That Ain’t Right: Teachable Moment For The Nigerian Christian
by Pius Adesanmi
http://saharareporters.com/2014/10/10/ain%E2%80%99t-right-teachable-moment-nigerian-christian-pius-adesanmi

As a typical Nigerian Christian, I felt a little guilt after reading this.
However, I know that I will soon recover and go back to my Nigerian xtian ways

I am getting old. I don't know how I could have forgotten this story, given its relevance to the Nigerian tragedy (a tragedy which shall prevail until we make some progress in rewiring the atrocious psychology of the Nigerian).


My brother from another mother, Bayo Aregbesola, a Director in Canada’s Federal civil service, reminds me of something that happened during our days at the University of British Columbia in the 1990s. Those were our wild oats graduate student days. We crawled the nightclubs of Vancouver to get our beering right between intra and interracial dating.

Coming from strong Christian homes back in Nigeria (Christian in the traditional sense of what is known as the old orthodox churches in Nigeria, not the nightmare called Christianity in Nigeria today), we ended up infrequently in church on Sunday - after heavy clubbing on Saturday - just to satisfy the perfunctory conscience business of not being too many miles away from the truth when you told your parents on the phone that you were still going to church. If you went to Church two or three times a year, technically you weren't lying by reassuring Mama Adesanmi on the phone that you were still her "church going son". You added a "Hail Mary" here and a "We Fly to Thy Patronage" there to reassure her that your prayers could still flow effortlessly.

But I doth digress too much. So it happened that one of our buddies ended up in church with his white Canadian girlfriend. He had the misfortune of taking her to one of those Nigerian churches. Africans tend to ghettoize their Christianity a lot in Euro-America. You leave Nigeria and attend a Church in Euro-America peopled exclusively by Nigerians reproducing and photocopying Nigeria on Sunday. Ditto for Ghanaians, Congolese, etc. Sometimes, some Churches try to reproduce the African Union by drawing membership from across the continent.

But those are the exception. The dominant trend is the ghettoized Christianity that hardly mixes beyond the national boundaries and denominations it is photocopying abroad. You are Mountain of Fire in Nigeria, you are Mountain of Fire in Canada. If care is not taken (as we say in Naija), a Congolese Mountain of Fire may even have to find other Congolese Mountains of Fire to reproduce their own national Mountain of Fire in Canada. There is little or no mixing across Africa's colonial boundaries on Sunday - even abroad.

Ah, another digression. Where was I? Ehen, so this guy takes his Canadian girlfriend to a Nigerian church. You guessed right: one of these prosperity Pentecostal churches. Praise worship, prayers, testimony, seed, and miracles. The Pastor began to rain miracles furiously into the lives of his sheep. Rapturous amens in the hall. Nigerian decibel levels. Then the Pastor asked the students in the room to stand up as well as all those who had recently graduated. He began to rain miracles into their lives.

"Anyone among you whose life is shackled by the spirit of student loans, I come against that spirit! Your student loans shall be written off!"

"Amen!!!!"

"I say your student loans shall be forgotten!"

"Amen"

"I say Canada shall wake up tomorrow and find your name missing in the student loans register."

"Amen."

Our Nigerian buddy noticed that his Canadian girlfriend had become really uncomfortable so he asked that they step out.

"Baby what's the matter?"

"Your Pastor. What he is saying about student loans ain't right. That is so wrong. When you take the loan, it is your responsibility to pay it back for the education of the next generation. You don't go about praying for miracles to cancel it. It ain't right."

Yeah. True story between a Nigerian buddy and his Canadian girlfriend in Vancouver in 1998. The difference between the psychology of this Canadian lady and the Nigerian psychology that is so tragically often on the display on social media is civics.

That Canadian girl has one head, two hands, and two legs like you. But her society did not destroy civics so she grew up understanding the necessity of civic and secular responsibilities to the said society. 99.9% of the miracle prayers and testimony hour rants in Nigerian churches are about ways to cheat the Nigerian state successfully and deprive the coming generation a future of possibilities.

When next you are awarded a contract worth billions of naira and your Pastor prays for you to keep the money without doing the job, remember what the Canadian lady said - that ain't right.

When next your Pastor obtains a building permit for a two storey building and illegally adds four more storeys to make blood money, remember what the Canadian lady said - that ain't right.

