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Church business is big business. we guess so The saying, ‘As poor as a church rat’ is now a misnomer because churches are no longer poor. The four richest Nigerian pastors are Bishop David Oyedepo President and Founder of the Living Faith World Outreach Ministry, aka Winners Chapel; Pastor Matthew Ashimolowo of Kingsway International Christian Centre; Pastor Chris Oyakhilome of Christ Embassy; and Prophet Temitope Balogun Joshua of Synagogue Church of All Nation. And based on these findings these churches are far from poor…...


David Oyedepo

Bishop David Oyedepo President and Founder of the Living Faith World Outreach Ministry, aka Winners Chapel
Winners Chapel is a megachurch founded by Bishop Oyedepo in 1981 with over 400 branches. The Ota, Ogun State headquartered Ministry, Faith Tabernacle is the largest worship center in the world, with a sitting capacity of 50,000 people and an outside overflow of 250,000 and holds three services every Sunday.

Other assets of the church include two aircraft (Gulfstream 1 & Gulfstream 4) and a fleet of over 400 buses that convey worshipers to and from Faith-Tabernacle, Canaanland. Plans are in the making to purchase a third aircraft for use by the vice president, Bishop David Abioye. The Church also owns Dominion Publishing House, which turns out books and other materials written by Oyedepo. An arm of the Ministry World Mission Agency(WMA) provides welfare and other health and humanitarian services to the needy in the society.

The Sunday tithes collection in the church averages 30 million Naira per week (approximately 300,000 dollars), this amount excludes offerings and other levies, franchises including literatures.

Pastor Chris Oyakhilome, Pastor of Believers’ LoveWorld Incorporated aka Christ Embassy Church


Chris Oyakhilome

Christ Embassy headquartered in Lagos has 30,000 members. The church owns a large business empire with invests in banking, publishing, broadcasting, entertainment and the hospitality industries. The major money spinning arms of the ministry includes LoveWorld Cyber Ministry, LoveWorld Television, Love World Christian Network, LoveWorld Multimedia Ministry and LoveWorld Publishing Ministry. Love World the first 24-hour Christian Network from Africa to the rest of the world.

Monthly financial yields of the 2 billion Naira printing press is approximately 10m Naira.


Matthew Ashimolowo

Pastor Matthew Ashimolowo of Kingsway International Christian Centre (KICC)
KICC church has 12,000 members and it is one of the richest churches in the UK. The church started in 1992 and it is pastored by Pastor Matthew Ashimolowo. Pastor Ashimolowo, who earns an annual salary of £100,000.00, earns more than the Archbishop of Canterbury, the official head of the British church.

KICC’s profit in 18 months was approximately £4.9m profit. It also has assets of £22.9m, more than three times the amount held by the foundation which maintains St Paul’s Cathedral. In 2008 the church received £9.5m in offerings and tithes, dwarfing the £33,000 that the average Church of England congregation gave over the same period.
In 2005, KICC’s charity, The King’s Ministries Trust, was investigated by Charity Commission for financial irregularities and mismanagement. The report alleged that Pastor Matthew Ashimolowo acted as both a trustee and a paid employee of the charity, contrary to existing UK charity law, and was responsible for approving payments and benefits to himself and his wife, Yemisi, totaling more than £384,000. Benefits received included free accommodation for himself and family, including an £80,000 car and purchase of a Florida timeshare property for £13,000 using a charity credit card, and over half a million pounds paid out to Ashimolowo’s private companies, which were operated from church property and had unclear business relationships with the charity. New trustees were appointed.

Ashimolowo earns his salary from preaching as well as royalties from sermons published in books and on DVDs through his own company. Ashimolowo Media Ministries made a profit of close to £60,000 in 2003.

According to the accounts filed with Companies House, KICC finances were boosted also by the sale of its Waterden Road home in Hackney for £10.1m to the London Development Agency which needed the site for the 2012 Olympics. It is planning to spend between £50m and £80m on a five-year project to build a complex at a site in Rainham, Essex, with capacity for 8,000 worshippers, classrooms, a TV studio, bookstore and offices.

