- Pastor Adeboye’s plan to make churches more accessible sparked a heated reaction on social media
- Cardinal Okogie criticised Pastor Enoch Adeboye’s plans, suggesting the move prioritises business ventures over genuine spirituality
- TheRadar compiled public reactions below
Nigerians have reacted following a statement by Cardinal Anthony Olubunmi Okogie, the Archbishop Emeritus of the Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos, who criticised Pastor Enoch Adeboye, General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), for plans to open more churches.
Cardinal Okogie criticises church expansion in Nigeria
Cardinal Okogie, who was interviewed by the New Telegraph criticised the expansion of church branches across the country. He argued that many churches are more focused on increasing their number of branches rather than fostering true godliness.
Okogie suggested that the excessive expansion of churches, especially in close proximity to one another, reflects a commercial rather than a spiritual motivation.
Okogie compares church to business centres in Lagos
Cardinal Okogie said “For example, I heard that one of my colleagues, (Pastor Enoch) Adeboye, said that he would love to build churches everywhere so as to make it easy for worshipers to walk to them. But for me, that is a useless statement. How can you say you will build churches everywhere?
“What kind of churches are you talking about? “Look at traffic in Lagos for example, and those who are pastors are traders and a good number of them are business men. Such churches in most cases are more like business houses!
“Look at the number of churches springing up in Lagos. If the Muslims start building mosques like that, does it show that Nigeria is a religious country? Every day we hear of killings and other things that we were not hearing before.
“We can’t even walk on the streets freely. You have to be watching yourself left, right and centre to know who the man coming behind you is. It wasn’t like that before. Churches must ensure that there is fear of God.
“And I’m just telling you that those churches that he is talking about are just business centres.
“They rented houses and in order to make more money, they license them. They pay their dues to the bosses in the churches, every one of them”.
Nigerians react to statement on Church expansion plans by Adeboye
Cardinal Okogie’s statement has sparked widespread discussion across social media, coupled with Femi Falana’s stance on it.
Some Nigerians agreed with Okogie’s and Falana’s stance, accusing certain religious leaders of commodifying faith, while others defended Pastor Adeboye’s actions.
TheRadar compiled public reactions below:
Pure Stanley said:
“It's better late than never, Thank God that Nigerians are waking up to the reality that their "Respected" Pastors that claimed God called them, are nothing but tools in the hands of the politicians. RCCG is Adeboye's business center, RCCG is the religious wing of APC. Adeboye played a pivotal role in bringing APC to power, by his daiIy critics of GEJ.
“He was steadily maligning GEJ in front of his congregation and Nigerians, plus the 1 million man match he threateñed GEJ's administration with in 2010-2015, fast forward to 2024 under Tinubu's administration, Nigeria is much more worse than it was under GEJ's watch, and yet this hypocríte Adeboye has refused to call Tinubu to order, he is gaslighting NIGERIANS to keep praying for Tinubu in an empty stomach. A cIown he is. Protest for GEJ, but prayers for Tinubu. An Old renowned cIown,”
“Is all religion not business centers? Why single out Adeboye? This fake news blog is manipulative. Fálànà said this years ago, why post it now? E no go well will all of una,” Dewdrop reacted.
“There is a need to tell the truth. the body of christ must be protected and respected. Nigeria pastor must know that we know,” Arinzona added.
“He may be right 🤷♂️,” Theophilus Lawrence stared.
“But he didn’t lie na,” Queen Ezekiel Joshua reacted.
“If Pastor Adeboye wants to build churches at 5 mins walking distance, that's his decision, and anybody can desire that, but your government cannot build companies at 1 km distance to each other, where the major problem is, so let Adeboye rest abeg,” Adedeji Paul stated.
“Time for him to retire”: Nigerians criticise Pastor Adeboye for “spiritual solution” comment
Meanwhile, TheRadar earlier reported that Pastor Enoch Adeboye of the Redeemed Christian Church of God was criticised for saying Nigeria’s problems are spiritual.
He also said politicians and leaders are doing their best to solve the problems of the country.