When next your Pastor uses his chumminess with government to obtain import waivers and avoids paying duties worth billions, money that could be used to build schools and hospitals for the poor, remember what the Canadian lady said - that ain't right.

When next you steal money meant for roads and hospitals and the EFCC lets you off the hook due to the legendary incompetence of Ibrahim Lamorde and his boys and your Pastor says it's a miracle - remember what the Canadian lady said - that ain't right.

Whenever I'm in Nigeria, I always try to attend Pentecostal churches for my own learning experience. I am a student of Pentecostalism in Africa. Their testimony hour is often my target. I wince and shake my head as people reel out tales of getting away with cheating Nigeria in all spheres of her existence to thunderous applause. Miracle. Miracle. Miracle.

Remember, your miracle is why Nigeria is Africa's tragic embarrassment today.

Miracles are destroying your country.

Civics is the truth.

Ye shall know the truth...

pius adesanmi, tell them again! and again!! criminals everywhere

Yeah that is like we see it here in Europa.

I comment my reserve...

"I say Canada shall wake up tomorrow and find your name missing in the student loans register."

This got me laughing

It is right

Very true. Creepy Nigerian churches ! I stay away from them. They only preach about miracles, enemies and the devil.

Nonsense pastors and brainwashed followers, even if they (pastors/MOGs) tell them to allow their (stvpid followers) wives spend nights with them turn by turn, the followers will willingly and insensibly oblige.

Rubbish psychology, id1otic mentality!

One lady was giving testmoney yesterday how a man of 93yrs plus who refused to attend her wedding died after the pastor decleard deatht to witches and wizards and the congregation was in rapturous bliz,i just cringed.religion has destroyed the fabric of our society

I like how you people are obsessed with portraying Nigerians as bad and Westerners as inherently good.

Please go to family court anywhere in North America and see if your lopsided and backwards prejudice holds up. Watch as people lie so as to extract money from the ones that they claim to have loved.

There are millions of people who do all that they can to avoid paying all kinds of loans - sometimes because of sheer dishonesty but other times because the terms of the loan were unjust. Giving tens of thousands of dollars to a child with no financial training is in itself immoral.

It seems Nigeria has three main religions - Islam, Christianity and Self-hatred.

mmsen:
I like how you people are obsessed with portraying Nigerians as bad and Westerners as inherently good
Please go to family court anywhere in North America and see if your lopsided and backwards prejudice holds up. Watch as people lie so as to .extract money from the ones that they claim to have loved.
There are millions of people who do all that they can to avoid paying all kinds of loans - sometimes because of sheer dishonesty but other times because the terms of the loan were unjust. Giving 10s of thousands of dollars to a child with no financial training is in itself immoral.
It seems Nigeria has three main religions - Islam, Christianity and Self-hatred.

dude you've got a point.
However, Pius tried to teach us something here if only you could catch it.

Societies are advanced because they follow some crucial rules. So their need for miracles become less
if your society deviates from such rules, what they'll get is miracles for few and suffering for many.


You know how many people in Nigeria die and are robbed when travelling to and from crusades after binding and casting all imaginable demons?
Ask you Nigerian brethren's in the West how often they pray for safe journey when travelling
- Your brethrens pray and sow seeds to escape to these western countries. They in turn don't need to pray and sow seeds when coming to yours.


If we rob and destroy our country so we can give to God and be rich, we invariable create paupers of the next generation who are then also forced to cry out to God for little mercies that ordinarily God should not be bothering himself with

esere826:


dude you've got a point.
However, Pius tried to teach us something here if only you could catch it.

Societies are advanced because they follow some crucial rules. So their need for miracles become less
if your society deviates from such rules, what they'll get is miracles for few and suffering for many.


You know how many people in Nigeria die and are robbed when travelling to and from crusades after binding and casting all imaginable demons?
Ask you Nigerian brethren's in the West how often they pray for safe journey when travelling
- Your brethrens pray and sow seeds to escape to these western countries. They in turn don't need to pray and sow seeds when coming to yours.


If we rob and destroy our country so we can give to God and be rich, we invariable create paupers of the next generation who are then also forced to cry out to God for little mercies that ordinarily God should not be bothering himself with

don't mind that guy...he's in the same camp with the nigerian leader that said corruption wasn't the problem with nigeria.

esere826:


dude you've got a point.
However, Pius tried to teach us something here if only you could catch it.