Prophet T. B. Joshua Synagogue Church of All Nation


TB Joshua

SCOAN, Church of All Nations (SCOAN) has over 15,000 members on Sundays. SCOAN headquartered in Ikotun, Lagos State, has been controversial due to reports of miraculous signs and wonders that occur every week from the very first service held in 1987 to the present day. Numerous videos have been produced which purport to document the healing of incurable sicknesses such as HIV/AIDS, cancer, and paralysis; showing people’s conditions before, during, and after prayer from T. B. Joshua. The Synagogue has over 15,000 members at its weekly Sunday services. The church currently has branches in Ghana, the United Kingdom, South Africa, and Greece. The Prophet draws his crowd with his miracle services.

Another Ministry is the humanitarian arm of SCOAN, with projects catering to the needs of widows, dwarves, the elderly, physically challenged, orphans and the destitute. The church provides scholarships to orphans and children of the less privileged, with educational support promised from primary to tertiary levels. There is also a rehabilitation program for armed robbers and prostitutes. During his 45th birthday on June 12, 2008, T. B. Joshua made a large donation to the less privileged. Joshua has also provided scholarships for numerous physically challenged students and sponsored many physically challenged athletes. He is known to help people, irrespective of faith or denomination. After the devastating Haiti Earthquake on January 12, 2010, the Emmanuel TV Haiti Earthquake Relief Team, the television station of SCOAN & broadcasts, was sent to the disaster area.

The super yolks & eggs are to be compensated for their failures so far if they beat Soth Korea tomorrow.This also includes kaita the man that almost single handedly spoilt most naija appetites that fateful day.

Also the contract for lars Lagerback the Eagles coach is to be extended.

Read here http://bit.ly/dA2fvm

Nigeria Football Federation has promised the Eagles' players 30, 000 dollars each (about N4.5m) if they beat South Korea on Tuesday.

Nigeria have lost two of their group B games and are in danger of being dumped out of the World Cup. But a win against Korea and a little favour from Argentina against Greece will offer the Eagles a chance of moving to the round of 16.

2010 FIFA OC

A Super Eagles fan displays her support at the match between Argentina and Nigeria in Johannesburg.

NFF president, Sani Lulu, met with the players last weekend and dangled the 30, 000 dollars carrot before the players, in order to ginger them for the decider against the Koreans.

The Eagles have not collected any bonus so far for the World Cup. They were promised 10, 000 dollars each (about N1.5m) for a win.

"The players will pocket 30,000 dollars each if they beat Korea and qualify for the next round. It was something the NFF leadership agreed with the players."

The Eagles will earn a further 12,500 dollars per head for victory in the Round of 16.

Lulu told the team to rise to the occasion, adding that the whole country is behind them.

A Lagos High Court, on Monday, sentenced a former boss of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Bello Lafiaji, to 16 years imprisonment for abuse of office and conspiracy. His erstwhile special assistant, Usman Amali, also bagged a seven-year jail term.

The Independent Corrupt Practices Commission and other related matters (ICPC) had arraigned both Mr. Lafiaji and Mr. Amali in 2008, on a seven-count charge of abuse of office and conspiracy. The Anti-graft body said the duo had in November 2005 conspired and unlawfully received 164,300 euros from a drug suspect identified as Ikenna Onochie, to secure Mr. Onochie’s release from NDLEA’s custody. The two defendants had severally pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The money, which was also alleged to ensure the release of the suspect’s impounded cars, was part of the exhibits seized from the suspect’s house while he was arrested for being in possession of 3.2kg of cocaine and heroin.

Mr. Onochie is currently facing trial for drug trafficking at the Federal High Court, Ikoyi.

Ruling on the judgment, Olusola Williams, (a Justice of the Federal High Court) held that the prosecution had successfully proved that the release of Mr. Onochie from custody was irregular.

“The court finds the two defendants guilty for receiving money for personal benefits. The prosecution has proved its case and they are as guilty as charged. The court holds that there was an agreement between the defendants to do what they did,” she declared.

Mrs. Williams, while commending the former NDLEA boss for his role in uplifting the standard of the anti-drug agency, said he allowed his reputation to be tarnished because of personal gains.

As for the second defendant, the special assistant to Mr. Lafiaji, the judge said, “he appeared to have followed his master blindly,” she said.

Mrs. Williams said she found the defendants guilty in six of the seven-count-charge and ruled that “Lafiaji is sentenced on counts one to four for four years each, while for counts six and seven, he is sentenced to two years each.”

