IN GOD'S NAME!
by Dozie Ikem Ezeife, Esq
In 2 Corinthians chapter 11
verses 13 through 15, St. Paul joined issues with false prophets. Paul
believed that such men are deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles
of Christ. Just like Satan masquerades as an angel of light, these
false apostles (servants of Satan) masquerade as angels of
righteousness. St. Paul’s revelation provides a backdrop to a
phenomenon in Nigeria today, the proliferation of “born-again”
ministries.
In the past decade on the
heels of crippling poverty and despair, Nigeria has witnessed a surge
in the establishment of mushroom “faith” ministries. Every nook and
cranny of Nigeria spots the billboard or sign post promoting a “faith
based” ministry. Every other uncompleted building or abandoned
structure houses a “church”. There is hardly any street in any
metropolitan city in Southern Nigeria that does not have a local
Redeemed ministry. Do not misunderstand me. I am not singling out the
Redeemed Ministry for indictment. On the contrary, the present head
and leader of the Redeemed Ministry is a humble and a dedicated
Christian and I hear that he runs a clean ministry. However, that
cannot be said of the rest of the pack in the “faith” movement in
Nigeria.
The genesis of and the rise
in this phenomenon are attributable to a variety of circumstances. The
unstable political situation in the country, exacerbated by the crime
epidemic and widespread corruption in the public and private sector,
sent the Nigerian economy into a tailspin. The gap between the
proverbial “haves and have-nots” figuratively became oceans apart. The
military political elite, their civilian cronies and 419 operatives
became millionaires and billionaires whilst a large segment of the
population wallowed in penury beneath the poverty line. The middle
class was completely wiped out. Nigerians were either very rich or
very poor. There was no middle ground. Nigerians were overcome by
desperation and grave anxiety and in the absence of a clear policy on
the part of their government to save them from this economic quagmire,
people looked for alternative sources of reprieve. In came the “faith”
ministries with the fake promise of succor to the dehumanized
citizenry.
Not all preachers out there
are corrupt or fraudulent. There are a good number of decent and
honest men and women doing their best to assist Nigerians enrich their
faith and walk in the path of righteousness. However, there is a
growing number of “419” artists masquerading as preachers and
perfecting their art of fleecing vulnerable Nigerians. These smooth
talking charismatic “pimps” deserve exposure, condemnation and
ridicule. There is nothing spiritual about a man who insists on
decking himself out in hundreds of thousands of Naira worth of
clothing and jewelry to face his flock, many of whom can hardly cloth
themselves in used clothing. What is spiritual about a man who insists
on owning a flotilla of luxury and expensive automobiles when a
majority of his flock can barely eke out “okada” fares? There is
nothing admirable about a preacher who builds ostentatious mansions
for himself from his church collection when his flock finds it
difficult to pay rent on their shacks in Agegunle. I find nothing
spiritual about a minister who does not make full financial disclosure
of his ministry’s activities and allow disinterested auditors to audit
the ministry’s financial activities. There certainly is nothing
spiritual about an arrogant and immodest preacher who revels in
boasting about his wealth; wealth derived from church collection.
I believe in God, the
Father Almighty, maker of Heaven and Earth. I believe in Jesus Christ,
His only begotten son. But I certainly do not believe in these con
artists who parade as modern day messiahs. Messiahs who claim to be
ordained (by God?) to take the hungry, unemployed and completely
dehumanized Nigerians to the Promised Land. They are ordained, no
doubt about that. But not by God and certainly not to give succor to
the Nigerian needy. They are self-ordained and masterfully equipped
with the charisma and the garb of oratory to fleece the unwary of
their hard-earned money and employ same to live their “ordained” life;
a life in the bosom of luxury and shameless ostentation.
Karl Marx defined religion
as the opium of the masses. Nothing can be more apt! There is no doubt
that these false prophets are preying on the desperation of Nigerians
and as aptly observed by Marx, the Nigerian masses are lapping up the
con these “prophets” are spewing.
Charisma, intimidation and
threat of celestial doomsday curse are marched with American rap-music
influenced oratorical prowess to project these ministries to the
stratosphere of the “faith” movement. The sonorous and soothing effect
of rap music have been imported wholesale from the United States by
these preachers and are effectively inculcated into their repertoire.
They bark, they beg and they sing their way into your wallet. They
mount an elaborate scheme to make you believe that they have an
insight into the future and can solve all your earthly and hereafter
problems. They organize associates who will discretely obtain personal
information from you and pass it on to the preacher. At the opportune
time, he will reveal the information and you will be astounded and
genuinely believe that he acquired these facts by celestial powers.
No, you have been had. You are a victim of these con men and women.
There are cases of some of these con-pastors raping desperate women
who are seeking to have children and making them believe they will
conceive through divine intervention. Indeed stories abound of several
homes that are raising the of-springs of “faith” preachers after the
women of the house had been hoodwinked into spending several nights at
the ministries in the belief that they will receive conception such as
the virgin Mary had. These con-men will go to any length to reap off
their unsuspecting congregation including scoring free sex.
