The Cerebrum
God’s CEOs In Nigeria
With over 200 million people, 50% of which are adherents of the Christian faith, it means there are over 100 million Christians living in Nigeria today, more than any other country in Africa.
In recent years, there has been an explosion in evangelical Christianity in the country, so much so that there are more churches per square mile in Nigeria today than there are anywhere else in the world.
As a matter of fact, Nigeria is now the biggest exporter of Christianity, to lands from which the religion came in the first place.
Some of the largest church buildings and wealthiest pastors are from here! There are more pastors and churches here than there are in all the remaining 53 countries in Africa put together…
While some experts insist that the proliferation of churches has led to a heretic representation of Jesus Christ himself and a corruption of his teachings, others, mostly hardline analysts, insist that what is happening today in Christendom in Nigeria is a mockery of the hallowed and sacred Christian faith…while there are also experts who insist that the multiplication of churches rather than becoming a vehicle for acquiring wealth, should reflect positively in the behaviour of Nigerians, there are clergymen who have responded by saying there is no way of knowing how Nigeria would have been like if there were not these many churches.
But consider this, the richest churches in the world in order of wealth are; the Roman Catholic Church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, the Church of England, the Church of Scientology and the Jehovah’s Witnesses, all of them with net worth running into billions of dollars. Is it not ironic that none of these churches have their leaders among the “richest pastors in the world” list, not even the Pope who is equivalent to the president of any nation is on the list?.
However, despite the fact that no Nigerian mega Pentecostal church has ever made it into any of the “wealthiest churches in the world” list, most of their founders are among the “richest pastors in the world” list.
And Nigeria, the country from which these men operate, ranks as the 147th most corrupt country in the world, it is home to the second deadliest terrorist group, is the most unsafe place to be born today and only recently it displaced India as the poverty capital of the world, that is discounting the almost completely eroded moral values of the citizens.
As the debate between experts and the clergy rages, “God’s CEOs On Earth”, a documentary series from Doppler Films, explores the question of faith, morality, the quest for nation building, and the example of Jesus Christ.
Mon
June 29, 2020 at 10:05 AM
Everything has its advantages and disadvantages, no doubt that the fake Christianity our people are practicing as preached by fake pastors is too dangerous, but without this Christianity, Nigeria would’ve been overrun by those who hide under Islam to colonize everybody, the Fulanis.
Amanda
June 30, 2020 at 10:49 PM
Is there a true pastor in Nigeria?. Do they exist?. Does christianity has anything to do with Jesus at all?.
Charles Avul Jr
June 29, 2020 at 3:50 PM
This documentary is totally meaningless and has been sponsored and designed by Antichrist agents who want to destroy the influence of the Gospel in the lives of Nigerian. Well you are not the first to try ,but you will never succeed . The reason for the problems in Nigeria are not found in the Churches but with the political class, turn you funny searchlight there if you dare. Leave the Body of Christ in Nigeria alone. Leave our Pastors alone
LETTY
June 29, 2020 at 5:45 PM
I’ll continue to tell any “cretin” who is finally ready to listen: There’s no “pastor,” “man of God,” “prophet,” “evangelist,” “apostle,” “healer,” “miracle worker…” anywhere. We all are.
The Great Commission, the Gifts of the Spirit, the power to bind, lose, cast, heal, trample on serpents and scorpions, and a host of other “Authorities” and “powers” as contained in the Holy Bible and which some dubious people capitalise on or rather, attempt to monopolise to deceive gullible followers, were given to ALL OF US, CHRISTIANS without exception.
Apart from the biblical Israelite House of Levi ordained priests, there’s no self-styled priest anywhere.
The Bible says God has made us Kings and Priests unto Himself.
As I stated above, that power is in you; is in all of us. Draw close to God and the Holy Spirit will help you harness your gifts and you can discover your true authority in Christ Jesus. Don’t let these fake pastors deceive you into thinking they’re God’s anointed or chosen. We all are; you only need to draw closer to God, live a holy life and see what God does through you.
I’m a living witness to this and I don’t parade myself deceiving people I’m a pastor, called by God. God called all of us. If you refuse to answer your call, those yahoo pastors will continue feeding fat on your tithes and offerings.
Mtcheeeewww. Imagine adeboye saying he and his grandchildren won’t be attending services because he’s over 60 and at risk of corona virus. Smh. So where’s the faith and healing bullshit they feed their followers with? These are pastors that will tell you to bring your tithes and offerings to the church including your sick children and self, believing in faith for healing. I laugh in Tamil. Oyedepo is there screaming for churches to be reopened, all because of money.
If it’s not because of money, did the Lord Jesus say we must go to one structure called church to worship Him? No. At various points, He preached His sermon on a mountain, by the roadsides, visiting people’s houses… Etc
We’ve been “worshipping” God for ages in that zoo called Nigeria, things keep getting worse. What it means? We need to change our style of worshipping God “in money,” rather, in truth and spirit only. Corona may just be a tip of the iceberg!
Bernard
June 29, 2020 at 9:38 PM
My gosh Mr. Akanbi, what an informative article! I wish it had some scholarly literature embedded in it. This article is so rich so much that one can reference it in a scholarly article, but unfortunately that it is not a peer reviewed article. The article brings the emptiness of some of the Nigerian pastors to bear. These are “men of God” that would do anything and everything for their personal aggrandizement than for God’s glory. It’s appalling and outrightly preposterous. HOW CAN PASTORS BE RICHER THAN THE CHURCHES THEY’RE PASTORING? It is a normality in the context of African Pentecostal churches, with the pastors in Nigeria being the worst. I PRAY GOD FOR THEIR COMPLETE TURNAROUND FOR THE GLORY OF GOD.
Bernard
June 30, 2020 at 7:26 PM
I read your informative and didactic article yesterday and due to network issues I wasn’t able to watch the documentary. Thank God I just finished watching the documentary today, and I must confess that the documentary is just as powerful as the article. GOD’S CEO’s in Nigeria!
I tell you this Mr. Akanbi, Jesus Christ who is our Yardstick/Role-Model would have given away every of His riches to the down trodden in the society. Our Role-Model; Jesus Christ would never have amassed an iota of wealth while the society languishing in penury with billions of people all over the world going hungry on a continual basis that’s resulting in billions of death.
The Bible says in Mathew 19:23-4 that “Then said Je’-sus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the Kingdom of heaven. 24 -And agin I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God”
There isn’t any ambiguity in those two verses, as many such scriptures abound in the Bible. Let’s remember that God is talking about riches here and not affluent, because, some if not all of the pastors of the mega churches are not living in riches, but in affluent.
Some of these pastors could careless about the Kingdom of God, but rather their bank accounts.
I pray in the name of Jesus Christ that may the Almighty God be gracious and merciful to us all as we all struggle to navigate our ways back to HIM who is the Author and Finisher of our Faith.
God bless humanity!