Prisoners of the Pulpit: How Congregational Ignorance Fuels Decay.

By George Omagbemi Sylvester | Published by saharaweeklyng.com

“Pastors exploit, but it is the blind loyalty of followers that keeps the chains of poverty locked.”

A Nation Enslaved by Ignorance.
It was a sweltering Sunday afternoon in Lagos. Outside the massive gates of a popular Pentecostal church, a shoeless young man selling sachet water argued passionately. The reporter had dared to question why his pastor needed a private jet while thousands of congregants could not afford three meals a day.

The young man, sweating under the sun, defended his “Daddy in the Lord” without hesitation:

“Leave my pastor alone! If he needs ten jets, let him buy them. He is doing God’s work.”

When asked if he himself had ever entered an airplane, the boy laughed bitterly. “No, but one day my seed will speak for me.”

That is Nigeria’s tragedy in one scene. A hungry man, who cannot afford transport beyond okada, defends the extravagance of a pastor who dines with politicians and owns fleets of cars. This is not faith, it is weaponized ignorance and it is destroying the nation more than bullets or bombs. “The tragedy of Nigeria is that the poor defend the rich who exploit them in the name of God.”

The Cult of Ignorance.
Nigeria’s greatest enemy today is not just the greed of pastors or the corruption of politicians; it is the ignorance of millions of followers who cheer while they are exploited. Congregants have been conditioned to see their poverty as proof of spiritual warfare and their pastor’s wealth as proof of divine favor.

As the scholar Paul Gifford put it, the prosperity gospel is “a theology of irresponsibility,” shifting blame for poverty onto demons and invisible forces, while exonerating pastors and politicians. Ruth Marshall, in her landmark study of Nigerian Pentecostalism, observed that followers often suspend critical thinking, treating total obedience to pastors as obedience to God.

This is why congregants defend jets while they cannot afford bicycles, why they fund multi-billion naira cathedrals while their children study under leaking roofs, why they clap when politicians are endorsed from the pulpit. Ignorance, sanctified in the name of faith, has become our greatest national chain.

Facts We Cannot Ignore.
The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) reported that 767 factories shut down in 2023 alone, with 335 more in distress. These were not just buildings, they were livelihoods. Yet, instead of saving industries, many of these abandoned factories were bought and converted into churches and prayer camps.

SaharaWeeklyNG.com have documented this disturbing trend. Where once machines roared and jobs were created, now microphones wail and offerings are collected. It is a cruel irony: Nigerians pray in the very spaces where they should be working.

The Obscene Contrast.
In 2015, a prominent Nigerian pastor justified his private jet by declaring that “commercial flights are filled with demons.” Another once said that a pastor without a jet is “not serious with God’s work.” Congregants roared in applause.

Meanwhile, the same congregations struggle to pay hospital bills, tuition fees and rent. Hunger stalks the pews, while luxury fuels the pulpit. As Archbishop Desmond Tutu once warned: “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor” Nigerians are not neutral, they actively cheer their own oppressors.

IGNORANCE HERE IS NOT INNOCENCE. IT IS COMPLICITY.

The Political Dimension.
Pastors in Nigeria have long enjoyed cozy relationships with politicians, but it is the congregations who allow it. Instead of demanding accountability, they obey blindly when told: “Vote for this man; he is God’s chosen.”

This political obedience has devastating consequences. It delivers corrupt leaders to power through the pulpit pipeline. It makes democracy hostage to religion. It transforms the church from a house of prayer into an electoral machine.

Chinua Achebe’s words echo with chilling accuracy: “The trouble with Nigeria is simply and squarely a failure of leadership.” But leadership is not only in Aso Rock; it is also in the pulpits. And behind every failed pulpit stands a congregation too ignorant to resist.

When Ignorance Becomes Idolatry.
Congregational ignorance has crossed into idolatry. Many followers no longer worship God, they worship their pastors. They defend their leaders’ excesses as though their salvation depends on it. They treat pastors as monarchs, untouchable and unquestionable.

Comedians capture this tragic reality best. I Go Dye once joked: “Na only for Nigeria you go see poor man dey shout ‘Papa ride on’ when pastor dey talk about private jet. But na that same man never chop since morning.” Gordons added: “If miracle dey work the way dem talk, why pastors no lay hand on Nigeria’s economy make e rise?”

Behind the laughter lies bitter truth: a nation cannot prosper when its citizens celebrate exploitation.

The Cost of Ignorance.
The economic cost is staggering. When billions of naira are poured into offering baskets instead of investments, industries die. When factories become prayer camps, unemployment rises. When congregations treat pastors as gods, politicians find in them willing allies.

The moral cost is worse. We are raising a generation that values PROPHECY over PRODUCTIVITY, MIRACLES over MANUFACTURING, SUPERSTITION over SCIENCE. A generation that believes poverty is caused by demons instead of failed policies.

A Five-Point Wake-Up Call to Congregations.
Ask Questions. Faith is not stupidity. Any pastor who discourages critical thinking is an enemy of progress.

Stop Funding Vanity. Before you contribute to your pastor’s new jet, ask: How many jobs has he created with the billions already collected?

Invest in Education and Skills. Don’t just sow financial seeds; sow into your children’s future.

Separate Faith from Politics. Your vote belongs to your conscience not your pastor.

Return to the Gospel of Work. Scripture says: “If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat.” Work not wishful thinking, builds nations.

Ignorance is a Choice.
It is time to stop pretending. Nigerians are not only victims of greedy pastors and corrupt politicians. Nigerians are also victims of their own ignorance. They willingly defend those who exploit them. They shout “ride on, Daddy!” even when Daddy rides on their backs.

As the late Fela Anikulapo-Kuti sang: “Suffering and smiling.” That is the Nigerian congregation today; smiling as they suffer, clapping as they are robbed, singing as they are enslaved.

Final Word.
Nigeria does not lack PRAYERS; it lacks PRODUCTION. It does not lack PROPHETS; it lacks PATRIOTS. Until the congregation wakes up, pastors will keep flying jets, politicians will keep looting and factories will keep closing.

The ignorance of the congregation is the real altar where Nigeria’s future is being sacrificed. Until the pews open their eyes, the pulpits will keep feeding on their blindness.

*Nigeria is not dying because pastors are greedy; it is dying because congregations are blind.”