Our Religious Finance Bill should have a clause that punishes errant pastorprueners by forcing them to invest a minimum of $1bn in job creation whenever they engage in hate speech

Ayo Akinfe

(1) Pastor David Ibiyeomie, the founder of Salvation Ministries, in Port Harcourt has been in the news lately. He has threatened the life of broadcaster Daddy Freeze for challenging his spiritual father Bishop David Oyedepo

(2) Not only did Pastor Ibiyeomie threaten Daddy Freeze, he also insulted Somalians, mixed race people and all broadcasters. By any standards you want to use, his tirade constitutes hate speech

(3) However, I would not want to see Pastor Ibiyeomie prosecuted, found guilty and sent to jail. Let us tap into this his fervour and put it to good use for the betterment of mankind

(4) Pastor Ibiyeomie is a man of considerable means, so I would like to see our religious finance laws amended to offer the option of a plea bargain for people like him whenever they err. He should be allowed to enter into a plea bargain whereby he has to invest at least $1bn in job creation in exchange for all charges against him being dropped

(5) Pastor Ibiyeomie is from Bonny Island in Rivers State, so I think it would be appropriate to ask him to open a ship making yard in Bonny , creating say 2,000 jobs as punishment for his transgressions on this occasion

(6) Just imagine the number of direct and related jobs such a shipyard will create, the effect it would have on the local economy, the number of youths it will take out of crime, the amount of foreign exchange it will generate and the way it will end the dependency on crude oil

(7) Nigeria’s clerics are among the wealthiest people in the country but they also engage in more hate speech than anyone else. We need to target this their Archilles Heel and use it for socio-economic development

(8) Any imam who calls for a jihad and any pastor who preaches hate like Pastor Ibiyeomie should be made to create at least 1,000 jobs or have all their assets seized by their state governments. I am sure which of these options they would go for

(9) Only President Vladimir Putin has managed to reign in his oligarchs. He invites them to the Kremlin and gives them investment targets. Woe betide anyone who fails to meet his. Nigeria desperately needs this kind of forced direct investment to accelerate the pace of development

(10) Our clergymen have a lot of energy, which I like. However, they are targeting it at the wrong enemy. Nigeria’s devil is not poor Lucifer, it is poor roads, inadequate power supply, a lack of food processing plants, no railway network, poor healthcare, inadequate schools, no fire stations, etc. These are the areas where they need to turn their fire to