Pentecostalism either classical or modern has its conflicting, competing, and complementary angles to the Nigerian socio-religious scenario. Africans are known as a highly religious society typified in the multi-religious nature of the modern African system. Consequently, the ‘Christian God’ is now abstracted in the African gods; hence the domineering effects and of course the coinage of Pentecostalism to Pente-rascalism.
Tragically, some questionable characters have successfully highjacked the pulpits and heightened tension in our political space by taking advantage of unsuspecting gullible followers; using the pulpits for fake prophecies and inciting statements thereby turning Pentecostalism into Pente-rascalism. After reviewing a video clip in which David Ibiyeomie, a Nigerian pastor, the founder/presiding pastor of Salvation Ministries with its headquarters located in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria – made unprintable and other inciting statements about the President-elect Asíwájú Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Vice-President-elect Sen Kashim Shettima.
The pastor’s admixture of politics into his sermon equally signposts an emerging dangerous trend that could undermine peace and security across the country as clergymen encourage the faithful to migrate their sectarian biases, hatred, and disaffection into everyday life. Hence, the recently concluded 2023 general elections which saw the Christian faith being exploited and abused to promote politics of hate, divisiveness, and spreading falsehood, a development that demystified many clergymen that were once held in high esteem but have now become false prophets before their followers.
Unexpectedly, your preferred candidate Peter Obi, lost the election. He did not come close to winning, he came a distant third position against your false prophecies. So why will any reasonable person want to burn down a country Nigeria? Since childhood, many of us have been conditioned by the environment/society, religion, culture, and parenting to have a certain pattern of thinking. The infusion of Pente-rascalism has further worsened our condition. What is more, these things just don’t happen by magic, they are usually products of planning and effort. Nigeria will get it Right, Not instantaneous, The Foundations will be laid and will be built upon onward.
Interestingly, the majority of Nigeria’s population of over 200 million follows either Islam or Christianity. Historically, these two major religions have coexisted peacefully. However, since independence, the country has suffered from many ethno-religious conflicts. In the recent past, the kind of activities of some disgruntled elements using the pulpits for politics of ethnicity and religion has increased and further polarized our delicate fault lines. The latest madness is the message from David Ibiyeomie de-marketing the President-elect and the Vice-President-elect.
It is instructive that, even after a winner has emerged from the 2023 presidential election and some aggrieved candidates are already in the tribunal to vent their waves of anger. Sadly, David Ibiyeomie and some other disgruntled elements who have been apushing for change through unorthodox means and continued with weaponizing ethnicity and religion. It should be noted that in one of my previous articles; “The Misery Of APC Muslim Muslim Ticket” I forewarned about the danger and seed of disunity surreptitiously planted by some “Christian” leaders with their utterances unmindful of sowing dangerous seed that will in the future makes it very difficult for a Christian to win a Presidential election in Nigeria. The unabated attack and hatred coming from the pulpit to the President and Vice President-Elects are unprecedented.
Of course, you can tell the character of a man by what he spews out of his mouth. Truth is, these criminal elements and the so-called movement Obidients ‘Obingos’ folks are only behaving true to type: they’re delusional, misbegotten, and certainly don’t deserve to dwell in the midst of men with discernment and understanding. This is exactly what the likes of David Ibiyeomie and his cohorts are capitalizing on to remain relevant and sustained the falsehood, deceitfulness, and fake prophecies – ‘selectively saintly.’ the more I review the video the more sorry I feel for the gullible followers who can’t decipher the obvious truth about the man’s determination to become relevant and guide his personal interests. Fake prophecies and brainwashing can never be the will of God. The will of God cannot be rigged. It is imperative to appeal to the conscience of stakeholders to admonish some of our merchants of miracles masquerading as “Men of God” to stop manipulating their congregants.
In lieu of the above, it has become imperative to enlist the support of stakeholders, faith-based leaders, particularly the leadership of the Christian body ‘CAN’, our patriarch in the person of Pst Enoch Adejare Adeboye and Bishop David Olaniyi Oyedepo to urgently intervene and rein in the pastors misrepresenting God. We cannot afford a second civil war or religious crisis any longer. Nigeria must not burn, politics is not a do-or-die affair.