Professor Kehinde Obasola, an expert in Religious Studies, expresses deep concern about the growing prevalence of prosperity gospel in Nigerian Pentecostal churches.
During his inaugural lecture at Olabisi Onabanjo University, he cautions against its counterproductive effects, particularly on the financial well-being of followers.
Obasola defines prosperity gospel as a prominent teaching in many churches, where congregants are told that Redemption through Jesus Christ not only frees them from death and damnation but also from poverty, lack, sickness, and other evils. However, the promised fortune is often tied to financial contributions, tithes, and significant offerings.
He laments that while prosperity gospel preachers amass considerable wealth and live in opulence, their followers remain largely impoverished. Routine contributions, tithes, and special offerings imposed on the followers are cited as contributors to this financial strain.
During the inaugural lecture titled “Delivering God From Evil: An Afro-Philosophical Perspective,” Professor Obasola references over a dozen preachers, including the late Temitope Balogun Joshua, as promoters of prosperity messages.
He argues that such teachings induce societal evils, breeding occultism, cultic theology, greed, self-indulgence, selfishness, and a lack of Christian virtues and materialism.
Obasola urges Nigerians to maintain self-awareness, critically interrogating doctrines and messages from the pulpit. He warns that some prosperity preachers use altered states of consciousness, peer pressure, and hypnotic suggestions to manipulate and exploit their followers.
The professor concludes that the prosperity gospel has led pastors to adopt corrupt leadership patterns, depriving people of their hard-earned money and contributing to increased poverty.
Despite the rapid expansion of churches in Africa, particularly Nigeria, Sub-Saharan Africa remains the only place where poverty is on the rise, challenging the effectiveness of the prosperity gospel in alleviating economic struggles.