Societies are advanced because they follow some crucial rules. So their need for miracles become less
if your society deviates from such rules, what they'll get is miracles for few and suffering for many.


You know how many people in Nigeria die and are robbed when travelling to and from crusades after binding and casting all imaginable demons?
Ask you Nigerian brethren's in the West how often they pray for safe journey when travelling
- Your brethrens pray and sow seeds to escape to these western countries. They in turn don't need to pray and sow seeds when coming to yours.


If we rob and destroy our country so we can give to God and be rich, we invariable create paupers of the next generation who are then also forced to cry out to God for little mercies that ordinarily God should not be bothering himself with

Perfectly said.

Everyone under ate the type of damage that the glorification of idiocy can have on the growing young who are trying to make sense of reality.

mmsen:
I like how you people are obsessed with portraying Nigerians as bad and Westerners as inherently good

Please go to family court anywhere in North America and see if your lopsided and backwards prejudice holds up. Watch as people lie so as to .extract money from the ones that they claim to have loved.

There are millions of people who do all that they can to avoid paying all kinds of loans - sometimes because of sheer dishonesty but other times because the terms of the loan were unjust. Giving 10s of thousands of dollars to a child with no financial training is in itself immoral.

It seems Nigeria has three main religions - Islam, Christianity and Self-hatred.

This is the kind of thinking that has entrenched mediocrity and lack of desire for excellence in the heart of the average African.

Rather than desiring and working steadfastly towards a free, egalitarian and progressive society, we prefer to cling to useless defensive sentiment that only serves selfish interests of a few scoundrels, as opposed to the common good.

Rather than looking critically inward when criticism comes our way, we would rather grope around for any available excuses to carry on with our reprehensible attitudes, eediotic behaviour, and all-round buffoonery. Small wonder nothing ever changes for the common African on the streets of Africa, since desperate spin doctors are always available to bully public consciousness with empty and useless 'tough talk'.

Like the eediots who think it's perfectly all right for a government to carry out backstreet arms deals. As if Nigeria is the only nation to ever purchase ammunition. Even Iran that is under sanctions still manage to do such business without looking like fools.

AjanleKoko:


This is the kind of thinking that has entrenched mediocrity and lack of desire for excellence in the heart of the average African.

Rather than desiring and working steadfastly towards a free, egalitarian and progressive society, we prefer to cling to useless defensive sentiment that only serves selfish interests of a few scoundrels, as opposed to the common good.

Rather than looking critically inward when criticism comes our way, we would rather grope around for any available excuses to carry on with our reprehensible attitudes and behaviour. Small wonder nothing ever changes for the common African on the streets of Africa, since desperate spin doctors are always available to bully public consciousness with empty and useless 'tough talk'.

Like the eediots who think it's perfectly all right for a government to carry out backstreet arms deals. As if Nigeria is the only nation to ever purchase ammunition. Even Iran that is under sanctions still manage to do such business without looking like fools.

No, the issue is to not forever cling to a notion that the Westerners are these wonderful, benevolent creatures.

They have and continue to cause a lot of chaos, worldwide - yet there are people like you who insistent on holding them up as an example.

North American wealth is built on the exploitation and marginalisation of the native peoples as well as those who were lured or sold into their territories.

The reason for African backwardness has a lot to do with the need for people like yourself to make gods from anything instead of spreading knowledge and encouraging discovery.

That is the real root of the issue - a lack of understanding which you have displayed marvellously.

mmsen:


No, the issues is to not forever cling to a notion that the Westerners are these wonderful, benevolent creatures.

They have and continue to cause a lot of chaos, worldwide - yet there are people like you insistent on holding them up as an example.

North American wealth is built on the exploitation and marginalisation of the native peoples as well as those who were lured or sold into their territories.

The reason for African backwardness has a lot to do with the need of people like yourself to make gods from anything instead of spreading knowledge and encouraging discovery.

That is the real root of the issue - a lack of understanding which you have displayed marvellously.

no, you're the one who's ignorant af. spreading knowledge and encouraging discovery when people like you lurk in the corners to convince them otherwise?

esere826:


dude you've got a point.
However, Pius tried to teach us something here if only you could catch it.

Societies are advanced because they follow some crucial rules. So their need for miracles become less
if your society deviates from such rules, what they'll get is miracles for few and suffering for many.