In South Africa, Bishop
Desmond Tutu played a very crucial role in the fight and eventually
defeat of Apartheid. In the United States of America Reverend (Dr.)
Martin Luther King, Jr. and several other religious leaders played
pivotal roles during the civil rights struggle by blacks and women in
the 50s and 60s. Faith-based ministries in the United States of
America run several programs that minister to the needs of the poor in
their congregation and elsewhere. They operate soup kitchen for the
homeless. They operate orphanages for orphaned children and homes for
the elderly. They organize food and clothing drives to benefit needy
members of the society. They lend their voice to opponents of
governmental policies that oppress the citizenry. The Catholic Church
played decisive roles in the political revolution in Poland which
heralded the enthronement of democracy in
Poland
and the eventual spread of the democracy fever throughout the Soviet
bloc. The Christian missionaries were instrumental to the abolition of
slavery in United Kingdom and the Americas. Christian organizations
are behind the current call for debt forgiveness for the developing
nations of the world.
The question naturally
arises as to what the ”faith” ministries in Nigeria have done to
address the plight of their flock in Nigeria in the face of crippling
despair visited on Nigerians by decades of corrupt governments. How
many schools have they built to train the children of the
congregation? How many scholarship funds have they set up and how many
skills training schools have they initiated for unemployed members of
their congregation? How many soup kitchens have they set up to feed
the hungry and homeless in their congregation? How many housing
programs have they initiated to assist their folk secure shelter for
themselves and their families? How many of these preachers have
questioned the source of the cars and other sundry expensive gifts
received by them from members of their congregation whose sources of
income are at best questionable? How many of them even spoke out
during General Sani Abacha’s brutal dictatorship? A lot of them
counseled Abacha in his hey days. Several of them are presently
singing Obasanjo’s praises even in the face of ineptitude, corruption
and brutality of the present administration. How many of them have
challenged the corrupt Governors and local government chairpersons who
are stealing their people blind?
The American experience
have shown that these charismatic “faith” ministers inexorably lead
their flock to chaos, anarchy, organized suicide, bloody
fractionalization and in some cases, sexual pervasion. Recall the
activities of Jim and Tammy Baker. Remember the mass “suicide” in
Guyana
by Jim Jones and his flock. These fake ministers unleashed a torrent
of grieve and despair on their unsuspecting flock in the United States
of America in the 70s and 80s. They set up elaborate schemes through
television evangelism by which they bilked Americans billions of
dollars. These funds were treated by these ministers as if they were
their personal funds. They indulged in sexual orgies and reveled in
unspeakable luxury and ostentation. They embezzled funds and diverted
church funds to their private use. In the case of Jim Jones, he
coerced and forced hundreds of his followers including children to
commit mass suicide in Guyana. Jim Baker is currently serving jail
term in an American prison.
The Nigerian government
ought to review the non-profit status of most of these ministries with
a view to stripping them of their tax-exempt status. The government
should not allow Nigerians to clothe their prosperous commercial
enterprise with the cloak of religion and thus deprive the government
of veritable source of tax revenue. The perennial problem of
succession whenever the leader of one of these ministries dies and the
never-ending splinters of these ministries underscore the bottom-line
truth with these ministries. They are lucrative business endeavours
the control of which leaders will go to any lengths to seize. Wives
and children of these fake “ministers” quickly elevate themselves to
the status of heads and pastors of the church. Their sole claim to the
exulted position is their blood or marital relationship to the
deceased “minister”. Even old-fashioned medicine men and occultists
have jumped into the lucrative enterprise and have cleverly
transformed themselves into the ranks of “faith” healers and heads of
“healing churches”.
Our local newspapers are
replete with stories of “preachers” hurling destructive accusations
against each other. Tuft war has become the order of the day in the
“faith” business. Thugs, demeaning gossips, the police and even the
law courts are now instruments in the hands of these “preachers” in
their tuft war. Jesus Christ’s entreaty to turn the other cheek has
largely fallen on deaf ears in the “faith” movement. The mad rush to
increase their bottom-line have turned these “ministers” into alley
cats that they really are. In the film “Malcolm X”, young Malcolm was
sternly cautioned that “God’s words ain’t no hustle”. Our local
preachers will do well to heed those words. Karl Marx dismissed
religion as the opium of the oppressed masses. Nothing can be more apt
in describing the emergency and upsurge of “faith” ministries in
Nigeria in the last two decades.
Faith is good. One should
have faith in, believe and worship the Supreme Being. What one should
not do is alienate common sense and permit fast talking con-artist
dressed up in pimp outfit to financially rape poor, helpless and
hopeless Nigerians in the name of God. Nigerians must be alert and
vigilante lest they be taken for a ride by these con men in preacher’s
garb. Can I hear “Amen”?
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