Nigerian Youth, Prosperity Gospel, and Sundry Quests for Magical Wealth

(By Abimbola Adelakun) – Nigerian youths after prosperity gospel  

Some years ago, while Nigeria had abundant money from oil revenue, the prosperity gospel and motivational speaking also reigned. The prosperity gospel is a theology that promises divine blessings of material wealth and good health to the one who sows seeds of financial contribution to the church, a sacrifice that must be worthwhile enough to move divine transcendent power on one’s behalf. Motivational speaking was a similar message, except that the transformation it promised was connected to more secular tactics. 

        In that era, charismatic preachers made good. Their lavish lifestyle made their message self-affirming. A lot has since changed. The validity of the prosperity gospel has been contested in various ways; prosperity preachers and motivational speakers are now treated with the same derision. We have seen instances of people demanding a return of their seeds from pastors when they did not get the expected miracle and in one instance, someone even reported their pastor to the law enforcement agents. Even before Daddy Freeze (Ifedayo Olarinde) began to publicly spar with renowned pastors on the issues of tithe as a route to prosperity, the public had begun to raise questions. Even worse, social media platforms commissioned an army of sceptics who have become the nemesis of the media-savvy pastors.

Pentecostal Prosperity in Nigeria: Who Prospers?

(By Ife Otegbeye) – Who prospers from prosperity gospel in Nigeria?  

On a cool Friday evening, thousands of worshippers congregate for a monthly vigil at a popular Pentecostal church along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway. Tonight’s theme? Unlocking Your Divine Destiny. 

        The congregation sing and dance for a few hours, and, finally, a few minutes before midnight (the “hour of prayer”), the pastor, dressed in a flamboyant suit and crocodile-skin shoes, mounts the stage. He reads Luke 6:38, “Give and it shall be given unto you.” 

        At the same time, ushers distribute envelopes among the congregation. They, along with the satellite viewers, are reminded that they can also pay via POS terminal or bank transfer. The pastor proceeds to explain to the congregation that giving to God is the first step towards unlocking one’s divine destiny. The message is simple: once you give, God will attend to all your needs. The vigil concludes with miracles, deliverances, and prayers against demonic attacks and the curse of poverty. 

        This is the prosperity gospel. 

        Strongly affiliated with Pentecostalism, it is a form of Christian teaching that emphasises God’s will for the prosperity of all believers, to be attained through faith, devotion, tithing, and positive confessions.

Nollywood Horror Movies and Pentecostalism

(By Kingsley Charles) -

How Pentecostal Preachers and Satanic Panic Helped Launch Nollywood 

Nigeria’s homegrown film industry has always loved horror. Its early occult films sprang from a surge of new Christian movements in the country 

    Down on his luck, Andy Okeke, a middle-class Nigerian trader, is desperate to make money and improve his impoverished circumstances. When a bogus investment goes awry, Andy slips into near-depression. Merit, his wife and the breadwinner of the family, remains an infinite source of encouragement. Walking down the road one humid afternoon, Andy stumbles into Paulo, his friend from high school, who pulls up in a yellow Mercedes-Benz. Andy’s frumpy suit contrasts sharply with Paulo’s flowing white agbada, the traditional robe of the Yoruba people. As the old-time pals exchange pleasantries, they drive in Paulo’s pricy car to a posh restaurant, where Andy bares his soul to his friend. Listening to Andy’s miserable tale, Paulo reassures him, “I’ll show you how to make money and how to spend it, but you must promise me that you will be strong-hearted.” 

    Andy does not grasp the full import of Paulo’s statement until he is brought, weeks later, before a satanic cult whose members sacrifice their loved ones in exchange for fortune. Once initiated, Andy is commanded to sacrifice his gracious spouse for “inexhaustible wealth.” After a foiled attempt to use a commercial sex worker as a decoy, Andy grudgingly submits his wife, whose blood is drawn with a large syringe into a calabash gourd and shared among cult members, including Andy. Finally rich, Andy becomes a major importer and exporter, dealing in designer belts and suits. But his newfound fortune sets off a sequence of disturbing events — occasioned by Merit’s apparition — that lead to Andy’s eventual insanity.

Of Delta-Igbo and Complex Identity Configurations

(By Moses Ochonu) – Of all the identity configurations and complexities in Nigeria, I find the Delta cluster to be the most fascinating and most complex. 

    In Delta, you have ethnicities that have a multiplicity of influences--Benin, Yoruba (Lukumi), Igala, and Igbo. 

     The Itsekiri's affinity with Yoruba is clear. The Urhobo's cultural proximity to Benin is equally conspicuous. And there are several communities who have gradations of connection to their Igbo neighbors across the Niger. 

    To add to the complication, some ethnicities who have been influences by multiple political and linguistic currents insist on and emphasize one of these influences over the others, even though their names may point in a different direction. 