Also, according to her ruling, “Amali is sentenced to two years each on counts one and two, while on counts three, four and six, he is sentenced to one year each”, Williams concluded. The sentences are to run concurrently.”

What if She quarrels with her Boyfriend or Husband and wants to teach him a lesson he wont forget ?

South African Dr. Sonnet Ehlers was on call one night four decades ago when a devastated rape victim walked in. Her eyes were lifeless; she was like a breathing corpse.

"She looked at me and said, 'If only had teeth down there,'" recalled Ehlers, who was a 20-year-old medical researcher at the time. "I promised her I'd do something to help
people like her one day."

Forty years later, Rape-aXe was born.

Ehlers is distributing the female condoms in the various South African cities where the World Cup soccer games are taking place.

The woman inserts the latex condom like a tampon. Jagged rows of teeth-like hooks line its inside and attach on a man's penis during penetration,
Ehlers said.

Once it lodges, only a doctor can remove it -- a procedure Ehlers hopes will be done with authorities on standby to make an arrest.

"It hurts, he cannot pee and walk when it's on," she said. "If he tries to remove it, it will clasp even tighter... however, it doesn't break the skin, and there's no danger of fluid exposure."

Ehlers said she sold her house and car to launch the project, and she planned to distribute 30,000 free devices under supervision during the World Cup period.

"I consulted engineers, gynecologists and psychologists to help in the design and make sure it was safe," she said.

After the trial period, they'll be available for about $2 a piece. She hopes the women will report back to her.

The mother of two daughters said she visited prisons and talked to convicted rapists to find out whether such a device would have made them rethink their
actions.

Some said it would have, Ehlers said.

Critics say the female condom is not a long-term solution and makes women vulnerable to more violence from men trapped by the device.

It's also a form of "enslavement," said Victoria Kajja, a fellow for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the east African country
of Uganda. "The fears surrounding the victim, the act of wearing the
condom in anticipation of being assaulted all represent enslavement that
no woman should be subjected to."

Kajja said the device constantly reminds women of their vulnerability.

"It not only presents the victim with a false sense of security, but psychological trauma," she added. "It also does not help with the psychological
problems that manifest after assaults."

However, its one advantage is it allows justice to be served, she said.

Various rights organizations that work in South Africa declined to comment, including Human Rights Watch and Care International.

South Africa has one of the highest rape rates in the world, Human Rights Watch says on its website. A 2009 report by the nation's Medical Research Council
found that 28 percent of men surveyed had raped a woman or girl, with
one in 20 saying they had raped in the past year, according to Human
Rights Watch.

In most African countries, rape convictions are not common. Affected women don't get immediate access to medical care, and DNA tests to provide evidence are unaffordable.

"Women and girls who experience these violations are denied justice, factors that contribute to the normalization of rape and violence in South African
society," Human Rights Watch says.

Women take drastic measures to prevent rape in South Africa, Ehlers said, with some wearing extra tight biker shorts and others inserting razor blades in their private
parts.

Critics have accused her of developing a medieval device to fight rape.

"Yes, my device may be a medieval, but it's for a medieval deed that has been around for decades," she said. "I believe something's got to be done ... and this
will make some men rethink before they assault a woman."

Zechariah 12:10-11;13-1; Psalms 63:2-6,8-9; Galatians 3:26-29; Luke 9:18-24

"... anyone who loses his life for My sake, that man will save it"(Luke 9:24).

In today's Gospel Lesson, Jesus once again gives His formula for a heart that will be full: "If anyone wants to be a follower of Mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross every day and follow Me. For anyone who wants to save his life will lose it; but anyone who loses his life for My sake, that man will save it" (Lk. 9:23-24).

It has been said that, following Jesus is like climbing a spiral staircase:

Sometimes it seems as though we are just circling around, getting nowhere. But then we notice that the circle is getting bigger and bigger and that our perspective is getting wider and wider. Our perspective is becoming less and less self-centered and more and more other-directed. We are being guided by an unseen hand that enriches and enhances our lives even in the midst of suffering and setbacks.1

We spend a goodly portion of our lives struggling to achieve some measure of security against life's ordinary and extraordinary risks, doing everything possible to "save" our life, in this sense. But try as we may, there is no evading the reality that to be alive is to face risks. Troubles will come to plague us. Sufferings will come to burden us. And death ultimately will overtake us.

