By Nneka Okumazie
Daddy Freeze is leading an online army against Pastor Adeboye of RCCG, looking for his old messages, finds something the man said to members, posts online and attacks him.
People attack the church, the mission, the members, call him names and wish him ill. To them, Pastor Adeboye is a problem to speak against. They believe whatever he’s doing as the leader of the Redeemed Church is harmful; they want him gone, plus the church and other true churches of God in Nigeria. The groupthink against the Pastor is so enormous; those who censure him consider themselves smart and emancipated.
Pastor Adeboye and RCCG seem to have an agenda they’re after – no matter what. They have their vision, mission, doctrines and beliefs, they also believe in growth, expansion and outreach. They seem like a team, seeking collective and individual success. They minister to themselves at different levels and places; they correct themselves, and probably help those in need. They know what they want; it seems, and continues in the way.
Normally, if the message is not for you, it is easy to hear them and get irritated. That is a regular human feel for diverse situations you may know about but not a part. But taking this indignation to the next level by attacking them viciously shows that you think they are harmful to you or you feel you are smarter than them all. The question is what really is your business if they say what they say to themselves and believe what they believe? What is your own? You already hate them, you are not going there, you feel smarter than them, so, what is the purpose of your blitzkrieg against them?
There can be legitimate and fair attacks of the church or any of their branches, but attacking whatever they legitimately preach to themselves is unfair and shows that anti-church activists have a problem not the church.
There is so much hatred that the church has branches everywhere, OK, so what is the problem with that, at least to the country of Nigeria? How does a branch of the church affect graduates who had gone to universities and are so inarticulate, unskilled they cannot find work? How does the church induce the missing, excellent intellectual thoughtfulness needed to make the country a better place? How does the church contribute to making Nigeria have the exact same problems, thirty, twenty, ten years ago and till now?
Maybe one of these activists knows, they are free to express the answers. Nigeria is dangerously underdeveloped. Nobody seems to be thinking or those thinking are not in position, or those in position cannot think, or those who feel they can think can actually not think, or there is just a distraction action aided by individuals who do not think they are facilitating the government.
Daddy Freeze and all his bugs are tools for the government, if they do not know, then they are not smart. In a country where nothing is great, the President travels for medicals, then an old video is found by activists, sent to Daddy Freeze who pushes it and adds his hollow sermons, then it’s all over the place and chewed; nothing sweetens those consuming the money of the people than for someone to direct the focus of the people elsewhere.
Who cares if a Pastor says something to a church congregation, how does that affect or not affect what Nigeria needs? If the Pastor says something you deem controversial, member or not, you can obey, reject or ignore, but what the hell does it affect development and growth, our very important needs as a nation?
Robbers recently attacked banks in Offa, Kwara State, killed many; it transiently made news and brought no important changes. The tragic situation hardly resulted in the kind of important adjustments and announcements you would expect from the public and private sectors. Public on security and employment; private on security, employment, lending, SMEs, skill development, etc.; but no, the answer is entertainment and more entertainment.
Since 1999, there is no bigger sector in Nigeria doing the most important desire of the government of Nigeria than the entertainment industry. What everyone calls improved entertainment, sleek movie posters, cinema openings, good music videos, comedy shows, etc., are powerful distraction tools for Nigerians, benefiting the administrations of Obasanjo, Yar’Adua, Jonathan, and now Buhari (including governors, senators, reps, ambassadors, etc.).
But the entertainment industry, in spite of their opprobrious contents, is free of tenacious criticisms. The church, not their witless contents, is a problem to some entertainers who are also on the anti-church activism. Any positive news from the church is always ignored. But whatever they believe is negative about the church moves quickly. On entertainment, positive or negative anything distracts everyone from government’s infinite tomfoolery.
It takes a massive amount of entangled stupidity to believe the church is the problem of Nigeria or that a General Overseer who said something has anything to do with what is important to Nigeria, or what we should be made concerned about. The church is a cheap target, it is easy to find something to criticize and believe you are smart for it. NO, that is not what smartness is, not from a social media post or from one radio presenter so dense he has to rely on criticism of the church for fame.
If Nigeria will develop, Nigerians everywhere have to challenge themselves. There are so many problems requiring relentlessly spectacular thoughtfulness for solutions and progress in multiple ways. Not about bashing one Pastor who is passionate about what he believes and tells his friends.
In a town, there are many families, each head of the family has different rules, general and unique for how they want members to act and speak. Families always have different levels of discipline, some are lax, some are mild and some are strict. The authority and admonishing of the head of one family concerns them. The power starts and ends within them most of the time. There may be hypocrisy when the head is around, there may be disobedience and some children may be delinquent. Friends may have issues with the rules of the family, but if some self-proclaimed smart people in that town, a rural one, think the rules of one family, or message, or discipline, affects water, farming, electricity, safety, clinics, etc. for the entire town, or that those rules are important diversions rather than pursue progress, then a lot is wrong with their thinking.
Pastor Adeboye, RCCG Church and other true churches of God in Nigeria are not problems to Nigeria and are not holding back your development; sorry, people!
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