NIGERIAN PASTORS UNDER FIRE FOR MISREPRESENTING PETER OBI’S COMMENTS
A heated debate has erupted in Nigeria’s religious circles after pastors, including Pastor Iren, criticized Peter Obi’s remarks on the importance of hard work and self-reliance alongside faith.
Peter Obi emphasized the need for Nigerians to take personal responsibility and harness their God-given potential. He stressed that excessive reliance on prayer and church attendance without action hinders progress. Critics accuse Obi of diminishing Christianity, while supporters argue his message promotes a balanced approach to faith and productivity.
EXCERPT FROM CHUKWUDI IWUCHUKWU
I don’t understand why Nigerian pastors are attacking Peter Obi and misrepresenting what the man said over this Night Vigil viral video, where he was right.
I just finished watching one Gen Z pastor (who loves opening church branches in London, Canada, Lekki, and not Kafachan), Pastor Iren, attacking the man for saying what is obviously true.
After watching the cringe-worthy video
I asked myself, Are we suffering from a comprehension epidemic on a large scale in our country? because what Peter Obi said was clear even for a deaf man to understand.
Peter Obi, I know, is a Christian, and he has this habit and culture of attending morning mass every morning unfailing.
His younger brother is a reverend father, and his younger sister is a reverend sister, so his view is not an affront to Christianity or to diminish our faith.
What the man is saying is simple.
God has given us dominion over the earth. Staying hours in the church praying for God’s intervention when he has given us the power and the brain to think is counterproductive, and as a nation, we can’t make progress this way.
Let me give two examples of how our overreligiosity inhibits progress.
1) I travelled one time to Ogbunike, which is my home town and one of my favourite places where I love spending time away from Lagos hustle and bustle.
On a Wednesday afternoon, I saw this church close to my house filled with young men and women, screaming on top of their voices for God’s mercy in their lives, and I found that strange.
Are they not meant to be doing something by this time or the day, no matter how little, and not wasting their time in church?
The next day, I saw the same people in the same church screaming on top of their voices, and that was when I knew we had a problem in our hands.
If you like, go to church from Sunday to Sunday and scream on top of your voice while in church.
Your life won’t change and can’t change if you don’t put in the hard work.
It is that simple to understand.
Fasting is good; praying is good as well. I do all that myself, but for you to change the final outcome of your life.
You need to learn a skill.
Learn how to sell
And then be a valuable person.
These 3 things can change your life overall, and then prayers and fasting can now complement it.
God is not a magician; he is not a money doubler.
He asked Moses, What do you have in your hand, and Moses said, Rod?
He then said he used it to liberate the people of Israel from the hands of tyrannical Pharaoh.
This shows that you have to have something to offer before God can change your life.
There are no two ways about this.
Atheists understand this principle of being valuable; this is why they are prospering in this economy while Christians are struggling.
Danny on Twiitter is mocking Christians every eke day for being poor and he is rich.
Even though he is an atheist, he is making money every day even after insulting God because he has a skill, and that skill is making money for him.
Let me say this: if you like, listen to your pastor when he is praying for wealth transfer from unbelievers to believers; that is a scam prayer; it does not work.
God wants you to be productive. He wants you to learn a skill and then learn how to sell.
That is the only way he can prosper you and bless the work of your hand.
This is the only way He can transfer divine wealth to you, because you are putting in the work.
2) I was at this shop one day to buy something in the morning, and the shop was not open to customers even though it was their opening hours.
Why?
The staff and management are doing morning prayers before they open their doors to the public.
That is not God’s plan for us, and businesses like that can never scale because they choose to put the cart before the house.
I once shared this story, and I will share it again.
I grew up in a religious household, and so I grew up to see folks who spent all their time in church seeking the face of God, and today, they are older and very poor.
I made a decision to myself 14 years ago when I graduated from Madonna University that I don’t want to be those people.
I want to be rich, I want to be a man of value, and I want God to use me to bless others financially.
It is 14 years now, and I’m on the path to the promise and commitment I made to myself, and there is no regret.
Please serve God in your youth; it is the right thing to do.
Honour him, but please make a commitment to be a man of excellence. In your business and career
Daniel was a man of excellence and a man who fears God as well.
Daniel remains faithful to the God of Israel while maintaining influence in the surrounding culture of Babylon because he was a man of value.
This message is what Peter Obi is preaching, and Nigerian pastors are deliberately misrepresenting him and quoting him out of context.
For us to be the Daniel of our generation
A people who fear God but who have a spirit of excellence in their business and workplace.
Because you have the spirit of Daniel In you, even though you are a cleaner, you are the best cleaner in town, and your service is in highly demand.
Everybody in Lagos wants you to come and clean their apartment because you are good with your craft and because you are productive. You can’t be found in a church on Friday night because you have a client’s apartment to clean the next day.
We can’t accept the spirit of mediocrity as a way of life and still want God to bless us.
No! It does not work that way.
That is Peter Obi’s message. I don’t know why this is difficult for Pastor Iren of this world to grasp and understand.
