Umar Osabo
The fact of dying, the enshrined injustices, the corrupted echoes of sermons and the chanting of Holy Ghost Fire, and ‘Allahu Akbar’ (God is the greatest) make me more afraid of life!
The emblems of religions are in every nook and cranny of our beloved country. But its outward result and performance are bleak! We are mostly religious’ people in our own respective rights, yet, we find it so difficult to tap from our respective religious’ teachings to right the wrongs in our beloved country!
This has a more negative effect on our life as a country than anything else! One of the products, we export today as a country is ‘church’, Nigerian churches are everywhere you go in the world today with Nigerian gospel preachers, doing good jobs! But, to the dismay of many, they find it still very difficult to fix their own! All prophets and messengers are known to have fixed their homes before going abroad! Why is our own different?
In these allegorical tales of religion in Nigeria, so many faces were effaced to suit somewhat anti-real- religious’ doctrines encased in the metaphors of times to steal from the poor masses! I stumbled on an article recently on the internet that discusses the ten richest pastors in the world, six of them are Nigerian gospel giants! Yet, Nigeria is among the poorest countries in the world! Whenever I introspected and x-rayed the challenges bedeviling Nigeria, my thoughts come back to me without finding any answers! Isn’t it an enigma when you see a lion acting like a mouse? I wonder who cast this bad spell on us, or we are the ones that cast it upon ourselves?
It’s a holy and rightful act to give charity, but the subtle manner religious’ outfits (business ventures) are busily impoverishing the masses made many deep-rooted thinkers fear religious’ homes! The pulpits have also made a miracle seeking masses not to work under thin or thick to make headway in life, somehow, orchestrated by the spirit of getting quick money in our youths, a disaster of this century. Nothing comes free in life, even the oxygen we breathe in, it requires some effort! So, the pulpits must change the way it preach the gospel for the better.
Some married women nowadays listen and obey their men of God (gods) than their rightful husbands! This will for the rest of time remains an enigma to those who have the capacity to think deeply and objectively!
Nigeria is struggling economically, yet, six (6) out of (10) the richest pastors in the world are Nigerian miracle makers! Yet, their miracles are yet to heal so many wounds in the spirit, heart, body, and forest of the nation engulfed in terrorism, kidnapping, corruption and tribalism, injustice, and bad governance- too many ills to mention all!
Alliko Dangote, once said in a Sky TV show that one single most expensive thing he has is a private jet. It was sold around Fifty Million USD ($50, 0000, 000). Some of those miracle operating ventures have more than three jets! You can imagine how some of them are richer than the Federal Government of Nigeria itself!
We are not in any way against any religious’ teachings or practices, but why is it not changing the country (Nigeria) for good? Nigeria is one country in Africa that has churches all over the world, trying to change the people, yet it can’t change its own citizens (back at home) to be ‘Christ-Like!’
Some of the ministers’ private jets were even used to cart the country’s money to a foreign land (2014) all in the name of a miracle-making enterprise! Where is God in this act? We are not in any way insinuating that religious’ preachers should go on rags, but, they must discontinue using the pulpits to fraught the masses!
All Nigerian leaders are either Christians or Muslims sworn by the Holy Bible or Glorious Qur’an to protect lives and properties, ensure development for the common good of all, but upon getting into office, some of them become demi-gods!
I still, don’t see anything religious in Nigeria (Africa) other than going to a church or mosque! Often, if you see an average Nigerian (African) in those holy places, you could think, he/she cannot hurt a fly deliberately! But, over the years, I unveiled the antithesis and what I found out is: whitewash!
To this date, my favorite university teacher remains, Professor Oyin Ogunba, of the blessed memory, is an Animist. He’s the Author of Egungu and Agemo, based upon the Yoruba Cultural Festivals. I saw in him salient qualities, I couldn’t find in people like Dr. Adebanjo, now (Prof. Adebanjo) who doubles as a Parish Pastor of one of the biggest churches in Nigeria (Africa) today.
As an inquisitive child, I have so many other examples to give from my own personal experiences with religious’ people who will make one feel God’s presence, but turn around and rob one afterward. ! The Spell is in the sermons carefully put together to weaken the gullible ones!
It is high time for Nigerians (Africans) to begin to know that religion is one’s personal relationship with God! And everyone has a telephone number of God (Allah) to kibbutz with Him directly! You don’t need a third party!
If Nigeria must come out of the puddle water is in now, we must look inward, stop blaming games and go into actions objectively. And in doing this, Nigeria must come first: religion, (sect), political affiliation, social class, and any other thing else must be secondary. Unless this is done, the worst is yet to come.
A few years back, we see an average Fulani herdsman as uncivilized, ignorant, and backward. So they are left to continue without any form of guidance from the religious bodies, government, or NGOs. The same set of people we were looking down upon, we have some of them from them raining terror in some parts of the country. No society grows by depending on a short time plan, thus, we need a collective effort to save the board from sinking with us all!
Umar Osabo
