The Internet of Prosperity Gospel

"In the hand of the Internet, Pentecostalism has also 'seen pepper,' to borrow a popular Nigerian expression. Contemporary Pentecostalism in Nigeria operates a theology of instant prosperity and endless miracles that has transformed it into one of the most lucrative sectors of the Nigerian economy.

"Instant razzmatazz woven around a deified character always known as Founder General Overseer. If the God of Nigerian Pentecostalism is not a God of poverty, as adherents of that version of Christianity insist, He nonetheless has this annoying habit of always zeroing in on the Founder General Overseer as the only example of boundless prosperity among thousand of poverty-ridden church members. Thus, the Founder General Overseer is often the only one God elects to deck in Armani suits and Ferragamo loafers, supply with posh cars that can sometimes run two hundred kilometres on empty, and ferry across the world in a private jet. Sometimes, as is the case with [some of them], the bonus of a fake American accent is added unto these numerous blessings.

"But the Internet is what we Nigerians call amebo--a busybody, a loudmouth, a flaneur, a voyeur, and a whistle-blower rolled into one. And so, when the Internet pokes its unwanted nose into the business of the gospel, you could have a scandal of international proportions develop around something as ordinary as a pastor buying a private jet in an ocean of poverty."

Pius Adesanmi

You're Not a Country, Africa

Philosophizing the Ifa Corpus

"Philosophising for the public should be about helping that 'modern' Yoruba fella understand that no philosophical text is superior to the Ifa corpus produced by the genius of his people; that the Western progress and modernity he celebrates while recoiling in Christian or Islamic horror at the first mention of the Ifa corpus were all once part of a Western 'pagan' intermesh of history, myth, and science until fellas like him applied themselves and separated the science from everything else; that the microphone that his pastor uses to give him gospel every Sunday was part of that pagan mix until the separation; that there is still room to separate that science from the Ifa corpus for the elevation of humanity if only he and I would study it, apply ourselves to a creative extraction of that knowledge, and stop diminishing it as an inferior pagan text."

Pius Adesanmi

You're Not a Country, Africa

Yoruba "Paganism" and Religious Tolerance in Africa

"Esin kan o pe k'awa ma s'oro." I have translated what it says and what it leaves unsaid but implied:
'Oro hampers no faith. Let no faith hamper Oro.' Here we encounter the first indication of intrinsic humanism of Yoruba spirituality: the valuation of pluralism. We encounter consciousness and validation of the spiritual essence of the Other. Indeed, we are in the presence of the accomodationist ethos of the Yoruba world view. For what this Oro canticle hints at and acknowledges is the presence of other faiths in its own spiritual space of actuation.

The African and Religion

"Africans are notoriously religious... Religion permeates into all the departments of life so fully that it
is not easy or possible always to isolate it.... Wherever the African is, there is his[/her] religion...

"One of the sources of severe strain for Africans exposed to modern change is the increasing process (through education, urbanization and industrialization) by which individuals become detached from their traditional environment. This leaves them in a vacuum devoid of a solid religious foundation. They are torn between the life of their forefathers which, whatever else might be said about it, has historical roots and firm traditions, and the life of our technological age, which, as yet, for many Africans has no concrete form or depth.

The Girl Who Found Water

Is Nigeria still worth dying for? Is she worth risking one's life for today? In this riveting personal account, The Girl Who Found Water: Memoirs of a Corps Member, Chibuzor Mirian Azubuike both grapples with these questions as well as confronts her own fears and insecurities, as she embarks on the mandatory post-college national service in a part of Nigeria that is not only alien to her but is also immersed in violence. 

Chibuzor dreamed of serving in her choice southern states. But then she receives a rude awakening after finding out that she is posted instead to the northeastern state of Bauchi, where eleven of her predecessors had been gruesomely murdered just three months earlier following post-election violence. Crestfallen, devastated, and despondent, she vows to manipulate herself out of her bleak situation.  At last, she reluctantly embarks on a twelve-hour night bus ride to Bauchi, with the determination to seek redeployment upon arrival. Instead, she encounters a different “North,” a North that questions and alters her worldview, transforming her into a change agent in the process.

