Ban on religious activities has denied us daily bread –Lagos, Ogun traders selling near worship centre

At the monthly Holy Ghost Service of the Redeemed Christian Church of God in March, Mr Bayo Adeoluwa made around N30,000 selling bottled olive oil, white handkerchief and other related items needed by worshippers.

But he didn’t see it as something unusual because that had been his experience selling such items at the monthly programme of the church situated at the Redemption Camp, along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Ogun State.

Every month, the church holds a vigil which is usually attended by hundreds of thousands of worshippers physically and millions across the world via its digital platforms.

For people like Adeoluwa, to say they look forward to the church’s monthly service is to state the obvious as they make huge sales selling products to the thousands of worshippers who attend the monthly service every month.

“I usually look forward to the monthly Holy Ghost Service. It’s one of my best days ever. I don’t make that kind of sales again on a regular day,” the 35-year-old trader told our correspondent who visited the Redemption Camp during the week.

But apart from the monthly vigil, the church also holds at least two week-long conferences during the year. During the period, Adeoluwa said his goods usually ran out of stock because the programmes are not just attended by Nigerians but by other worshippers across the world.

“It’s boom time anytime the church holds programmes such as the Holy Ghost Congress. For a week, I make sales non-stop. I am the one who usually gets tired of selling and eventually I do run out of stock. The continuous ban on church gatherings has caused untold suffering,” he said.

Also, a food vendor, Mrs Mopelola Banjo, who resides in the Mowe area of Ogun State where the church is located, said she had missed its monthly vigil which was always an avenue for her to make huge sales.

Right now, Banjo said sales had plummeted and though she now sold food to artisans and motorcyclists in the area, the current sales could not be compared to when she used to sell to worshippers who attended the monthly Holy Ghost Service.

She said, “Sales have not been the same since the church closure. I wake up every day praying that church activities will resume. It’s been too long. I can’t wait to see worshippers thronging the church arena again. I miss the church’s programmes because I make much money on a single day than on any other regular day.

“I don’t know why government has refused to reopen the churches. I believe since other public places such as markets are being allowed to operate, churches too should be allowed to reopen. Sales have been affected. I don’t make money now because of church closure. I can’t wait for churches to reopen to start making better sales again because the ban on church activities has caused untold suffering.”

A motorcyclist, Ibrahim Ahmed, also said he couldn’t wait for churches, particularly the Redemption Camp, to reopen because of the huge money he used to make on days when there was a vigil or special programme.

He said, “If there is a vigil at the camp, which is on Fridays, I work from Friday morning until the following day. We, motorcyclists, don’t rest on such days because we carry worshipers to and fro the camp. I can’t count the number of passengers I usually carry on such days but what I know is that they are many. I also give my brother a motorcycle to operate for me on such days. But coronavirus has changed things.“

I miss the church’s programmes and I can’t wait for the camp to reopen. There are not much sales now. Of course, we still operate conveying residents living in this area but one can’t compare that to when there is a programme at the camp. The government should help reopen churches because the ban has caused much suffering.”

A bookseller, simply identified as Emeka, sat idly in his bookshop but jumped up on sighting our correspondent, thinking he was about to make his first sale of the day.

“Welcome, sir. I have Christian and motivational books for you, sir. There are also Christian sermons on Compact Discs and Digital Video Discs that can bless your soul, sir,” he said to our correspondent.

After purchasing one of his books, his face brightened up a bit, and couldn’t help but lament how he had missed worshippers at the camp who used to patronise him.

He said, “If I knew, I wouldn’t have invested in the books I bought shortly before the lockdown. It was after I shipped in the books that the lockdown was announced. Since April after the March Holy Ghost Service at the camp, sales have gone down. In fact, there is virtually no sale.

“The government should try to consider people like us who depend on church activities to make a living. They should ease the lockdown because of the way I see it, people have already eased the lockdown by themselves.”

Likewise, a commercial bus driver at the Mowe area of Lagos, simply identified as Babatunde, said it was usually a boom time whenever the church held its monthly vigil or other special programmes.

“Those are good days and we bus drivers miss them. We can’t wait for church activities to reopen and things to be back to normal. On days when there are vigils or special programmes at the Redemption Camp, I make sure I service my bus so it doesn’t give me problems.

“These are days I can make up to 10 times the money I usually make on a regular day. If it’s the monthly Holy Ghost Service held on a Friday, I work from the morning of that day until the following evening. I only rest between, let’s say 11pm and 2am, on those special days.”

Ban on religious activities

Prior to the lockdown, hundreds of traders usually thronged the Redemption Camp and the Prayer City of the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries, which are both located along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

Although there are other churches and religious organisations which have their camps along the axis, RCCG and MFM are quite popular for their monthly and annual programmes which attract thousands of worshippers. Sometimes, the huge number of worshipers who swarm the worship centres causes heavy traffic on the already ever-busy expressway.

Because of the huge number of worshippers, many traders, especially from Lagos and Ogun states, usually place their wares around the camps’ premises to sell. Items sold at such programmes usually include olive oil (known in Christian circle as ‘anointing oil’), soft drinks, Christian books and tapes, stationery, clothes and food.

Also, people offering services such as commercial bus drivers usually benefit from such programmes due to the huge number of worshippers who ply the religious centres.

However, all that has changed for the meantime due to church closure because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd), had on March 30 banned social and religious gatherings as part of measures to curb the coronavirus spread.

