Starnews Editorial
We have a few Nigerian pastors who are neither General Overseers nor founders of churches but are the real definition of charity, a locus-classicus of philanthropy, even at a time Nigerians are having a second thought about pastors and churches due to the scandal that is rocking the body of Christ, especially in the aspect of diverting church money for personal aggrandizement at the peril of their congregation.
One of them, who loves to support the weak, and had countlessly distinguished himself by giving hope to the hopeless, without public notice and media attention, is, Pastor J.T Kalejaiye, Special Assistant to the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) on Evangelism.
Pastor J.T Kalejaiye, as he is popularly known, hasn’t founded any parallel church, so also has he headed any account department in RCCG, but out of his own volition and benevolence, from the little God has given him, he became determined to be a blessing to people without any form of racial discrimination, or class distinction, nor big I and little you.
He gives out bags of rice regularly to people in every location. Most times, he would go for 5kg of bag of rice to widen the coverage of recipients. Whenever he does this, he would also distribute packs of Indomie in large numbers.
In this Christmas season, he has purchased and distributed 5kg of bags of rice with parks of Indomie in large numbers to assist the people as part of Evangelism.
Also, he is into youth and women empowerment. In his home town, Igboegunrin in Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State, he regularly gives out interest-free loans to a group of individuals in order to support their businesses; and the group of individuals would give out the same money to another group of individuals after 6 months of use to reach a large number of beneficiaries.
All students of Igboegunrin are eating free food on every Wednesday, courtesy of the man of God, Pastor Kalejaiye. He currently puts 5 teachers on salary payroll and employs 11 security men to police his community to prevent crime and ensure the security of lives and properties in the town. All these have been going on for some times now as part of his giveback to the societies.
In October this year, He was at Igboegunrin with 1,000 packs of Garri with groundnuts and sugar to support the weak and gave out a massive cash gift to many people.
Asked what inspired him to be doing all these, he has this to say: ”I lost my father the year I was born. My mother became a widow and she passed through. I sold fufu etc. I made up my mind to always assist the widows and the needy. Sometimes, I empty my account to do this. Sometimes I sell my vehicles just to provide for the needy. My background prompted me to be a blessing to people ”, he said.
No wonder the Chartered Institute of Commerce of Nigeria (CICN) conferred Professional Doctorate Fellowship award on him in 2018 to recognise his contributions to national growth, outstanding leadership, and attainments that have uniquely impacted positively on the society and improved commerce in Nigeria.
Most interesting is the fact that Pastor Kalejaiye doesn’t embark on charity on seasonal basis. He gives to the needy regularly and not on seasonal basis as common in Nigeria.
Just like he said, he goes extra miles occasionally by selling his vehicles to put smiles on the faces of the people. He is doing all these to help others from his personal pulse. It is a rare trait, not common with Nigerians.
The man of God is an example of what he preaches. According to him: “There is a difference between being blessed and being a blessing.” He’s just a practical example of blessings to his generation.
As Pastor Kalejaiye formed the topic of our Editorial this week, we hope many Nigerian pastors would learn from this quality of giving back to society instead of collecting from society always
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