This Islam Which is Not Islam

"This is the Islam I knew. This is the Islam that fed my belly and my mind. Now, I watch in horror, in stark contemplation of faith gone awry. How did this Islam arrive at the conclusion that it was okay to sever the head of Gideon Akaluka, mount it on a spike, and chant Allahu Akbar triumphantly in the streets of Kano? What about Christianah Oluwasesin, clobbered to death in the name of Islam by high school boys?

"Why have the educated elite from this part of Nigeria pretended thus far that they can do nothing about this nonsense for which they all, without exception, must be held responsible? Have they given a thought to forming alliances and embarking on sensitisation campaigns to wrest Islam from the control of a deadly and opportunistic political elite? We must ask the question, what is this Islam which is not Islam?"

Pius Adesanmi

You're Not a Country, Africa

Muna Obiekwe and a Life Less Lived, by Charles Novia

Muna Obiekwe was a damn good actor. Quite good.

I never really met him nor knew him personally but I admired his acting skills onscreen whenever I watched the movies he featured in. He was an actor who had a panache beyond comparison in many of his roles. I always thought he was damned good.

That he is dead is a sad reality. That he died at all when he lived and still lives in our hearts and on our screens is the painful jolt to our systems. Because in Nollywood, actors (and good ones too, in Muna’s mould) never really die. They only transcend to another place where, perhaps, the ovation they receive over there gives lasting peace to their souls.

Mazrui Got It Wrong on Okigbo, Ekwe-Ekwe

Wole Soyinka: Writer, Critic, and Poet

Azuh Amatus Launches DayLight Newspaper

Azuh Amatus

Azuh Amatus, the youthful CEO of Contacts Communications--a leading media, public relations, advertising and consultancy firm, and publishers of ShowBizPlusng--recently unveiled his company's flagship online newspaper, DayLight.

At the media presentation in Lagos, the elated Azuh told reporters that "DayLight prides itself on its distinct coverage of news, local (Nigerian) and global, with an unparalleled commitment and unrivaled enthusiasm based on DICE: dedication, information, creativity, and entertainment."

The multiple award-winning journalist and former society editor of The Sun Nigeria and erstwhile editor of Entertainment Express and Sunday Express newspapers as well as Heart magazine, promises that DayLight will not only be fair, objective, and balanced in its task, it will also contribute to the promotion of online journalism as a tool/agent for social change and development.

Re-introducing Northern Nigeria, by Mark Amasa

I am writing this article mainly for the benefit of Southern Nigerians who have never been to the North, and mostly have a warped and inaccurate view of the North. I have been driven to write this out of my many personal experiences, and those of friends and family, as has been shared with me. This is mainly an educative piece about what Northern Nigeria is in reality; a complete, holistic picture of this region.

To make this piece a simple read and easy-to-follow, I am going to write it around 5 common perceptions about the North and debunk them:

Africa and Religious Syncretism

"In Africa, most of us practice syncretism, a combination of religions, because we are never too sure about which way would ultimately lead to heaven. This is why the oracle men (Diviners), marabouts and others are still very popular and generously patronised till this so-called modern day. Many of us would want to see our future, if it is truly possible."

Dele Momodu

The Church is a Mother, Not an Entrepreneur

“[T]oday is also a day to pray for [the] Church, because of so much sterility within the people of God.  A sterility arising from egoism, from power … when the Church believes she can do everything, that she can take charge of the consciences of the people, walk along the road of the Pharisees, of the Sadducees, along the road of hypocrisy, yes, the Church is sterile. Let’s pray. That this Christmas our Church may be open to the gift of God, that she may allow herself to be surprised by the Holy Spirit and be a Church that gives birth, a mother Church. Many times I think that in some places the Church is more like an entrepreneur than a mother.”

Pope Francis