By Jide Oyewusi

Considering their wide spectrum of popularity and spread, they are easily recognisable as large churches but when their clandestine activities are brought under close scrutiny or critical evaluation, it would become crystal clear that they are more of cults masquerading as churches because of the impunity they encourage and perpetrate which is one of the reasons Nigeria is the way it is.

These churches have their tentacles spread over all key sectors of Nigeria’s economy and their politics is always to install their members at the helms of affairs irrespective of whether such members are qualified or not. This is the same reason there are so many cases of square pegs in round holes in Nigeria with all the attendant dire consequences.

In education, their members are always pushed forward for duty posts in the schools thereby sacrificing merit at the altar of favoritism.

Officers of junior ranks are surreptitiously given higher post over and above their older folks thereby leading to so much disenchantment within the various ministries, though as civil servants, there is hardly anything anyone can do than to grumble in silence.

Whenever people are disgruntled about the situation of things around their working environment, service delivery suffers and in the education sector, the losers are the innocent children who are often placed under people who hardly care for their interest or have any passion for the profession. It means there is a secret agency promoting favouritism within Nigeria’s civil service, giving honour to who they are not due. Such impunity has continued to do untold damage to the entire education and other sectors.

These same churches have also infiltrated Nigeria’s traditional institutions with the sole aim of ensuring that customs and traditions are jettisoned and their members take full control. It has now become commonplace for traditional rulers to organise Christian fellowships within their palaces as well as shun traditional observances which they claim contradict their faith. What an abomination. Only God knows why those who hate their own culture and traditions so much would not steer clear of traditional office since they know that they would not be ready to play it by the rules. Why must those who claim to be born again Christians still have their eyes on what they know quite clearly to be much attached to traditional observances and practices?

When things move from bad to worse in a country, the citizens should be introspective enough to view their existence critically and detect the missing link. Even in the Holy Bible, Jesus Christ admonished his followers that what is Caesar’s must be given to him likewise what belongs to God. Every country has its known culture and traditions which are always the bedrock of their existence. The Chinese and Indians are classical examples of nations whose people hold tenaciously to their culture and traditions and that never affected them adversely but rather seems to continue to aid their technological advancements.

But in Nigeria, the utter neglect and rejection of the practices of the forefathers and adoption of foreign religions is yet to reflect any noticeable progress in the nation’s scheme of things and if anything at all, it is more about retrogression instead of advancement something akin to a river which abandoned its source drying up. While traditional practices are abhorred and rejected, Nigeria nonetheless still continues to seek loans from countries which hold on very strongly to their own cultural practices.

Is it not a shame? As a matter of fact, at this juncture, Nigerians should be bold to ask what the massive fasting, prayers, and ceaseless crusades have achieved since the inception of the so-called pentecostal revival. The various General Overseers should come out to explain why in spite of everything, insecurity has pervaded the entire landscape making Nigeria a country of major concern, and also a nation hanging precariously on trillion dollars of foreign loans?

Is Nigeria not a nation deceiving itself?

Oyewusi is Coordinator Ethics Watch International and Friends of The Denied Inc.