Last week was quite interesting on Nigeria’s social media space. It<\/p>\n
started with a video of Pastor Adeboye telling his followers not to marry
\na woman that can neither cook nor pray for one straight hour. The question
\nthat has been on my mind is: does that mean God is deaf? What parent makes
\ntheir child beg (for one hour) for something they know the child needs?
\nThe truth is that prayers, besides making the believer to feel good about
\nthemselves, are an absolute waste of time. They do not grow the economy or
\nan amputated limb. Youth unemployment is at an all time high despite our
\nregular night vigils, prayers and supplications – it is evident that a God
\nwho is interested in human welfare does not exist. If He did, malaria and
\ncancers will not kill millions of children whilst He preoccupies Himself
\nwith consensual sex between homosexual couples.<\/p>\n
In our country, pastors are marriage counsellors, psychotherapists,
\npsychiatrists and financial advisers all at once even though they are not
\nappropriately trained for these roles. They tell women to go back to their
\nviolent husbands because, according to them, divorce is a sin against God.
\nMany a woman has lost her life because of this advice. People like Adeboye
\nare so influential anything they say is taken as the literal truth. Sadly,
\nhis comments portray a man who is out of touch with the realities of
\nmodern family life. More and more women are now in employment and some of
\nthem are the main providers for their families. Marriage is now regarded
\nas a partnership rather than as a master-servant relationship. Some of the
\nmost celebrated chefs in western cultures are men – what is wrong with
\nteaching our boys and young men to cook for themselves? Adeboye has
\nsimilarly instructed his female followers not to marry men without jobs.
\nBut what happens when a man loses his job – should his wife divorce him?<\/p>\n
I feel sorry for the people who think God speaks through this man or
\nthrough any man at all.<\/p>\n
If you want incontrovertible evidence that religion cannot reform the
\nworld, then consider the degree of theft and corruption in Nigeria. These
\nproblems have become endemic even though practically every Nigerian is a
\npractising Muslim or Christian.<\/p>\n
Nigerian pastors have acquired a taste for private jets – ostensibly to
\nreach the parts of the world that need the gospel of Jesus, except that
\nthey avoid such places as Pakistan, Afghanistan, Somalia and Iraq. Charity
\nbegins at home – it is senseless to run off to put out the fire in your
\nneighbour’s house when your own house is up in flames.<\/p>\n
Nigerians and their country are in dire need of salvation from endemic
\ncorruption. It is evident that religion cannot tranform our nation because
\nas our religious devotions have increased, so have our corrupt ways.<\/p>\n
Pastor Adeboye and his other pastopreneur friends need to sell off their
\njets, repent of their lies, stop robbing their church members through
\nemotional blackmail, and give back what they have stolen. Their message
\nhas failed.<\/p>\n
Adeboye’s gaffes were followed by the news that the Nigerian government is
\ngoing to subsidise pilgrimage to Mecca by granting Muslims concessionary
\nexchange rate.<\/p>\n
That is almost N8 billion for an exercise that does not benefit our
\neconomy. Many businesses are failing, parents are struggling to send their
\nchildren to school, our hospitals are poorly resourced but that is how our
\ngovernment chooses to spend N8 billion. And believers wonder why we cannot
\nstop talking about religion. There would be no use to criticise religion
\nif it is removed from public space and kept as a private matter. It is
\nwrong for the government to use tax payer’s money to subsidise religious
\nrituals.<\/p>\n
The week ended with the RCCG convention where Adeboye makes his usual wild
\nclaims but says nothing of consequence about our nation. Our Vice
\nPresident and a professor of law, Yemi Osibanjo, who also happens to be a
\npastor in the Redeemed Church watched on as Adeboye went to town with his
\npreposterous claims. For a man who claims to have resurrected dead people,
\ncured all kinds of diseases and driven a car without feel, you would think
\nAdeboye would have told Vice President Osibanjo by now where to locate the
\nabducted Chibok girls, right? But no, another RCCG convention has ended
\nand not a word about their whereabout. When Adeboye claims that his car
\ndrives without fuel or that he has resurrected dead people and there’s a
\nmedical doctor, engineer, architect, research fellow, PhD holder or a
\nprofessor in the congregation who believes this fantasy then I feel grief
\nand have great concern for the education system that has nurtured such
\npeople.<\/p>\n
Religion has caused more harm than it has done good to African societies.
\nWithout a doubt, Adeboye and his fellow pastopreneurs have been
\nresponsible for the corruption in the way a generation of Nigerians think.
\nBut judging by the reactions to his sermon on social media, I think it is
\nsafe to say that the scales are starting to fall off the eyes of
\nbelievers. I believe that pastor Adeboye will think twice now before
\nre-telling his favourite story of how his car drives without fuel. I am
\nthankful for the Internet and how it has placed knowledge at the
\nfingertips (literally) of ordinary people. I pay tribute to fellow
\nsecularists for their unrelenting effort to liberate the minds of our
\npeople from the shackles of religion. Despite my grief, I feel hopeful
\nabout the future.<\/p>\n
Ijabla is a medical doctor. He writes from the UK and can be contacted at:
\nijabijay@me.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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