SIR: I listened to Pastor Poju Oyemade viral message where he spoke on Nigeria, distinguishing between Nigerians abroad and Nigerians living in Nigeria. I agreed with some issues raised in the message but the other part makes me question the level of relationship our spiritual leaders have with their members.
Oyemade, who is the founder of the Covenant Nation, had claimed that Nigerian medical doctors are ungrateful by leaving the country for greener pastures abroad, despite spending as little as “N500,000” on their training.
The pastor compared this with the United States, where medical education reportedly costs hundreds of thousands of dollars, yet Nigerian-trained doctors still excel abroad.
Oyemade did not get his figure right and his comment was just an exaggeration. As at today, tuition fees for medical school in Nigeria vary significantly, ranging from approximately ₦100,000 to ₦5,900,000 per session. Private universities generally have higher fees than public universities, with some private institutions charging up to ₦5,900,000 per session.
For example, Mercy Medical University charges ₦3,000,000 for new students in the Medicine and Surgery Programme. Nile University of Nigeria has a fee of ₦2,975,000 per semester for Medicine and Surgery. Afe Babalola University charges ₦5,755,000 for the Medicine and Surgery programme so, where did Oyemade get his figure from?
The pastor went on to throw a jab at Nigerians in Nigeria, implying that they are lazy and unwilling to do two jobs in Nigeria. This comment shows a big disconnect and lack of understanding of Nigeria working system despite being in Nigeria and a pastor in Nigeria.
Saying Nigerians in Nigeria are not doing two jobs is really laughable. Well, Pastor sir, Nigerians are doing two jobs. There are a few Nigerians I know that are working in Nigeria and also have remote jobs.
Again, people in U.S. work per hour. Someone could work two hours in Amazon and go to work in Oracle for two hours and proceed to another place. And, if you are to use the exchange rate, some people’s pay from a five-hour job is more than what many graduates earn as salary for a whole month.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics, the average hourly wage of United States citizens as of December 2020 is $29.81. District of Columbia is paying $17.5 per hour so, by calculation, a 5-hour job at $17.5 per dollar is equal to $87.5, so, do the exchange rate in naira. A person’s five hours job could earn him N140,000 but there are many graduates in Nigeria earning N70,000, that’s, less than $45.
Ascribing laziness to Nigerians whose parents are paying tax without getting returns, Nigerians working to lift the nation, paying tax without getting the dividends, whose security are not guaranteed despite paying tax is a big insult to even members of the Covenant Nation and the body of Christ who are expecting their pastors to be their voices in a dire situation like we are.
I have listened to many pastors and Imams’ preaching in recent times and their messages and actions show that they are as disconnected as the politicians and those eating crumbs off politicians’ tables.
Credit:The Guardian