The Place of the Church in Equitable Distribution of Nigerian Commonwealth

Abstract

Equitable distribution of the nation’s wealth is believed to be one of the bases for peaceful co-existence among various groups in a country. Nigeria is blessed with lots of resources ranging from crude oil, gas, mines, bitumen, timber, cocoa, cotton, coal and the likes. It is however unfortunate that most Nigerians are living in abject poverty because these resources are under the control of few privilege individuals who are either on the corridor of power or born with silver spoon. While the rich in the country are becoming richer and monopolizing the nation’s wealth, the poor are becoming poorer. The aim of this study therefore is to investigate the roles of the church in addressing this uneven distribution of Nigerian wealth knowing full well that some of these wealthy people are in the church. The phenomenology and historical research methods were adopted for this study. The study focused on how the church today can be a model example in fair sharing of national wealth taking a clue from the apostles in the early church who ensured the people that complained of neglect in daily distribution of food were justly treated. It therefore recommended that the church (the Assembly of God’s children) should be involved in sharing the national wealth and preach always against injustice in the land. This would help in bridging the gap of inequity between the rich and the poor and promoting peaceful co-existence in Nigeria.