COULD WINNERS CHAPEL BE USING MONEY TO DRAG MORE MEMBERS TO HIS CHURCH THROUGH ITS HEBRON SACHET WATER? JUDGE FOR YOURSELF.

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power can even be more powerful than the pull of electromagnetic waves that drive electricity.” Credit: Tony Boon/tonyboon.co.uk

I have no qualms against religious bodies producing commercially, but when the product is labeled as “holy”, like Hebron sachet water produced by the founder of Winners Chapel, David Oyedepo, and the price is fifty percent (50%) cheaper than the usual, then this is a predator in the market!

Hebron sachet water was born to be a monopolist.

Hebron sachet water could eventually be a natural monopoly in the market for sachet waters at Ota and like everybody would eventually learn, you better beware of entering its territory.

For one, the residents of Ota say that the water is “holy.” On the other hand, Oyedepo has decided to sell it at fifty percent of the actual price in the market. The demand for his product is so high that it even interferes with church services.

If you ask me, I’ll tell you that if Oyedepo is allowed to continue this way, he is sooner than latter going to drive so many of his competitors out of the market. When he gains monopoly power, (oh, how sweet power is!), we could see a trend where resellers of the sachet water would come from only amongst people who attend his church. By selling it at N120, the market price, they get to make a profit of N60 on each bag of sachet water which profit no other sachet water can provide. So, only his devotees will eventually control the market.

Hebron sachet water could see a line of Hebron bottle water, Hebron spring water and so on and so forth in the near future. That is the benefit monopoly confers.

But what if his monopoly power is only a tool to further increase his religious powers?

Business must be good for his company. And also for his members who have given him a cost advantage over his rivals. Altruism and the volunteering spirit would make sure the cost of input for his business is lower than the average. This indeed is a good thing, especially if they get to share from the profits.

The downside is that this could be a strategy, well known in poverty ridden Africa, of enriching his church members as a bait used to attract other people who are not members of his church. This would be a dangerous thing. But what if everyone does it and would surely want to do it?

Power corrupts and so does religion.

After gaining monopoly power and driving his competitors out of the market, what if Oyedepo decides to increase the price of Hebron sachet water to reflect the true market price? Because he has all of Ota at his fingertips when it comes to sachet water, he could see his revenue and profits double, triple and quadruple overnight. He has the power to decide who will be in the business or not, especially when he must have started with the faithful of his church. Religion and power are dangerous things, you must agree with me, and when both resides in the palms of a single mortal, then one only wonders when corruption will start creeping in.

Notwithstanding, everyone likes a cheap product and he has it going for him.

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AN INSURANCE WORTH N5.5m? YOU BET THERE ARE LOTS OF TROUBLED MINDS FOR THIS BUSINESS TO FLOURISH.

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Two conmen, one a herbalist, DanlamiMakarfi, were sentenced to prison on three count charges based on criminality for duping another man, Adamu Mohammed, of N5.5m in cash and properties. The intent of the conmen was to pray for Adamu so as to relieve him of his problems.

Those afraid of taking risk will always be ready to pay.

The principle behind Adamu’s action, like that of every other troubled mind, is similar to the raison d’etre of the insurance industry: people who are risk averse are prepared to pay a premium in order to forestall the bad outcome. Adamu Mohammed, for paying a herbalist to pray for him to help relieve him of his problems was not mad or insane, he was just acting as a risk averse person, but the twist to the story was that the two conmen must have overstepped the bounds of what is acceptable into the territory of the fraudulent.

Adamu must have valued the claim of DanlamiMakarfi and his colleague at N5.5m with the belief that his problems will be solved, because amongst other reasons, he must have tried solving those problems himself over so many years and had hit a brick wall. Therefore, he valued his own efforts at N0 and the probability that he would succeed if he keeps trying on his own at 0. One can say that Adamu was not a stupid person to have paid such an amount of money, only that, as we Nigerians say, he was a typical case of “money miss road.”

A life insurance worth N5.5m needs lots of convincing.

I keep wondering why he should value the herbalist’s claim at N5.5m. I believe the Judge must have solved that problem, although the news article did not say, but it is certain that the herbalist and his colleague must have been glib salesmen. They must have sent false signals to the troubled Adamu and manipulated him very well such that the judge had to send them to prison on a three count charge.

Otherwise, why should N5.5m not be able to provide them with a good lawyer who can defend them very well?

Just like insurance, the business of offering prayers or miracles to relieve people of their problems will always exist. People will either be risk averse, and be customers, or be risk loving, and keep bearing and enduring their problems. But for an insurance policy on one’s life to be worth N5.5m; that is worth breaking the gates of heaven.

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WHEN SOME FAT YEARS COME AFTER SO MUCH LEAN YEARS, WOULD YOU SUDDENLY GROW FAT OR STILL STAY LEAN? PART 2

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a general example of perfect elasticity. Credit: commons.wikimedia.org

During the day, I tried to look at the network service provider’s side of the brouhaha, wondering why they should want to bless me with so much bonus data?

I BELIEVE THEY WANT TO INFLUENCE THE CHOICES I MAKE

Every company wants you to choose its product when faced with myriad others. So does my network service provider. Because the income we all earn is not likely to be increased soonest, any profit making company wants you to believe that if it increases its price, it wouldn’t make even a little hole in your pocket.

But it would for this particular product: access to the internet based on a data plan. If they increased the price of the service, even by a naira, I’d go onto Google to search for the prices of competing products. They are aplenty here in Lagos. If so many customers do the same thing, then it would create a big hole in the profit basket of that company.

So they’d rather not think of increasing the price of the service. Rather, by blessing me with a huge data bonus, they want me to increase my spending such that if and when the price increases, (inflation is a given in life just as air for breathing is), I’d never notice. Why? Because I was over-satisfied and no other company can provide such.

Satisfied I was. Would they succeed? I thought they were succeeding. I had to watch it. If I played to their game and increased my spending, then I’d create a dependency on the bonus data that would become parasitic if long running.

I’d rather not fall into dependency when so many other substitutes are around the corner.

WHAT IT MEANS TO BE UNIQUE

I was at Trade Fair this week and someone told me he could surf the internet for free. I snorted. The price of the internet access was enough for my pocket. It was not free but I was content that I would not have to wonder if free came with a proxy or a dubious VPN network.

In a world where mobile Internet was becoming commonplace, quote or unquote me, I thought I would queue up for them, plus the bonus data, mind you, any day and anytime.

And ironically, if you’d ask me I’d have replied: “Yes, if they gave higher bonus data, I’d have preferred it, and could have used it, even if there was the trap of dependency around the corner.”

LIFE IS NOT AS SIMPLE THOUGH

Well, even if they wanted me to believe that if there was a little disturbance in the economy and they had to increase the price a little I wouldn’t mind, two or three months later, I might begin to notice. I’d rather they do not. I thought they would win the game if they increased my bonus data up to a point where if there were economic disturbances, my spending would neither increase nor decrease. Then, life would be simple for me.

But at what point is that? When I was supposed never to be satisfied? Waiting for when I might be asked to answer some survey questions: “Just a minute, please”, the next time I log onto my account?

Back to Part 1.

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