OUR guest on The Platform today is the Senior Pastor, Royal Priesthood Divine Assembly, Asaba, Pastor Sam Onitiri. He is a seasoned minister whose journey spans over four decades in Christian service. In this interview, the former oil industry executive and one-time senior pastor under Bishop David Oyedepo of Living Faith Church, speaks on his call to ministry, the true essence of Christmas, insecurity, politics, and his expectations for the year ahead. Excerpts.
Sir, please introduce yourself
My name is Pastor Sam Onitiri, the Senior Pastor, Royal Priesthood Divine Assembly, Asaba.
How long have you been in ministry, and what led you to set up your own Church?
I became a pastor in 1995. I have been in ministry since 1985 with Bishop David Oyedepo. I was with him from 1985 to 2005, which makes it 20 years. However, In 1995, I had a vision. The vision was, “Go forth to put smiles on the faces of men and joy in their hearts.” I showed the vision to the pastor then, Bishop David Oyedepo. He advised me that if I was going to follow the vision of God, I had to be trained. So, I remained in the ministry, and by 2005, it was time for me to leave.
I informed him that it was time for me to go and follow the vision. That was how I started my own ministry.
Before joining full-time ministry, I was the Quality Control Manager at UNIPETRO. From there, I joined the ministry as a pastor. I had been worshipping at Winners’ Chapel from 1985, but I later became a pastor. I actually resigned from an oil company to become a pastor. Some people felt I had a problem because, financially speaking, the salary the ministry was paying me was not up to my tithe while working at UNIPETRO. That was why many people thought something was wrong. But I knew what God told me and what He wanted me to do.
When I joined the ministry, it was not easy. Gradually, I began to grow. Honestly, integrity is the key. Integrity is a major weapon. Once you have integrity, you are good to go in ministry, and that is what has worked for me. I keep myself accountable.
I was also the Senior Pastor of Winners’ Chapel, in Asaba, from the year 2000 to 2004. At that time, it was the only branch in that area, and that was when the church really experienced explosive growth. I was supposed to continue operating there, but when God said it was time for me to leave, I left.
Have you had any regrets so far, especially moving from an oil company to a full-time ministry?
Regrets? No. None at all. I was told by the one who told me to move how it was going to be like. If I did not know, maybe I would have been shocked or tempted to regret it. But I was sure. As I told you, the salary they offered me was one-tenth of my tithe I was paying at that time. That was the tithe of the tithe. So I already knew what I was getting into from the very beginning. No regrets at all.
Sir, this is the Christmas season, a festive period. From your perspective, what is the essence of Christmas?
First, let me clarify this. Christmas is a day, not a date. Christmas is a celebration. They are two different things. We are celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. It is not the 25th of December that we are celebrating. As I said, Christmas is a day, not a date. It celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. People could decide to celebrate it in January or even November. For instance, most of us have birthdays on a particular date, say the 10th of March, but you may decide to celebrate it on the 30th because that is a Sunday or Saturday. That is how it is. So, first and foremost, we must realise that Christmas is a day, not a date, and that the event is what is important, not the date itself.
In Matthew chapter 1, verse 21, the Bible says, “And His name shall be called Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins.” That speaks of a Saviour. Verse 23 then says He shall be called Emmanuel, meaning God with us. Sothe event is the coming of a Saviour, God Himself coming down to live with man. That is the event. It is a good thing that God humbled Himself to come and live with men, and it is something we must celebrate. It is an event that all of us must celebrate, whether you are born again or not. God Himself decided to come and stay with us.
We know from John chapter 1, verse 1, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Verse 14 of that same passage says, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt amongst us.” That is talking about Jesus Christ.
There are many complaints that Christmas is now associated with crime and anxiety, especially among parents, and people are now focusing on the negative side of Christmas. How should peoplecelebrate Christmas without anxiety and without going the extra mile unnecessarily?
Life is all about perspective, and your perspective determines your actions. Perspective is shaped by the information you have. That is what determines how you see things.
The Bible says in Psalm 16 verse 11 that God crowns the year with His goodness. Every year-end is meant to be crowned with goodness. That is what we are now trying to reintroduce into people’s subconscious: you have worked from January to December, and December is when God crowns all your efforts. That is what the bible says. God is crowning your year; He is not wishing you evil. But darkness is being introduced deliberately to discourage people from celebrating Christmas.