You know how many people in Nigeria die and are robbed when travelling to and from crusades after binding and casting all imaginable demons?
Ask you Nigerian brethren's in the West how often they pray for safe journey when travelling
- Your brethrens pray and sow seeds to escape to these western countries. They in turn don't need to pray and sow seeds when coming to yours.


If we rob and destroy our country so we can give to God and be rich, we invariable create paupers of the next generation who are then also forced to cry out to God for little mercies that ordinarily God should not be bothering himself with

Nigeria's issues are not unique.

They have happened in every society - the corruption, the disorganization, the gross inequality - none of these things are particular to Nigerian society. Every society is in that state or has been in that state.

People will always attempt to 'deviate from the rules', people will attempt to do what is best for them. But if there is an incentive to do what the society says is best then they will do so. America's jails and prisons are full of people who have been adjudged not to have done what is in the best interests of the wider society.

However, Nigerians need to get out of this lazy habit of making gods out of foreigners (when they're not pleading with the sky). It is a symptom of an incredibly stupid mind to forever to point to the grass on the other side as being magnificently green - Nigerians have a tendency not to appreciate what they have as a nation. A failure to understand that they are blessed with all of the natural resources a people could ask for is one of Nigeria's biggest problems. The other is the amount of time and engine spent by some in attempting to flee a nation that has everything necessary to prosper, this is a shameful act and should be recognised as such.

The only lesson that Nigeria can learn from the Americas is the need to utilize all possible tools (including violence) to assert the rights of the majority. So long as Nigerian citizens continue along their cowardly path things will continue as they have been for the past 50 years. You have to learn to demand more from your leaders or simply replace them.

Culture is just a set of rules put in place by those in power to keep them in power. It changes all of the time.

spotit:
no, you're the one who's ignorant af. spreading knowledge and encouraging discovery when people like you lurk in the corners to convince them otherwise?

I wish you wrote in comprehensible English so that I could respond to what you said.

Pity.

mmsen:


I wish you wrote in comprehensible English so that I could respond to what you said.

Pity.

of course i expected you to not understand me. foolish nigerian. tomorrow u will go and meet your pastor to bind and cast your brother who lent you little money, so that he suddenly goes senile and not remind you about what you owe him.

spotit:
of course i expected you to not understand me. foolish nigerian. tomorrow u will go and meet your pastor to bind and cast your brother who lent you little money, so that he suddenly goes senile and not remind you about what you owe him.

You failed to write anything factual.

I am not religious.

I was not born in Nigeria.

mmsen:


No, the issues is to not forever cling to a notion that the Westerners are these wonderful, benevolent creatures.

They have and continue to cause a lot of chaos, worldwide - yet there are people like you insistent on holding them up as an example.

North American wealth is built on the exploitation and marginalisation of the native peoples as well as those who were lured or sold into their territories.

The reason for African backwardness has a lot to do with the need of people like yourself to make gods from anything instead of spreading knowledge and encouraging discovery.

That is the real root of the issue - a lack of understanding which you have displayed marvellously.

Huh?
In your own eyes, you have said something insightful?
We are talking about plain and simple moral values, you are here going off on a hard tangemt about African pride and recession?

North Americans are not saints. So who are saints? You or your criminal heroes?

Keep filling your head and stomach with nonsense.

AjanleKoko:


Huh?
In your own eyes, you have said something insightful?
We are talking about plain and simple moral values, you are here going off on a hard tangemt about African pride and recession?

North Americans are not saints. So who are saints? You or your criminal heroes?

Keep filling your head and stomach with nonsense.

You have created a god out of a group of visibly infallible people whilst claiming that those that acquiesce to the demands of their pastor are stupid.

You and they are of a similar misguided mind.


P.S.
Who are my 'criminal heroes'? Again, another assumption.

Why can't you people stick to facts instead of creating and clinging to conjecture...

@mmsen

I do feel you. I understand where you are coming from.
However, It's good to separate facts from fiction when it is most needed.

No society is perfect, but some are more perfect than others.
Even folks that curse Lagosians migrate to Lagos while it is hardly the other way round.

The article was simple. Devoid of MOG issues and national pride issues.
It simply narrates very powerfully the kind of ethical thinking that can diminish a nation vs one that can make a nation sustainably progressive.