Although there has been a gradual easing of the lockdown since May 4, with the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 directing the reopening of worship centres on June 1, some state governments such as Lagos and Ogun have yet to lift the ban on the closure of worship centres, insisting that it was not yet safe to do so.

Bothered by this, the Christian Association of Nigeria on Tuesday kicked against the continued closure of worship centres by some state governments.

The CAN President, Dr Samson Ayokunle, in a statement by his Special Assistant (Media and Communications), Adebayo Oladeji, insisted that the lockdown of worship centres was no longer acceptable.

In the statement titled, ‘Reopen all churches now: Enough is enough,’ Ayokunle said there was no more justification for the closure of religious centres.

“Despite the directive by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 with regard to the reopening of places of worship nationwide, some states like Lagos and Ogun have yet to allow worship places. What sin have the places of worship committed?

“With the reopening of the economy, especially the markets, both organised and the unorganised markets, along with the plan to reopen airports and schools, the closure of churches anywhere in the country is no longer tenable and acceptable,” Ayokunle said.

However, both Lagos and Ogun state governments have insisted that it was illogical to reopen churches as the number of COVID-19 cases keeps rising in the two states.

As of the time of filing this report, Lagos was the most affected state among the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, with over 11,000 COVID-19 cases. On the other hand, Ogun was eighth with over 1,000 cases.

Responding to CAN, Lagos State said it was illogical to compare markets with worship centres as regards COVID-19 response. The state government added that the decision to close worship centres in Lagos was agreed upon by the state government and religious leaders.

Similarly, Ogun State Government said it consulted with the CAN leadership in the state before deciding on closing the churches.

Previously, notable clerics such as the Presiding Bishop of Living Faith Worldwide (aka Winners Chapel), David Oyedepo, and the President of LoveWorld Incorporated (aka Christ Embassy), Pastor Chris Oyakhilome, had faulted the closure of churches by the government to curb COVID-19 spread.

Waiting for reopening of worship centres

As they await opening of worship cenres, a soft drinks seller at the Magoro area of Ogun State, Mrs Morayo Oyatomi, said she missed the monthly ‘Power Must Change Hands’ of the MFM every first Saturday due to the huge sales she usually made during such meetings.

She said, “I miss the MFM worshippers. Anytime there is a programme, there are probably thousands of worshippers as potential customers. On such days, I join my workers to go to the arena to make money. I usually order large quantity of drinks and table water prior to such programmes because many people will buy them.”

A food vendor, simply identified as Mama Bisi, also said she couldn’t wait for churches to reopen and for programmes such as ‘Power Must Change Hands’ to return.

“I close my shop when there is a special programme at the MFM because I make much money there. Worshippers must definitely buy food, so it’s usually a boom time for people like us. But things are bad now because of the closure of churches. There is much suffering in the land now. I can’t wait for things to return to normal,” she said.

Meanwhile, at the Canaanland of Winners Chapel, Ota, Ogun State, some traders also said they missed patronage by the swarm of worshippers who attend the church’s programmes.

“This place is usually busy whenever there is a programme at Canaanland. And, of course, there is better patronage on such days. I make more money than on any other regular day. COVID-19 has really affected taxi operators like me and I can’t wait for churches to reopen,” Akin Fadahunsi, a taxi driver who lives at Sango-Ota, Ogun State, told our correspondent on the phone.

Also, a food vendor who lives in the area, Nifemi Lolade, told our correspondent that she greatly missed the church’s activities.

“I make more money when there is a church programme at the Canaanland. I also cook more quantity of food on such days than on any other day. But now, things are not good because of the ban on religious activities. I can’t wait for things to return to normal. The suffering as a result of the ban is too much,” she said.

A real estate marketer, John Princewill, said he and his colleagues usually made use of days when there were special programmes at the Redemption Camp, Prayer City and Canaanland to market their products.

“We too have missed such days because we could distribute hundreds, even thousands, of fliers to worshippers on those days. In fact, some do patronise us afterwards. I have five instances where worshippers later contacted me to buy land,” he said.

Informal sector worst hit by COVID-19 –ILO

In a May 2020 report, the International Labour Organisation estimated that lockdown measures had significantly impacted about 1.6 billion informal workers worldwide due to COVID-19, with women being the worst affected.

ILO said in a situation where there were no alternative income sources, lost labour income would result in an increase in relative poverty for informal workers and their families.

It said, “These include workers in sectors such as accommodation and food services, manufacturing, the wholesale and retail trade and many more, including over 500 million farmers producing for the urban market.

“Because those in the informal economy need to work, lockdowns and other containment measures are a source of social tension and transgressive practices and behaviour, which are endangering governments’ efforts to protect the population and fight the pandemic.”

Also, in a recent interview with our correspondent, the National President of the Association of Small Business Owners of Nigeria, Dr Femi Egbesola, said workers in the informal sector of the private sector would be mostly affected by the pandemic.

He said, “In these trying times, small and medium businesses will be the worst hit. We are the most vulnerable when a crisis like this happens and I can assure you that quite a number of small and medium businesses will go under after this crisis.”

A Lagos-based economist, Dr Dare Majekodunmi, advised workers in the informal sector to seek alternative income sources during these times.

“It is expected that small business owners will suffer more during this pandemic. But the only advice I can offer is that they should seek alternative income sources to at least keep the body and soul together. Over time, things will restore to normal,” he stated