Even many born-again Christians now say “Xmas.” I studied Mathematics, and I know the meaning of X.
So, can you tell us the difference between Xmas and Christmas?
In Mathematics, X is an unknown integer; it has no meaning. Mass means celebration. X represents an unknown entity. By saying Xmas, Christ is subtly removed. Instead of celebrating Christ, it becomes a celebration of an unknown entity. Ignorantly, some Christians have accepted this.
God says in several passages that His people suffer because of a lack of knowledge. Isaiah chapter 5 verse 13 says God’s people go into captivity because they lack knowledge. Hosea chapter 4 verse 6 says, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” Psalm 82 verses 5 to 7, says ‘’they do not know, nor do they understand, so they walk on in darkness’’. Ignorance has always been the problem. The Word of God brings light, and that is why Jesus came as the light and as the Word, so that man can have understanding. The real problem of man is a lack of understanding.
In life and even in examinations, what is being assessed is your understanding. God is trying to improve our understanding so that we can live better lives.
Away from Christmas, what is your view on the alleged Christian genocide in Nigeria?
As I told you, life is all about perspective. There is genocide. Anyone who says there is no genocide is either deceiving himself or is blind or deaf. People are being killed. But is it really Christians alone? That is the real question. Christians are among those being killed, yes. But those killing them are not Christians, and they are not Muslims either. Muslims are not killing Christians.
Groups like Boko Haram are not Muslims. Their ideology is violence. The meaning of Boko Haram is that education is bad. I lived in Kaduna for some time, so I know. But in reality, they are against education entirely, not just Western education. That is why they attack schools and abduct children, regardless of whether they attend missionary schools or otherwise. They do not want people to go to school, largely because they themselves were not educated.
I lived in the North for some years and observed that many parents do not educate their children. They leave them on the streets under the guise of religious training. This was enabled by elites so that they alone would benefit from education and opportunities, unlike in the South, where if a leader embezzles, the people will know and even fight back. But it has backfired. Those uneducated youths now have nothing but guns, and all they want is money. It is not about Islamisation; that is just a cover. The real issue is money.
So, is there genocide? Yes. Is it targeted only at Christians? I don’t think so.
Some people believe those targeted communities should take up arms to defend themselves. Do you agree?
Possessing arms illegally is against the law, and I cannot advise anyone to break the law. But people have a right to defend themselves. How they do that must still be within the law. Self-defence is legitimate, but illegality is not.
Let us talk about the Church and the Nigerian project. The Church should be the conscience of the nation. When ministers speak, politicians should listen. But there has been a shift. Some pastors now kneel before governors and presidents. Many Nigerians feel the Church now enables corrupt politicians. What is your take?
In the time of Samuel, when King Saulmisbehaved, the prophet confronted him. Saul knelt down and held Samuel’s cloth. Today, it is reversed. It is now pastors who kneel before politicians. Jesus said when He sent His disciples without purse or bag, they lacked nothing. God does not want His servants to lack so that they will not depend on politicians. Personally, I do not look for anything from the government. God has blessed me sufficiently. During our Operation Smile, I have bought motorcycles and taxis from people. That is my own life. That is why I can speak the truth without fear. If the Government is good, I say it is good. If it is bad,I say so. They can be angry at me, but I have said the truth.
Should the church be involved in politics?
Yes, it is very important, but not the pastors. Pastors are not supposed to belong to political parties. They are meant to be fathers to politicians, not their supporters. However, Christians as citizens should be politically involved. If you refuse to be involved, you have no right to complain when your money is embezzled. If you try and don’t win, it is fine. Someone else will. The Christian body has “left it for them” for quite a while, and it is wrong.
The former vice president of Nigeria is a pastor. Many say, “If you cannot beat them, you join them.” We have seen godly men enter politics and eventually compromise. So if a godly man enters politics, what should he do differently to change things without soiling his hands?
The Vice President does not have authority. He can only make suggestions. The person who has authority is the President. I told you before that I worked in your industry many years ago. There was one very stupid thing that was introduced. It is called fuel subsidy. It is the most annoying, the most devilish thing that ever came to Nigeria. I say this because I worked in the oil industry, and I worked at a very high level, so I know exactly what was happening. I can even explain it to you a little.
