By Bolaji Tunji.
Today’s
piece is going to be dedicated to readers of this column, to reflect their
reactions. But before I go into that, there is a particular issue that I
feel so strongly about that would not wait till next week. It is the attack on
Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye, General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church
of God (RCCG) during a recent visit to Ekiti state shortly before the Christmas
celebration. He had made a statement that other governors should emulate the Ekiti State
governor, Ayodele Fayose in the way he had stood up to defend his people.
*Pastor Adeboye |
“Your Excellency, we thank God for your life,
courage, boldness and being willing to take the risk so that your people can be
protected and I know you know what I am talking about. You can be sure that we
are praying for you and you will succeed. I hope other governors will stand for their people
like you and defend their people and say enough is enough.”
This seemingly innocuous
endorsement of the governor opened a whole floodgates of attacks against the man
of God. The All Progressives Congress (APC) threw the first jab when it
disrespectfully asserted that the governor must have bribed Pastor Adeboye for
the endorsement.
As much as I do not want to
make a case on the propriety or otherwise of the statement by the respected
pastor, I think the APC took criticism of the governor too far with the
statement. I am not a member of the Redeem church and I have never met the
highly respected cleric, this does not however mean that he has not impacted
positively in the lives of many Nigerians and non-Nigerians across the world.
It is rather preposterous to
assume that Pastor Adeboye could be bribed by anybody to sing his praise. How
much would Gov Fayose have given to Pastor Adeboye? While not making a case for
Fayose, I am sure the governor would not insult Pastor Adeboye by offering him
money for such endorsement. By the way, are we saying Fayose has not done well for his people or is it a case of closing the eyes to the good deeds of your
enemy? The APC took the insult further by calling on the family of the founder
of RCCG, Josiah Akindayomi to call Pastor Adeboye to order so that he does not
destroy the church by involving in politics.
Apart from the language in the
APC statement, the idea that Pastor Adeboye was bribed is taking rudeness to a
new height. If the APC has an axe to grind with Gov Fayose, they should
not drag the names of someone like Pastor Adeboye into it. We were in this
country when Pastor Adeboye endorsed the candidature of Vice President Yemi Osibanjo
and prayed for him. They did not accuse the Pastor of being bribed then, but
since he has endorsed Fayose, it has become a problem.
I also read an opinion piece in
Sahara Reporters written by Pastor Julius Oluwafemi that equally attacked
Pastor Adeboye. A few paragraphs in that opinion reads: “Governor Fayose should realize that Pastor Adeboye is an inconsistent
politician. Even though he supported and prayed in vain for the reelection
of President Goodluck Jonathan he has since switched his alliance and
loyalty to President Buhari… the other governors should ignore Pastor Adeboye
and other prosperity pastors who have become defenders of the status quo and
criminal politics”.
I do not know the pastor who
wrote this and it does not really matter, but if he claims to be a pastor, then he
is equally doing what he claimed Pastor Adeboye is doing or has done. Not only
that, I do not expect such an attack on the person of Pastor Adeboye from
another who calls himself a pastor. In everything, Adeboye stands above him- in
age, erudition and anointing and impact across the whole world which
earned Adeboye the honour of being named one among 50 most powerful people in
the world by Newsweek magazine.
The RCCG has grown exponentially under his watch with outposts in 110 countries, 14,000 branches made up of about five million members inNigeria
alone. In the United Kingdom ,
RCCG has 360 branches and about the same number in the US . With such
giant strides in the Lord’s vineyard, the APC and others who would want to play
politics with him should tread cautiously.
The RCCG has grown exponentially under his watch with outposts in 110 countries, 14,000 branches made up of about five million members in
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