Nigerian Pastors Are Full of Sh*t

A pastorpreneur is essentially an entrepreneur who uses religion, particularly Christianity in this context, to extract money from gullible members. This is usually done under the guise of a ten-percent tax called tithe. According to them, this mandate applies today, even though its original scriptural context had nothing to do with modern church-goers.

These clerics live lavishly. They eat the best, drive the best, and wear the best. They mingle with individuals at the upper echelon of Nigeria’s political and religious circles. They are detached from reality, or they pretend to be, in order to protect their interests and avoid offending the political godfathers who fund and defend their empires.

Empires, because these men have built some of the largest auditoriums in the world as private individuals, financed through the sweat and blind loyalty of their congregations. They have established some of the biggest educational institutions, recreational centres, and even housing estates, funded through political bribes and stolen public money disguised as “kingdom partnership”.

Why would they protest against the establishment when they are comfortably taking their ten percent?

“Let us pray for Nigeria.” That is their favourite line. Most importantly, they lead prayers for our leaders. Why not? They benefit directly from the same political class that diverts public funds meant for hospitals, security and tertiary education into private pockets. Their ten percent still drops, whether the country bleeds or not.

Today, it took the Pope, speaking from Vatican City in another continent and a different timezone, to acknowledge that Christianity is under siege in major parts of Northern Nigeria and the Middle Belt. Pope condemns killings in Nigeria

Two hundred people were murdered in cold blood in Benue State, in some of the most brutal ways imaginable. Yet the pastors with the dove on their church seal, the ones with fire on a rock, the ones who hold prophetic conferences every weekend, have suddenly gone quiet. Benue Massacre

They are not fuelling their expensive, luxury private jets (which they justify as tools “to preach Christ to the nations”) to visit the nearest airport to Benue and stand with the grieving.

Even the Presidency claimed it could not visit the affected communities because of “bad roads”. A whole Presidency. The same office that controls federal allocations, emergency funds, infrastructure budgets and the entire civil service machinery. Presidency claims bad roads prevented visit

The most important point here is simple. Through all these killings, particularly the Benue massacre, most megachurch pastors have deliberately chosen silence. Their silence is intentional. Their silence is strategic. Their silence is scandalous, especially when we remember how vocal they were during the Goodluck Jonathan administration. Many of them staged public protests, prayer marches and nationwide declarations. Clerics protest during GEJ era They could protest for fuel scarcity, but not killings.

Pastor Adeboye during the prayer walk in 2015.

To the best of my recollection, only Dr Paul Enenche travelled to Benue, his home state, to commiserate with the bereaved. Paul Enenche visits Benue victims

Your favourite pastors were quiet. They are quiet. And they will remain quiet.

They cannot lose political cover. They cannot jeopardise the ten percent they get from politicians. They cannot expose the properties, lands and investments they have secured through their closeness to power.

They are career politicians. The only difference is that, in the realm of religion, we choose to call them clerics.

They are part of the problem.