Referred to, as the foot soldier of Tony Okoroji during his era as Performing Musicians of Nigeria (PMAN)’s president, Pastor Chukwuemeka George, former Public Relations Officers (PRO) of PMAN in this interview with Correspondent, Nkasiobi Oluikpe, was emphatic on being able to fix the never ending imbroglio of the association.
Pastor Chukwuemeka George
Though your first album was titled ‘Sweet Lord’, despite not being born again then, what suddenly informed your switch to core gospel now?
Actually, in those days, I remember I go to church, come back and go and see my girlfriend. I remember, as part of youthful exuberance then, I joined the cult as a way of being in command of situations around you. This was the type of life we were living at that time.
As you grow, realities setting in, I now began to ask myself: what am I really doing? I was tired of the kind of life I was living. I smoked, drank alcohol and did a lot of other things. I found out that my morality at that point was down. I understood self righteousness could not save me. I made efforts at stopping these bad habits but still end up going back to them again.
I discovered I was not really having peace, I needed that peace. There was a deep conviction I was not living the type of life I wanted to live. That was how my sister introduced me to Deeper Life Bible Church. Over time I had that deep yearning to know Christ and I met Him. I can boldly tell you that it is good you know God for yourself, not that somebody preached to you. Not that you joined Christianity because of what you want to eat or drink. There is a personal satisfaction that you are looking. The moment I embraced Christ, I had the kind of peace that I couldn’t give away, having tasted all other things.
Now that you are in the ministry, in your own assessment, why has the proliferation of churches not reduced the crime rate or is it that the churches are not doing their jobs?
It is not totally true that the church is not playing its role. It is, but don’t forget that Satan controls the world. The church is in the world but not of the world. The economy of this country is harsh. The level of our understanding is that if you are gentle, it means stupidity. This is one thing that is driving some of our pastors nuts, making them to compromise. You discover that they cut corners and preach prosperity leading to the followers not getting the word of God. Another thing is that you will discover that sometimes when you discipline a member for an unchristian act, he will leave the church and another pastor who is looking for members will take him in.
I will like to say that the economy of this country is harsh on these pastors, but the protocol of the world has pushed them off balance. Most of them are teaching heresies just to keep the members. I wouldn’t want to say they are not called. There are thorough pastors who are faithful to God, but, are they doing well economically as against the numerical strength of their members?
What in the first place caused the proliferation of churches? If the attitude of the existing churches were okay, would there have been proliferation?
You see the church where I was born and bred is one of the worst churches. That is where you see all manner of cult activity in operation. You find most of them still patronizing babalawo (native doctors) in the church. So it becomes a case of coming to show yourself in the church. You find out that if you are unabatedly oppressed, even the priests cannot be of help. What do you do, you fall out. But the economy has not helped most of these people that fell out, except you are a determined soul. I know how we suffered to get the piece of land where we are in today.
People come to church and want to hear prophesies about their tomorrow. They are not ready for salvation. They don’t want to swallow that bitter pill of real Christianity, they want to live their lives meanwhile, that life is not helping them. So that is the problem. These people pollute the church and the pastors most of whom are trying to meet up. But yet, it would have been worse if nobody was talking at all.
Should a pastor have a means of livelihood outside of the ministry?
Before you become a resident pastor, your church must have grown to an extent before it will be able to sustain you. If a church has up to 30 dedicated members, it is enough to keep a pastor who is not pursuing inordinate ambition. A pastor, whose congregation is not big enough to sustain him, could find a means of livelihood. After all, St. Paul was a tentmaker and an apostle. You can also have a business and have another person manage it.
I have been a pastor of my own church since 1995. I have never found myself doing only pastoral job, I have not got to that stage. At one time or the other, I have been doing other things that are related to the ministry. Recently, I was called to head the Lagos State chapter of Artistes Managers Association of Nigeria (AMAN). You will find out that that is one area that needs being sanitized. If you don’t stem the tide of entertainment in Nigeria, we will be worse than that the US.
Is a man of God supposed to be involved in activities like AMAN?
A man of God is supposed to be involved in every aspects of life. We identify with Nigeria Copyright Commission (NCC). They tried to censor some music for some moral reasons, we identify with that. Nigeria is not yet matured to allow what they now allow on screen. We should have channels made specifically for that so that people who want to go there can go there rather than pollute our screens. All these things are happening because there are no much voices in that area.
How do you identify a genuine calling?
This thing we refer to as call is a vocation. So it is a passion. What you do every time of your life with or without incentive is your calling. You must have passion for it.
Now that you are still indicating interest in the music industry, why has PMAN not been able to put its house together?
It is easy to manage educated people but difficult to fool them but easy to fool illiterates and difficult to manage them. I was the PRO of PMAN and Chairman, Disciplinary Committee, so I was there. Majority of the people there are intellectual low life, no matter their level. Some of them just release album and make money, they don’t know anything when it comes to management. And they are too greedy and highly corrupt. In PMAN there is no continuity. You don’t see a book used by the past executive and Economic and Finance Crime Commission (EFCC) does not go there, police does not arrest them. So its like you chop, clean mouth, break bottle and do whatever you like. Nobody accounts to anybody. They cannot put themselves together.
Now things are changing. We have musicians who have first and second degrees, shoulder to shoulder with their counterparts in other industry. But if you tell them, let us get an independent body to work out a structure and manage PMAN, the synergy for that is also not there. Nothing will work where you have people who are not knowledgeable and not disciplined and where people are lawless. What is happening in PMAN is indiscipline.
If AMAN is on ground, they would rectify it. I can fix the problem of PMAN but for that to happen, I need to have that clout too. You can’t be a nobody and go talk to people who think they are somebody and look at you as a nobody. They don’t recognize wisdom, they only recognize the affluent that they see with their eyes today.