When Faith Becomes a Marketplace: The Crisis of Nigeria’s Pentecostalism -By Albert Afeso Akanbi

Before writing this piece let me first, plainly admit one of my flaws: that I look at a person’s face, their body language, and the words coming out of their mouth, before something in me writes them off.

Maybe that is not always fair, but there are moments when the performance is so obvious and the manipulation so crude that pretending not to see it feels worse.

Because the truth is, you can still cheat people without dragging God’s name into it—yet our so-called men of God insist on doing both.
I mean…just take a look at this particular pastor and tell me any sane person won’t genuinely struggle to see anything that suggests wisdom, integrity, or seriousness in his face. How do people even sit under men like this one? How? This is why I keep saying there is something in the way religion, especially Pentecostalism, is practiced in Nigeria today that often stands against rational thinking. I am not talking about faith itself, but the system built around it: the theatrics, the emotional blackmail, then delebrate lies, the monetization of people’s pain and desperation.

Just look for the video clips of the image I posted here and listen carefully to what this one said and ypu would wonder.

To think that the government already taxes Nigerians, and then these self-appointed “men of God” still come and tax them again in the name of tithe.

They promise miracles and prosperity like traders selling charms in a market place. They demand “seeds” from people who can barely feed their families, while they themselves live like royalty. Yet the Jesus they claim to follow, and the apostles they quote, spoke very clearly against this kind of greed and materialism.
In Matthew 6:19–21, Jesus says, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth… For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” But look at them buying properties everywhwre, even the Chris that condemned 5G and told us Jesus is coming this year is still buying properties, he even turned his church to a kingdom just days ago!

Meanwhile the Bible they preach from told “You cannot serve God and money.” In Luke 12:15, Jesus also warns, “Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” and then he condemns religious leaders who “devour widows’ houses,” which is exactly what happens when poor people are pressured to give beyond their means and these conmen are doing today.

After Jesus, even his disciples weren’t different, In Acts 8:18–20, Peter rebukes Simon for trying to buy spiritual power and favours, saying, “May your money perish with you.” And in 1 Timothy 6:5–10, Paul warns against those who think “godliness is a means to financial gain” and reminds us that “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.” These are not vague hints; they are direct condemnations of the very thing these criminals who call themselves
prosperity preachers in Nigeria today are doing.
The damage this pastors and prosperity gospel culture causes is not lost un thiae who have eyes to see.

It exploits the poor by turning their suffering into a business model. It replaces responsibility and planning with superstition, telling people to “sow seeds” instead of demanding better governance, better policies, and better systems. It creates a cruel logic where, if you remain poor or sick, they tell you it is because your faith is not strong enough, which adds shame on top of hardship. Imagine this criminal saying all poor people are stingy!

This worthless gospel of thiers diverts money that could have gone into education, healthcare, small businesses, or basic family needs, and channels it into private jets, mansions, and luxury lifestyles for a few charlatans who capitalize on the gullibility, sincere quest for God and the stupidity of many Nigerians.

It also corrupts the real meaning of the words church and faith, turning those into transactions—give this, get that—rather than a way of life built on justice, compassion, and integrity, which Jesus and his disciples preached.

If Nigerians, especially Pentecostals, were a population of serious minded people, they would have asked why, since Idahosa of blessed memory, who started this scam, how come it is only pastors that benefit from thier so-called prosperity gospel when in trith thier churches are a collection of masses of poor people!

The Catholic is the wealthiest Church on earth, yet the Pope isnt among the richest pastor on earth! Even though no single Nigerian Pentecostal church is among the list of richest church on earth, take a look at the list of richest pastors in the world, you will see thier faces and names on the list!!!

Although the government should not regulate what people believe because freedom of religion matters, the government can and must begin to regulate behaviour, especially where money, fraud, and public interest are involved.
And in doing this I believe there are concrete steps that can be taken without violating religious freedom.

First, religious organizations that collect large sums of money from the public like these Pentecostal hur hes can be required to maintain proper financial records, undergo annual independent audits, and publish basic financial statements. If you are operating at the scale of a major institution, owning universities and banks, I mean, you should be accountable like one. Not the current business as usual we see everywhere.

Second, when preachers make specific financial promises—such as “give this amount and God will multiply it into that amount”—those claims can be treated as financial or investment claims and brought under consumer-protection or financial-regulation laws. If a bank or investment company cannot promise guaranteed returns without regulation, a pulpit should not be a loophole. I mean, we see Enenche running around with crutches, the government should make him submit the names, addresses, pictures, witnesses of the people he claimed to have healed.

Third, the law can clearly define and criminalize deceptive spiritual practices used for financial gain, especially when they target vulnerable people—the poor, the sick, the elderly. You need to see the sort of people that gather to listen to these men, people like Pastor Chris even go as far as collecting money from university students, how shameful.
Many countries already prosecute “spiritual fraud” under existing fraud laws; Nigeria can strengthen and enforce similar provisions.

Fourth, while churches as institutions may remain tax-exempt for genuine charitable and religious work, the personal luxury assets of religious leaders like Oyedepo and co—that is private jets, fleets of luxury cars, palatial homes—can be subject to normal tax scrutiny, the they are not already been taxed. If a pastor is living like a billionaire, the tax authorities have every right to ask how and why.

Fifth, consumer-protection agencies can treat religious scams like any other scam: if people are being misled, there should be legal consequences, regardless of whether a Bible verse was quoted in the process.

Finally, in the long term, the government can invest in public education, critical-thinking skills, and civic awareness, because the most effective defence against manipulation is a population that can question, analyze, and say “no” when something does not add up, not our current populationof mostly daft people.

So when I react strongly to these preachers, it is not because I hate pentecostals, it is because I see a pattern where ordinary people are being robbed twice: once by a system that fails them economically, and again by religious entrepreneurs who sell them false hope at a high price. My frustration is really grief—grief for a society where pain has become a market and where the loudest voices, from politicans to pastors to influencers, are often the least honest.

What I want is simple: a space where faith is not used as a weapon against reason, where belief is not a cover for exploitation, and where both government and citizens refuse to look away when manipulation is dressed up as ministry, I just want a country that works.

~𝘈𝘭𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘵 𝘈𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘰 𝘈𝘬𝘢𝘯𝘣𝘪 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳 @𝘋𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘳 𝘍𝘪𝘭𝘮𝘴 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘓𝘛𝘋