Daddy Freeze: Free Food at RCCG and Nigeria’s Poverty -By Nneka Okumazie

RCCG Gives Out Daily Free Food to Less Privileged

The haste to hate robs haters of their ability to try to think before condemnation and judgment of anything done by those they hate. RCCG Church has been giving free food for years but recently added specific times and places to it. The goal – probably – of the feeding model is a broad part of their sets of vision and to also show love.

But haters are dissatisfied. They’re hurling all kinds of criticism at this effort, believing RCCG has a responsibility to do more, OK. Some haters said the feeding hours are small, others said the people going there are not hungry; some also said it is not a sincere effort. OK.

It is safe to agree that haters hate the Church because they hate them – not for this effort, or anything they are doing or not doing.

The free food has left them frustrated and disappointed that with their hatred they cannot believe it, or accept it, so they have to discredit it.

The same way foreign aid has not or cannot develop any country, is the same way feeding the poor cannot eradicate poverty in Nigeria.

RCCG is not the first Church in the world to feed the poor. Feeding the homeless and destitute are done by several organizations in developed countries and are far more robust than what RCCG does – because many of them often gets budget assistance from their government, and tax deductible donations.

Caritas, an arm of the Catholic Church, has a similar breakfast model – nine to eleven am – with snacks and tea for the poor – in many part of Western Europe. They have some ticket kind of dinner programs as well. There are also foundations that provide free accommodation for the homeless for two weeks – and the occupant is expected to vacate the bunk afterwards. They provide dinner in that period as well.

The Red Cross also has a weekly – free – bathing program for the homeless, and they hand them edibles. On some of those free edibles – there are government social services stickers that tells where it came from.

These Western Europe countries also have a massive social services program and healthcare is free too. When some people freshly lose their jobs and are later at risk of losing their homes, they get help to pay the rent for up to three months – if a residential lease agreement is provided.

In the United States, there are Goodwill stores, where cheap items – mostly donated to them – are sold. Salvation Army does great too in several aspects of handouts and cheap stuff. There is also the one Dollar store.

Aside these, they have a robust welfare program. They have food stamps – sometimes around ninety five dollars a month – that can be used for tax exempted shopping at supercenters. There’s also payment for accommodation for the really poor – around four hundred dollars a month.

The government is into helping the poor – often. When there are emergencies, there are also some relief centers as well as immense donations from so many corners.

But none of these are development policy. As prosperous as several developed countries are, there’re those who are off the economic brackets – so in compassion, they have all of these programs. Migrants also benefits from many of these, as with the really destitute – locals.

But they also have major policies, their institutions are properly functioning. Their job market is always fighting back. There are student loans. There are inexpert jobs everywhere – to do/manage. There are several opportunities for their middle-class citizens.

Government does most of the expected responsibilities: there’s electricity, there are great roads, there’s supremacy of the law, there is a standard of living, and there is a minimum amount of common knowledge or education – mostly. There are valid star thinkers and skilled professionals, there are also other wild aspects of the economy and they cannot just fall back on their standard.

Back to Nigeria, where there are not a lot of these, those who lack useful understanding think the goal of the Church is to alleviate poverty or that the Church is somehow responsible for poverty.

Well, NO, Sorry!

True Churches are neither responsible for the poverty in Nigeria, nor is it their responsibility to lift people out of poverty. Also in Nigeria, categorizing poverty is fuzzy – looking at data on conditions, duration and income.

However, Nigerians have been disappointed in every government since 1999. Doesn’t it mean – that – it is better to look at how to channel development from another spot, with actual and genuine knowledge, robust passion for sincere change and thoughtfulness that beats failure and corruption?

All – of which – could come from relentless advanced thinking and work from those who are truly smart, not some sham conference, or programs or fake project or all the noise and nonsense everywhere –masked as development – across Nigeria.

The mission and vision of RCCG are on their website and that is their goal. How’s that supposed to change to alleviate what they do not have the resources for or to forgo their goal in order to eradicate poverty?

Banks, insurance companies, telecommunications companies, bet and lotto companies, pharmaceutical companies, technology companies, transport companies, non-profits, foundations, government offices, universities, hospitals, law firms, etc. all have their primary goals, so does the Church.

The resistance to true Churches has been failing for years and this new one, based on misinformation or disinformation, distortion of the Scriptures, confusion and use of the internet to war against the Church will fail. Amen.