Gospel artist Tim Godfrey recently made a statement that has stirred controversy amongst churchgoers. In his statement, he said he didn’t enjoy coming to Nigeria because gospel artistes aren’t treated well. By “treated well”, of course, he meant payment.
This statement has caused a lot of argument, mainly because it’s a hot button topic that pops up every few months. The takes on this issue are so varied that even pastors have varying things to say about it. Apostle Joshua Selman has spoken about this same topic, but he was talking about how pastors are valued.
At first, you seem to see a general theme. It looks like gospel ministers (singers and preachers) aren’t valued highly, but as you continue to check, you see that the issue is much deeper than that, and a lot more widespread.
A Gospel Artiste Issue or a Nigeria Issue?
Yes, Godfrey is right. Many Nigerian churches or church groups hardly ever set aside a fat budget for honorarium for the status of artistes they want to invite. And unfortunately, some of them think, “The artistes should do it for God. God will reward them.” This thinking also applies to the honorarium offered to pastors when they’re invited to minister as guests.
The more widespread issue is in the first part of Godfrey’s statement. “I don’t like coming to Nigeria because…”. The issue is that this problem is mainly in Nigeria. Godfrey’s comment suggests that he doesn’t get this kind of treatment abroad.
The Valuation System in Nigeria is Faulty, and Everyone is Affected
People in the gospel music ministry aren’t properly valued, but that problem is more widespread than people think. Writers, Editors, Artisans, even Software Developers aren’t valued in this country the way they’re valued outside. Writers generally earn very little for their work, compared to how much work they actually put in.
This is why Inside Success Nigeria has set out to empower young professionals and creatives. Through a Writers Hub, writers can showcase their skills while getting paid fairly. Inside Success is empowering youths in several other ways, through jobs, training and education.
There’s a famous meme (it’s actually a conversation) of someone asking a web developer to design a website like YouTube, so as to compete with YouTube. The funniest part wasn’t even that, it was where he said his budget was ₦30,000. Yes, naira.
As funny as that conversation is, it highlights the thinking process employed by many people who pay for services.
Why is Valuation So Poor in the Country?
Many people seem to forget – or not know – that skills take time and resources to acquire. Minister Sonnie Badu once said during his sermon, that he makes sure he pays musicians (instrumentalists). He said it is because for someone to get to the skill level that makes you want to get them to play for you, they must have invested and sacrificed a lot.
He is right. There is no skill that doesn’t take resources to hone. Writing seems like it is the exception, but the time you use to write can be used for any number of things that can put money in your pocket. Besides, time is also a resource.
Many feel there is nothing special about certain things, and that leads them to cap the value very low.
Another thing that affects valuation is the need to take on many different skills. In Nigeria, the average person, or household, doesn’t have much funds. This means that many times when you should get a professional to fix something, you find a way to fix it yourself, even if it means endangering yourself. As a result, you could see an electrician’s job as something you can do. Well…some parts of his job, anyways.
This also applies to other artisans, and to a degree, professionals in other fields too.
Sometimes…Money No Dey
This article would not be complete if I didn’t highlight one important part of valuation. With gospel ministers, the inviters hardly ever have a lot of money to give in the first place. The valuation is not always low because they don’t recognize his value, sometimes that’s just all they have to give. It would still make it a Nigerian problem, but this time, there’s no sinister intent.
In the video of Godfrey, he said he was given a chicken. Yes, an alive and squawking chicken. That is probably all they had. Of course, no one knows what they had, but it’s wrong to assume they just didn’t want to give more.
Many often assume that the average church rakes in large amounts of money. However, nothing could be farther from the truth. Very few churches in Nigeria have the kind of money that fits the narrative perpetuated about Nigerian churches.
What’s the Way Forward?
That is a bit more difficult to answer, but it is important to start from a place of honesty. Some research is also needed in some cases. Sometimes, people just don’t know how difficult it is to do what you do. Other times, they just don’t place much value on it, in which case, there’s nothing you can do.
It’s hard to make someone see value where he doesn’t think there is. It is why people pursue international opportunities. Even graphic designers that get “gigs” from foreign clients can attest to the valuation difference.
Unfortunately, I’ll be the guy to tell you that there’s no way to solve this kind of problem for now. It is such a widespread issue that you can only start from yourself. Change how you value the services of others. If everyone does that, we’d get somewhere. You can’t control what other people do, though, so we might be here for a while.
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