PEOPLE PRAYING THAT NIGERIA SHOULD NOT BREAK ARE HYPOCRITES SAYS BISHOP LIVINUS ANUMA BY PETER MAYAKI

Robert shullar one of the leading American Christian gospel  preachers said in one of his book ‘tough time never lasts but tough people do’ so was the world to describe Bishop livinus Anuma ,who is now  the presiding Bishop of kingdom Life Ministry. Bishop Livinus Anuma is a man who has gone  through a life of pains both in ministry and in life generally.

The painful aspect of this God’s general odyssey through the pilgrimage of life was when he lost four of his beloved children within a spate or four months. While he was still moaning   the sudden death of his children, his church was demolished and he was charged to court simultaneously.

In this interview with , Bishop Livinus Anuma  said “every problem you overcome introduces you to another phase of life”. Stay back as we bring you excerpts from the explosive encounter.

Tell us about yourself and the kingdom Life ministries?

Thank you. My names are Bishop Dr, Livinus Anuma. By the special grace of God i am  the presiding Bishop of kingdom Life Ministries. I became a Christian in 1968, and by the grace of God by 1970, I submitted to the almighty God completely. I grew up in the United Church of Christ under the late Apostle Egbo. I have planted many branches of U.C C. before God called me out to start the kingdom Life Ministries. The church started in 1987 from my house in Aguda in Surulere. From there it was moved to Odogbolu in the same Aguda area. Again from there, the church moved to enita street opposite Aguda, and finally to its present head quarters property.

What have been your greatest challenges?

Kingdom Life Ministries as a church has gone through a lot like the Biblical church of Syria. For eighteen years the church was involved in a running court case concerning the head quarters property.

 When the enemy of the gospel invaded our church building, destroyed it and made away with every thing I labored for in many years, both themselves and their chief contractor (nameswithheld) were full of themselves. A man who claimed he was a Christian I trusted and  another fellow  were harassing me always on the phone as they boasted  that they would drop there Bible and deal with me. As God will have it after some time the case turned against them.

From then, the man that was hired against the church began to beg me ‘Daddy help me I am only a contractor hired to pull down your church building. I will become your church member’ at this point he knew that God was on our side.

HOW DO YOU FEEL WHEN YOUR CHURCH FIRST DEMOLISHED?

I felt very bad. I found myself in a state that the writer of Psalms 40 found himself. My ministry kingdom Life Ministries had come under a serious attack around  July 2004. And on 29 August 2004 the same attacker struck at  us again. Knowing that he had the backing of the state government being a Muslim and under a Muslim government, they took us to court. We continued our prayers and rebuilt the church building again. By September 2004 they came and destroyed the church building again. This same gang plotted to kidnap me. Their plans was that they would come to arrest me at the police Headquarters G.I.D in Ikeja with uniformed police and sixteen none uniformed police would come to pretend to my defense, while pretending to be trying to save me they will force me in to their  van and whisk me away to an unknown destination and end my life. But God brought me out of their plot and gave me and the church victory.

In the  course of trying to recover the church landed  property that was destroyed, we were told that you lost four of your children; how come?

This is one area I don’t like talking about, because each time I think of the death of my four children during my trial  period,the pains   becomes afresh again.

It is usually devastating losing loved ones, especially if you have shared strong affinity with them over the years. Watching such people die could be very heart breaking and demoralizing. If tears could bring back my four late children from the dead, my Immeasurable sob would have done that the day I lost my four children.

  When, I lost my children I was devastated, to the extent that one day I asked God a question ‘God are you still alive’? At a point in the united state of America I almost committed suicide. In an attempted to do that God spoke to me ‘Don’t kill yourself my son, because if you do I will save you and still do my job. You now understand why I don’t like to talk about it.

HOW MANY CHILDREN DO YOU HAVE ,WHEN YOU LOST FOUR?

