Nigerian Gay Activist Accuses Adeboye Of Being Corrupt And Greedy

Enoch Adeboye, whom I have written about here and here, has been accused of being greedy and corrupt by Bisi Alimi, a Nigerian gay rights activist who currently lives in exile in London. It will be recalled that in January 2014, former president Jonathan signed the anti-gay law, which the Nigerian legislature had passed in record time in May 2013, prescribing jail terms of up to 14 years for gay couples who get married, show affection in public, and for those who openly approve of homosexual relationships. Reuben Abati, the then presidential spokesperson cited the law as "being in line with the people's cultural and religious inclination," inadvertently advertising the crass hypocrisy of the Nigerian society.

Mr Alimi may have expressed his feelings, and that of millions of Nigerians on, not only Mr Adeboye, who is currently constructing a private airport, but also on all of Nigeria's nouveau riche pastors. These men and women, in their bid to outdo one another in the acquisition and display of their wealth, forget that they are being watched by tens of millions of Nigerians who go to bed hungry at night, have no jobs, nor decent accommodation and healthcare. While they enrich themselves from the offerings and tithes of individuals, and patronage from the government (including import waivers running into millions of dollars that would have gone to the national treasury) they continue to maintain that their God is "not a poor God," and their mostly impoverished congregation agree. The hypocrisy inherent in the Nigerian society is the very reason Adeboye and his ilk will continue to prosper in Nigeria. Nobody wants to be seen as being anti-religion, something akin to the way we (Nigerians) vociferously support elected officials accused of corruption, as long as that official is of the same religion, tribe or political party.
Bisi Alimi is right about Nigerians being asleep, but I daresay it is more of a trance-like state, which if we do not shake off soon, we may just as well slip into a coma and die.