Even I won't think like the lady in question..
But I know deep in my heart that whereas the Nigerian prayer mentioned in this article if answered will make me rich
but, it will make many of my compatriots poor


On the other hand, the ladies protest if heeded, is what will make more of my compatriots financially comfortable or at least see food to eat

esere826:
@mmsen

I do feel you. I understand where you are coming from.
However, It's good to separate facts from fiction when it is most needed.

No society is perfect, but some are more perfect than others.
Even folks that curse Lagosians migrate to Lagos while it is hardly the other way round.

The article was simple. Devoid of MOG issues and national pride issues.
It simply narrates very powerfully the kind of ethical thinking that can diminish a nation vs one that can make a nation sustainably progressive.

Even I won't think like the lady in question..
But I know deep in my heart that whereas the Nigerian prayer mentioned in this article if answered will make me rich
but, it will make many of my compatriots poor


On the other hand, the ladies protest if heeded, is what will make more of my compatriots financially comfortable or at least see food to eat

The article was written from a position of extreme naivete.

North American history is a litany of abuses, of people acting contrary to the attitudes expressed by this one nameless and faceless young woman.

There's a verified video of a group of young women (as opposed to the one in the story) threatening to accuse a cab driver of rape if he attempted to stop them from smoking in his car (an illegal act). On reaching their destination these young ladies then refused to pay the fare and reinforced their threat. The only thing that saved this man was the fact that there was a video camera in his cab. By the way, this was in Canada. If you want more messed up stories of north American ladies look up Susan Smith.

My point is if this were a poll of actions or even of general sentiment I would accept it but to write an unverified story and then present it as somehow reflective is as silly as believing in a centuries old book written in the Middle East.

mmsen:



You failed to write anything factual.

I am not religious.

I was not born in Nigeria.

what we're discussing here is the laziness and dishonesty that over religiousness has etched on the minds of black africans, especially Nigerians...and the complete chaos it has brought with it to stall the nation building process

spotit:
what we're discussing here is the laziness and dishonesty that over religiousness has etched on the minds of black africans, especially Nigerians...and the complete chaos it has brought with it to stall the nation building process

Religion and ignorance are the same thing.

All that has happened here is one ignorant individual has been compared with another - by way of an unverified story.

The irony in this thread is astounding...

mmsen:


Religion and ignorance are the same thing.

All that has happened here is one ignorant individual has been compared with another - by way of an unverified story.

The irony in this thread is astounding...

the reason you chose to call it unverified is because you may not have witnessed anything like it in person. i live overseas i have witnessed it live, to my chagrin. not only in one location, but several other places abroad and when you tune to their tv channels, you'd want to bleed from your eyes. it's very shameful and criminal the way they choose to go about religion and civic responsibilities

spotit:
the reason you chose to call it unverified is because you may not have witnessed anything like it in person. i live overseas i have witnessed live, to my chagrin. not only in one location, but several other places abroad and when you tune to their tv channels, you'd want to bleed from your eyes

You need to stop reading selectively.

Go back, read what I've written and then check your last post.

The reason I called it unverified is because this is the definition - "not having been confirmed, substantiated, or proven to be true".

Ignorance³ in this thread.

you're the criminal number one on this thread, i don't expect you to be open to redemption

Brother mmsen, whether the story is a verified one or not isn't a concern here, the message it is passing across is real, and living among us, we Africans are guilty, it is the truth, maybe it was a simple analogy, but it doesn't evade the fact that we have lost it morally.

Might it interest you that the example up there is just a miniature compared to real life experiences.

Brother, please stop pointing an accusing finger because the rest are directly implicating you.

nitrogen:


Brother mmsen, whether the story is a verified one or not isn't a concern here, the message it is passing across is real, and living among us, we Africans are guilty, it is the truth, maybe it was a simple analogy, but it doesn't evade the fact that we have lost it morally.

Might it interest you that the example up there is just a miniature compared to real life experiences.

Brother, please stop pointing an accusing finger because the rest are directly implicating you.

1. That story doesn't resonate with my day to day at all (why can't you people read?)

2. I'm not your brother.

mmsen:



1. That story doesn't resonate with my day to day at all (why can't you people read?)

2. I'm not your brother.

1. You know it, you just don't want to admit it. Its there for all to see.

2. Well, you can fvck off my radar.