Nigeria: God Feeds the Sparrow

Nigeria: God Feeds the Sparrow

By: Deji Yesufu

If you are not aware of how difficult things have become in Nigeria, it is probably because you live under a rock – or something like that. Those of us in the real world, who must transport to work and school, are having to come face to face with high cost of goods and services. Nigeria’s economy, like most countries in the world, is closely tied to the price of fuel. Fuel is the only means of transporting goods and services around the country, and a slight increase in the cost of fuel, leads inevitably to increase in the cost of goods. The Nigerian government has increased the cost of fuel by 400% since the beginning of this administration, such that we now buy fuel at almost a thousand naira now. The resulting effect is that the value of the naira is perishing. In fact, I have not seen twenty naira around in a long time. Fifty naira is also becoming increasingly worthless. There is no end in sight for all these. Is there any hope for this country? To answer this question, I’ll relay a scenario next.

I am a pastor, although I work a secular job full-time. In the course of my ministry I meet with many missionaries. These people are usually supported by friends, family, and churches. There is one common denominator about these people: they don’t live under Nigerian economy. No matter how difficult things get, these people never complain. Why? Because the Lord is their helper and provider. Now this may sound like cliché but for these people it is not. They have tasted and they have seen God practically take care of them. The same way God sent manna to the Israelites over a forty-year period, is the way he sustains these people today. They have gotten so used to this manna-lifestyle that they almost take it for granted. Their rents are paid; their children go to the best schools; they build houses to retire into; etc. They live just like you and me, the only difference is that it is like Christ that pays them. The Lord called these people to ministry, and the Lord, not salary, sustains them. The One who feeds the Sparrow, feeds them. So, what about those of us who don’t live on this heavenly provision? How do we survive Nigeria? We survive Nigeria by also realising that the same God who calls some to full time ministry, calls others to full time secular jobs. Any legitimate work you do is spiritual service to Christ, and if you do it well you will find sustenance in it. It doesn’t matter what happens to the economy. Your work is service to God and God will bring provision through the labours of your hands. Let me lament Nigeria a bit and then bring this article to a close.

Nigeria is what she is because our people despise work. This country is incredibly non-productive. What was meant to be a blessing, oil, has today turned out to be a curse. Nigerians learnt very quickly that if you cut corners, if you do gbajue, or, if you know the right people in authority, you can do very little and earn a lot of money. So, a culture of no-work and obscene laziness was instilled in us. I hear someone say, years ago, that for her she will prefer to work little and earn plenty. And that person remains despised in my eyes till today. Naturally speaking the Nigerian economy has dwindled this badly because this country is not productive. We produce crude oil but we watched as our public refineries failed at refining the crude. Government invests large sums in the NNPC yet they have not produced a litre of petrol in decades. They will rather go the long route of exporting crude oil, refining it, and then bringing it back to sell at inflated prices. NNPC is not working because every public institution in this country is near comatose. Nigeria’s public institutions will not work because people know they will earn a salary whether they produce anything there or not. This will never happen in a private entity and that is why the whole country now relies on Dongote. Now, let’s conclude these thoughts.

God is the Father of all creation. As a responsible Father, God will provide for you. But he requires something from you. In Genesis, God created Adam and put him in Eden to work the place. As long Adam did his work, Adam found provision. Similarly, every single person has a field of work. For a baby, his duty is to feed on milk faithfully and to learn to walk. For growing children, their field of work is learning at school. For adults with jobs, their field of work is to be faithful stewards of whatever work God has set before them. Even people without jobs still have a duty to do whatever they are doing faithfully – no matter how small or insignificant. When you work at a place, your preoccupation should never be an increase in salary; you shouldn’t be spending your time looking for another job. Your preoccupation should be to do your work so well that it advances the system. Now, if that happens, there is the likelihood that your salary will increase. If they don’t increase your salary, someone will spot you as the brain behind a working system, poach you, and pay you better. But let your work do the talking, not your CV. Sincerely I cannot remember the last time I wrote a CV… I am my own curriculum vitae!

One morning in March 2020, I was trapped in a foreign land. I was supposed to take a flight from Berlin to Lagos. When I arrived the Tegel airport in Berlin, I noticed CNN reporting that Donald Trump had banned all flights from Europe into America. I then had an incline that the delay we were experiencing with being checked in was not unconnected with that news item. Eventually Turkish airline told us that we couldn’t fly out of Berlin that morning. Turkey had banned all flight through their country because of the Coronavirus pandemic. They eventually booked me on Air France because France was still open. I was cold and hungry. I had no money. The institution that invited me to train at Berlin had borne all my expenses. I reached my younger brother in Lagos and he sent me N10,000 for breakfast. When I converted the money to Euros, it was almost nothing. I figured that when I arrive Lagos the following day, that money would be useful then. That was 2020. The naira has even worsened in value now and it will continue to get worse unless you and I work and are productive. The magic of the international market system is that a people prosper as other people bring foreign exchange to their country to purchase the goods they are producing. When you produce nothing, you earn nothing and you will be poor as a nation.

Things are difficult, yes. But God is on the throne. God will feed those who work – that’s why missionaries without salaries are doing well even within this failed system. If you never knew it before, understand it now: the man that does not work will not eat.

God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria!

Deji Yesufu is the pastor of Providence Reformed Baptist Church Ibadan. He is the author of HUMANITY.