They gave people the licence to import fuel because the NNPC was not performing well. Sowhen they imported fuel, for instance, they would tell the government, “We imported it for ₦1,000.” The government would then say, “Sell it for ₦300.” That means the government would pay ₦700. Very simple. It sounds good on the surface, but that is where the problem is.
We have PPMC inspectors who are supposed to inspect what these people do. They connive with the importers. The man imports one million litres, and they write one hundred million litres. One hundred million is not a small number. Then do not forget that the ₦700 subsidy is paid on all those one hundred million litres. That is what they call a subsidy.
It does not stop there. We only have seaports at places like Calabar and Lagos. They have to transport the fuel to places like, Sokoto, Kaduna, and other places with tankers. Since they want to sell it at the same ₦300 in Sokoto, the government also pays for transportation. They pay for transportation on that same one hundred million litres. That is where the real problem was.
So when Buhari was coming, he said he would remove this subsidy. I supported him because I knew what it was. But he never did it.
But this current government has removed subsidy and we have not felt the impact. Why?
There is a lot of changes now. See, there are some policies that will bring pain initially. Subsidy removal is one of them. They removed subsidies from three things. Number one is fuel. Number two is the dollar. Number three is electricity.
Let me tell you how NEPA operates. Before now, every month, the government was paying the power companies, so they did not care whether you had electricity or not. But now that subsidies have been removed, the government does not pay them anything. They must generate power and supply it, or they will not be able to pay themselves. So now they are charging. They say they will charge whatever amount they like. That is their business. That is why prices went up.
Two, ff the government decides today that one dollar is now ₦20, they can do it. The only reason it was not like that before was that they were subsidising it. The current president removed the subsidy. He said whatever the dollar is worth, let it be worth it. Now we are living in reality. Before, we were living a fake life. Now we have to adjust. Many people are struggling seriously, yes, but that is the truth.
And let me shock you: there is no sitting governor who will not vote for Tinubu if he comes back. There is none. Not one. Whether in Sokoto or anywhere else. Because the money being given now is massive. When Buhari fixed the minimum wage at ₦30,000, many governors said they could not pay. Now they are talking about ₦70,000, and some people are even saying they can pay ₦80,000. That tells you the kind of money they now have.
The government now has money. Tinubu has also issued instructions to governors concerning local governments, so that money can reach the grassroots. He is trying to make sure money flows down, and that is what he is doing.
As we approach 2026, what advice do you have for Nigerians?
20 like every year, will bring its own opportunities and its own challenges. Nobody goes into a business and fails if it is God who told him to do that business. My advice is that people should seek divine direction and divine instruction. Let God guide you.
There will be many opportunities in 2026, very many opportunities, but there will also be challenges. Challenges will always be there. If you miss your step, it can be serious. But if you get it right, you can become one of the top people.
How would you rate the performance of Governor Sheriff Oborevwori?
Things have changed drastically in Asaba. You will not believe how much prices have gone up. House rent, land, everything is high. But that is value. The IfeanyiOkowa’s government then, and Sheriff Oborevwori’s government now, have increased value of the state, something many people do not understand.
Before now, land was cheap. But now, if I say I want to sell land along the express road, you will be shocked at the price. They have increased the value. I am very happy. I do not even need the money. Just do what you are supposed to do.
Governor Sheriff Oborevworihas done well for the state, very well. I do not lie to people. I do not praise people; I praise good work. Anywhere I go, I say the same thing. If people say he has not done well, I ask them who did that road. If they say it was him, then he has done well there. Look at the road to Ughelli and Warri. Like I said, I do not praise people, but I praise good works.
I came to this land in 2000. I saw the stadium under construction for years. I saw the DLA under construction for years. Was it not during Okowa’s time that these things were completed?
I do not go around government houses. I have entered Government House only once since I came here. I do not lobby anyone. I pastored all of them. That is the truth. Many of them passed through my teaching. I was the pastor who stayed longest there (Winners Chapel), and that was when the church really grew.
Lastly, sir, what is your message for this Christmas season?
If you are not born again, get born again. If you are born again, remain born again. Keep it up. Celebrate. Do not be afraid. God crowns the year with His goodness.What you say is very important because it will affect you. The Bible says you shall have whatsoever you say. Twelve spies saw the same land. Ten spoke negatively and died. Two spoke positively and entered the land. They were not killed by what they saw, but by what they said.This Christmas is going to be wonderful.