Given this as the condition of life from which there is no escape, given the basic insecurity of life, given this image of ourselves as minute specks in a vast unknown, subject to the flicks of fate over which we have no control, by what power and authority do we resist the forces of spiritual destruction?

Again, we read in today's Gospel Lesson that in order to save our life, we must lose it. As Jesus' followers, we learn to "deny our very selves." That is to say, we look beyond ourselves for the meaning and purpose of life. The discovery of our true significance lies outside the pale of our feeble efforts to secure ourselves against the risks of suffering and death. By the power and authority of Jesus Christ, our true significance as human beings is revealed under the burden of the Cross. Which is not to say that we embrace suffering and bear up under life's burdens for their own sake. Suffering devoid of meaning reduces life to an absurdity. No, we Christians bear our burden for "Jesus' sake and the Gospel's," as today's text reminds us.

To bear the burden, to accept the risks, to reject the passing comfort of false security, to live as we are meant by God to live, we follow Jesus who carried His Cross purposefully.

We follow Jesus who teaches us that our lives are meaningful; that we are significant to an awesome degree.

We follow Jesus who teaches us that who we are and what we are to become are crucial elements for the fulfillment of His Father's purposeful design of creation.

This is the sense of significance Jesus exhorts us to hold onto even though we may be stripped bare of everything else.

The search for significance does not culminate in the achievement of fame or notoriety or power or wealth or prestige. You realize your significance when you embrace the Gospel truth that you have been designated by God to play a vital role in all that is going on; that without you there would be a void in creation that could not be otherwise filled; that no one can take your place in God's Plan; that a part of life would not be lived if you didn't live it......

Manute Bol, a lithe 7-foot-7 shot-blocker from Sudan who spent 10 seasons in the NBA and was dedicated to humanitarian work in Africa, died Saturday. He was 47.

Take a look back at Manute Bol's NBA career in our photo gallery.

Bol died at the University of Virginia Hospital in Charlottesville, where he was being treated for severe kidney trouble and a painful skin condition, Tom Prichard, executive director of the group Sudan Sunrise, said in an e-mail.

"Sudan and the world have lost a hero and an example for all of us," Prichard said. "Manute, we'll miss you. Our prayers and best wishes go out to all his family, and all who mourn his loss."

Bol played 10 seasons in the NBA with Washington, Golden State, Philadelphia and Miami and later worked closely as an advisory board member of Sudan Sunrise, which promotes reconciliation in Sudan. Bol averaged 2.6 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.3 blocked shots..

He was hospitalized in mid-May during a stopover in Washington after returning to the United States from Sudan. Prichard said then that Bol was in Sudan to help build a school in conjunction with Sudan Sunrise but stayed longer than anticipated after the president of southern Sudan asked him to make election appearances and use his influence to counter corruption in his home county.

He said Bol had undergone three dialysis treatments and developed Stevens-Johnson Syndrome, a condition that caused him to lose patches of skin.

Prichard said the skin around Bol's mouth was so sore that he went 11 days without eating and could barely talk.

Prichard said it's believed that Bol contracted the skin disease as a reaction to kidney medication he took while in Africa.

Janis Ricker, operations manager of Sudan Sunrise, said Saturday that the organization would continue its work building the school in Bol's home village in southern Sudan. The building still lacks a second floor roof, she said.

She said Bol's goal was to build 41 schools throughout Sudan.

"We are in the process of still helping Manute build a school, and we will continue with that," Ricker said.

Anti-narcotics operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) on Thursday disclosed the discovery of 1kg cocaine hidden in sandals by a Nigerian based in Spain.

According to the agency, the suspect, Ezeugha Sunny, was detected on an Iberia flight at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos on Wednesday attempting to smuggle the drugs to Europe.

“The cocaine was carefully packed in two 500g parcels and neatly hidden in a pair of sandals he was putting on at the time of screening,” said Mitchell Ofoyeju, spokesperson for the agency.

Mr Ofoyeju disclosed that three other suspects also tested positive to drug ingestion, adding that two of them, Abuku Kennedy, 26, and Oparaji Anthony, 40, live in Spain, while Tochukwu Okeke, 35, lives in Monrovia, Liberia.