    You might see a Delta person with the name Chukwuma Anielo, but he'll fight you for calling him Igbo. He'll educate you on his and his community's Benin origins even though his language, though an amalgam of different languages, has a dominant Igbo or Igboid inflection. 

Ned Nwoko, Anioma State, and Politics of Igboness

(Nwankwo T. Nwaezeigwe) - I AM MORE IGBO THAN NED NWOKO—ANIOMA-SOUTHEAST CONTRAPTION A POLITCAL SCAM DEAD ON ARRIVAL 

        Although several prominent Anioma interest-groups and personalities have defined their opposing positions against Senator Ned Abdullahi Munir Nwoko’s solo, wretched and narcissistic Anioma State creation mission, I have waited for the ultimate opinion of our revered traditional rulers, which consequently was delivered recently. 

         What most people don’t know is that unlike Southeast States, among Anioma people the opinion of the traditional rulers which often originate from the people through their ancestral heirlooms stand above the opinions of our mostly fraudulent political leaders. In other words, Anioma traditional rulers through their customary network of consultations with the people hold the ace in such matter as the creation of Anioma State. Senator Nwoko did not consider our traditional rulers noteworthy in this regard. 

        However, the cautious yet pungent position of our revered traditional rulers in their recent meeting over Senator Nwoko’s solo vainglorious political promenade clearly spoke the minds of Anioma people without the least equivocation. In part of their five-point communiqué signed jointly by the Chairman, His Majesty Obi of Owa Kingdom, Dr. Emmanuel Efeizomor 11, and Vice Chairman, Obi of Ubulu-Unor, His Majesty Dr. Henry Kikachukwu 1, the revered Royal Fathers subtly hit Senator Nwoko, who incidentally was present in the meeting as uninvited observer, below the belt in the following words: 

“We should stop washing our dirty linings in public. Senator Ned Nwoko, who is representing Delta North in the National Assembly and other elected representatives of the people, political class and other critical stakeholders should work together and engage the people to know what they want, rather than embark on what is perceived as personal aggrandizement.” 

Rethinking Unoka in Things Fall Apart

(By James Eze) - Is Unoka the Unsung Hero of Things Fall Apart? James Eze 

        “No artist of any art has his complete meaning alone,” argues T.S Eliot in his epic essay, “Tradition and the Individual Talent.” 

        Nothing in literature reminds me of Eliot’s declaration with as much vivid clarity as the complexity woven into the character of Unoka in Chinua Achebe’s “Things Fall Apart.” Unoka is so intricately constructed that he leaves the unwary reader wondering if Achebe had the complete meaning of this character alone. 

        Achebe tells us that Unoka is lazy, imprudent and incapable of thinking about tomorrow. He is a spendthrift, a debtor, a failure, and a loafer who can barely feed his family or pay his debt. Perhaps, worst of all, he is a coward who cannot stand the sight of blood. He is a lover of “the good fare” who, even as a boy, often wandered around looking for a kite sailing leisurely against the blue sky, which was regarded in Umuofia as a precursor for the return of the dry season with its heady festivities and merrymaking. 

        Had Achebe left things that way, everything would have been just perfect. He didn’t. In a way that only a genius could contrive, Achebe redeems this effeminate character with the story of the clever rescheduling of his pile of debt to Okoye, a fellow artist. Lending nuance to this otherwise simple character, Achebe made Unoka remind Okoye, with all the histrionics to boot, that the sun will shine on those who stand before it shines on those who kneel under them. Gently, the reader is offered a rare insight into the labyrinth of Unoka’s mind… a character whose depth is concealed by the veil of laziness and his love of the good fare. 

Guarding Against the Delusion and Illusions of Superstition

(By Dave Okorafor) - In my private chart of 34 criteria to consider before choosing a spouse, degree of superstitiousness is a premium point. Why is that so? 

    I was once in a relationship in which literally every conversation centred around spiritual dangers, ancestral curses, and evil machination and manipulation of lives and destinies. It was exhausting, believe me! 

    I knew myself; none of that was my thing. I wasn't going to be ready to combine spiritual warfare with the exhausting economic struggle in Nigeria. For how long would a man do that? 

    Show me the human with his w3apon before my physical eyes and let me f.i.ght or flee, but to pitch me against the wind to conquer, I'd rather be a coward. 

     In my family, we don't have demons troubling us. Our ancestors didn't curse us. Nobody plotted to steal our destinies. If we're not rich or advanced in education, we know the reasons. 

    So, I persuade you to never deliberately immerse yourself in the ocean of obsession with unseen things. It's like fighting the wind. You're not sure what you're dealing with, and you can hardly win. 

    I dissuade you from getting entangled with people who are always worried about di.a.bolical manipulations;