and diversity.
To be candid, religion is not our problem. The question is, if your wife is about to deliver in the hospital, do you first go and ask the doctor and the nurse if they are Christian or Muslim? Or if you go to the market to buy food, would you first ask the woman selling, Are you a Christian or a Muslim? Or when you want to board a taxi or a bus, would you ask if the driver is a Muslim or a Christian? That can never happen.
People have been manipulated, and that is our problem in Nigeria today. But God is not after who you are or where you are; He is after the honesty and truthfulness in you.
A true Christian is how you treat your neighbour and fellow human beings. Jesus never discriminates, ethnicizes, undermines or classifies people, or asks if you are a jew or a gentile before touching and healing people.
We brought problems upon ourselves, and not the devil. Sometimes we blame the devil for what he knows nothing about.
What should be the solution? Chronicles 12 says, Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter. Fear God and keep His commandments. For this is the whole duty of a man. If you don’t fear God, you can never respect God, and if you hate your neighbour, you say you love God, you lie. Because you have seen him face-to-face, you don’t love him. How come you say you love God? You don’t know what He looks like or where He comes from, nor if He’s red or black, He’s Igbo, Yoruba, or a Hausa. 
Shed more light on the United College of Bishops’ leadership conference?
It’s God’s vision to correct the wrongs. There are many College of Bishops that have become enterprises. Before you are consecrated, there’s an amount you must pay, and they don’t care to know the person’s background or his ministry’s journey. That is why we have many briefcase bishops and archbishops without a flock; they go about with a title and a cap of ego without a credible impact on the kingdom of God.
God is promoting this college of bishops to right the wrong and make people know leadership is by example. A genuine leader doesn’t say, Do what I say, don’t do what I do, but instead says, Do what I say and do what I do. Jesus said, What you see me doing is what I learned from my Father. That should be our primary example as a leader, and in every place you’re appointed to lead, you must lead by example. You don’t say you are a leader and sit in a chair. The leader carries the load; that’s why if you are a pastor, be a pastor, people will emulate and be like you.
There are three categories of leaders in the church. A leader called by the people, the one who calls themselves for stomach structure, and the one called by God for a purpose. The motives, mission, and goals of the three are different; their callings and ventures into the ministry are not the same, and in the way they see things.
The traits of every leader must be a lifestyle of values and culture. You must always be remembered for one thing. The evil you have done or the good you have done. The problem you created or the problem you solved. If you are a problem solver, you will be remembered for solving problems, and if you are a problem creator, you will be remembered for the problems you created.
What is your opinion on the present administration and government?
This administration is because God put them there, and God allowed them to be there. They should strive to do the will of God and ensure Nigeria comes out of this hardship, because the hardship in the land has turned many families crazy.
The only thing the government owes the people is security and welfare. We know where the problem is, but the government should make Nigerians happy. If there were a well-constructed plan to remove subsidies, we would not be complaining. We may blame President Tinubu, but President Tinubu is not the petrol station attendant. He is not the market woman or the food vendor. The ordinary citizens are the problem; we are manipulative.
The government has started a reduction in food prices, but the businesspeople and marketers are the problem. Prices of foodstuffs have returned to their nearest minimum, but marketers will not reduce the price until the government come up with price regulation, and some people will be made to pay for their evil.
Your advice to Nigerians
Nigerians should see themselves as one. We have the same father but different mothers. All of us came from Adam, whether you are black, green, red, yellow, or blue. Adam is the first man, and Eve is the first woman. Neither did God create another being that gave birth to us. Why are we fighting, discriminating, fueling bigotry, killing, and creating enmity among ourselves?
One day, God will do the unexpected in Nigeria; He will show up to correct what is wrong in this country. God surprises Mary by saying, You have found favour in the sight of God, Mary was not praying for a child or for a favour, but by surprise, God showed up in her life.
The Bible says, Woe to any nation that forgets God, and righteousness exalt a nation, but sin is a reproach to any person. Nigeria must embrace God and understand that God own this nation. The church must go back to the pulpit and leave politics to preach righteousness.