Ahmadu Giade, chief executive of the agency said that drug barons have nowhere to hide the illegal substance, stressing that the agency is determined to deal with the peddlers.

“The seizure is unique and the dedication of the officers must be commended. Drug barons will have their drug concealment methods discovered because we are prepared and committed to our duty of drug control,” he said. “Regular training in both interdiction techniques and passenger profiling is also our strength.” The suspect, who claimed to have got the sandals from a resident in Lagos, said that after losing his job in Europe, things became tough and he had no choice but to delve into crime..

“I work in Spain but I lost my job some months ago. Though I am single, it is difficult to cope in Europe without a job. It is joblessness that led me into drug trafficking. I needed money for my upkeep and when they told me that the drug will be inside my sandals, I felt it was a good plan to escape arrest but my desire did no work out,” he said.

Umar Hamza, airport commander for the agency, said that Tochukwu Okeke, one of the other arrested suspects, swallowed 45 pieces of narcotic substances on his way to Liberia.

According to him, the suspect was to board an Arik flight when he tested positive to drug ingestion.

“Oparaji Anthony ingested 71 wraps while Abuku Kennedy swallowed 45 wraps,” he said.

Mr Hamza added that the suspects are still on observation to expel the drugs in their stomachs.

“The suspects will be charged to court as soon as investigation is completed,” he said.

1. All Black Men Are Well-Endowed

This one is bound to start some discussion. Upon googling ‘Black men big penis true?’, you’ll find a range of references to an unemployed white man from Brooklyn named John Falcon, who’s apparently the owner of
the world’s largest.I am also certain they have not seen some folks from up north here in naija .

Research however will tell you that there is in fact no truth to the debate about differences in size across the races. It is certainly not a guarantee that the next black man you meet will outdo John Falcon in
the size department but in terms of a continued discussion about this
myth, we’ll leave it with you.

2. They Don’t Like To Work

While Black men suffer from some of the highest rates of unemployment in America, psychologists will confirm that this is in no way related to choice. Men in general are hardwired to want to provide for their
families and so will pursue any means possible to achieve that goal.
‘Not wanting to work’ is a negative stereotype of black men that is
certainly not true in the grand majority of cases of unemployment.I am certain this applies to Black men in leadership positions especially Politicians

3. Black Men Are Extremely Sexually Virile

Can we keep this one as it is? What do you think? Very Very Virile Ask the President of South Africa,Senate President of Naija, and a certain OBJ to name a few .then calculate the amount of prostitutes in Port Harcourt,Abuja and Ondo then we are talking about some crazy numbers here .

4. Black Men Are Great Athletes

Any major sporting event features an array of muscular, testosterone-filled black men. But, ‘Look at them! Now look at your man! And back to them! Now look at your man!’ Great Athletes but some are quite stupid for example Look At Kaita .Kai !

5. Players

Popular urban culture and Hollywood have perpetuated the myth of the black man as a player. This is in fact not true of black men in particular. All human beings must actively resist polygamy in their
lives because of the pressures of evolution, which tell us to procreate
with as many people as possible, and society, which dictates that we
remain faithful to our chosen partner. deep within a black man is a True player player womaniser .

6. Black Men Like White Women

Now this one depends largely on who you ask. Interracial marriage is on the rise in America and the perception that black men like white women may stem from the fact that it is becoming more socially
acceptable and therefore more common. In the end, a man and a woman will
be together for reasons of personal compatibility, not race. Most Male Africans resident in Europe are married to White women period ....

7. Black Men Don’t Take Care Of Their Children

A good black man will be a wonderful father to his children no matter what the circumstances. The trick is to avoid those who might take the easy way out of hard circumstances – of these there are plenty and
they’re all shapes, sizes and colors. maybe we should ask the Uhrobo & yoruba man this question once again

8. He’s Been In Jail

This stereotype is like a bad joke gone worse. Urban and pop cultures have played on this perception to the point that those who unfamiliar with black people maintain some crazy ideas about our world.

9. Good At Dancing

The only reason people become known for dancing well is that one good mover can overshadow the 5 others who just escaped through the fire exit to avoid being pulled onto the dance floor.

We want to hear from you. What do you think about the validity of some of these stereotypes?

And please let us forgive Sani Kaita

To Kaita is Human ......

Happy Weekend !