I had seven children as at that time, but when I lost four I had three left. But today I have four children, God has added one miraculously. In the year 1999, my wife was sick and she went to see her doctor. Her doctor asked her to go do a  scan and she came back sorrowful that scan said she was pregnant of a triplet. This time our last son was eight years and we have put a full stop to child bearing. Before she left with her team to the United States of  America for a programme the doctor said that one of the triplets has dissolved. In the U. S. the second one left. Between the sixth and seventh month of her pregnancy she was very sick that the Doctor decided to flush out the baby to save her life. After a  successful evacuation of the thing in the womb they were trying to revive my wife and one of  the nurses said that she heard a noise in the waste basket and behold the thing had life and this is the only daughter we have and her name is favor. Our God is a miracle God. The enemy flushed her out but our God flushed her back to life. To Him alone is the glory.

What has life taught you?  I have learnt to be patient in everything and also my humility increases. Above all my respect for God is too much, because he alone has the power to give and has right to take if he wants to.

Pastor’s involving in ungodly things?

Let me tell you, publish it ‘in Nigeria only few pastor’s are born again’ the reason is because the church of God has been converted to a  business center ,every body is an building empire for his or herself. In that case they can go to any length to acquire power to perform miracle. A pastor took a friend of mine to bar beach to meet a woman who promised to give him a charm that will boost his church, on one condition.

According to my friend the condition was ‘if you can say with one once I will give you thousand five hundred members and if you increase it to two times I will give you five thousand members. Pastors this days are no longer born again  they are born against.

You have a successful home what is your secret?

God and his word are my secret. The true definition of the Bible simply means ‘Basic instruction before leaving the earth’ Building a successful partnership takes a daily effort. Marriage is like a garden. If left unattended to and uncultured, it will soon turn into weeds. Couples must constantly set goals for themselves and their relationship.

A healthy marriage cannot grow in an environment of competition, hatred, boasting, jealousy, low self esteem or verbal abuses. Enjoy being together is another practical way then can give your marriage an ending quality of success, because spending time with one another creates a durable atmosphere for your relationship to thrive. A young and successful business man married beautiful lady and after their wedding, he told the lady to feel at home with all the electronic gadgets, and feel free to take as much money as she needs from a particular brief case in the house, while he travelled abroad for his business. After one week he returned to find the house and his money intact. He traveled the second time and found his house and money intact when he came back. Amazingly, the third time he returned from his trip, he found a note that read ‘I married Joe and not electronic gadgets and money, if you are not prepared to marry me, I will be gone’ without established common value, it is difficult to hold any relationship together personal convictions should be shared and also respected by the other partner. Let the wife manage the house keeping allowance. Allow each other obey God without approval of each other. Because the adhesive that keeps a husband and wife together, is ‘putting God first’

Christians, including pastors are increasingly involved in divorces; what do you think is responsible for this?

It is very sad to see many marriages breaking up especially Christian marriages .most times, these marriages break up in the first five years and one of the reasons is because people are not prepared enough before going into marriage. Every body, including Christians needs adequate preparation before going into marriage. It is the responsibility of the leaders in the church to teach the younger ones how to view marriage; we need to make them understand the role of marriage in the society.

You can only divorce your wife on one condition that is if she is caught in infidelity. If nothing of such happens, why should you divorce your wife? The bible says ‘what God has joined together, let nothing put asunder’.

Since you relate with church members so well, what would you say is their greatest problem?

Let me say that number one problem is poverty. Many are poor and they need solution to their poverty. There are a lot of marriages that are in shambles and a lot of people who are going through psychological torture. People are looking for who they can share their burdens with. A lot of people are being attacked by the devil and all they just want is to be delivered. That is why any church I go to, I usually ask God to give me direction on what to do to make impact. I don’t go to members to beg anything, I wait on God that he will supply my needs but I make sure that I carry the burden of the members because many of them are hurting.

What advice do you have for our leaders in this country?

Everything happened in the year 1914, the year 2015 is around the corner, if our marriage of hundred years cannot stay, let us divorce. Those people praying that Nigeria should not break are hypocrites. So many lives have been lost and nothing is being done. A lot of Igbos has died and killing of people still continues unabated. It is time for us to review the age long marriage called Nigeria. If going our different ways will save the lost of lives, it is better we go our different ways.