The Church as a Prison: How Pastors Keep Africa Enslaved.

By George Omagbemi Sylvester | Published by Sahara Weekly NG

They preach comfort instead of conviction, prosperity instead of truth and mental slavery instead of freedom. “Comfort replaces conviction and governments applaud their betrayal.”

The Betrayal of Christ’s Gospel.
It is no longer a secret that what we see on our pulpits today is far from what Jesus Christ Himself taught over 2,000 years ago. If the same Jesus who overturned the tables of corrupt money changers in the temple were physically present today, many of these so-called “men of God” would not only run for their lives but also face exposure for their deception. Christ preached freedom, truth, justice and boldness against the oppressive powers of His time. In contrast, many modern-day pastors have become cheerleaders of the ruling elite, deliberately reducing the church into an instrument of mental slavery.

Let us speak the truth without fear: if today’s pastors truly preached the radical gospel of Christ (condemning injustice, exposing government wickedness and mobilizing believers towards righteousness in governance) they would be arrested, harassed and prosecuted. Instead, governments across Africa and beyond give them patronage, front seats at state banquets and sometimes political appointments. Why? Because they are not a threat to oppression; they are an extension of it.

The Revolutionary Nature of Christ’s Message.
The ministry of Jesus was not one of political correctness. He was not a motivational speaker promising “BREAKTHROUGHS” and “PROSPERITY.” Instead, He declared in Luke 4:18: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed.”

Christ did not promise private jets; He promised persecution. He did not preach “sow a seed for your miracle”; He demanded repentance and justice. He called the religious leaders of His time “HYPOCRITES,” “BLIND GUIDES,” and “a BROOD of VIPERS” (Matthew 23). If pastors today echoed such thunderous rebuke, they would be on government watchlists not on billboards smiling beside governors.

Mental Slavery Disguised as Religion.
Religion, in its corrupted form, has long been used as a tool of control. The late Kenyan intellectual, Professor John Mbiti, once noted: “Religion in Africa has often been manipulated as an anesthetic, dulling people’s consciousness against the injustices around them.”

Colonialists understood this tactic perfectly. During the transatlantic slave trade, enslaved Africans were forced to embrace a distorted version of Christianity designed to keep them obedient. While verses about obedience to masters were emphasized, the liberating passages about freedom and justice were conveniently ignored. This is what Jamaican revolutionary Marcus Garvey meant when he said: “We are going to emancipate ourselves from mental slavery, because whilst others might free the body, none but ourselves can free the mind.”

Sadly, African pastors today continue this legacy. Rather than empowering the people to resist corrupt governments, they encourage blind submission, promising that “your reward is in heaven” while collaborating with the very politicians that rob the poor.

Government and the Prosperity Gospel Alliance.
It is not accidental that governments tolerate and even endorse these churches. The prosperity gospel (preaching that faith guarantees wealth and comfort) creates docile followers who do not challenge injustice. When poverty is explained as a “spiritual problem” rather than the direct consequence of bad governance, corrupt leaders are shielded from accountability.

Dr. Allan Boesak, South African theologian and anti-apartheid activist, once warned: “Any theology that is indifferent to the suffering of the people is not theology but ideology in service of oppression.” Today’s Nigerian, Ghanaian and South African mega-churches are guilty of exactly this. They preach an ideology of silence, urging members to pray for their leaders rather than demand accountability from them.

That is why the government has no problem when pastors gather millions in crusades, as long as the message is harmless to power. If a pastor dares to echo Christ and thunder against corruption, as Archbishop Oscar Romero did in El Salvador before he was assassinated in 1980, then he becomes a target.

Christ Versus the Modern Pastor. The difference between Christ and modern pastors is as clear as light and darkness:

Jesus preached AGAINST the elite; modern pastors wine and dine with them.

Jesus DEMANDED justice for the poor; modern pastors demand tithes from the poor.

Jesus DECLARED truth without compromise; modern pastors dilute truth with motivational speeches.

Jesus FACED PERSECUTION from the state; modern pastors enjoy state protection.

The late Nigerian literary giant, Chinua Achebe, once remarked: “The trouble with Nigeria is simply and squarely a failure of leadership.” That failure is not limited to political leaders; it extends to spiritual leaders who have abandoned their prophetic responsibility to speak truth to power.

Facts That Cannot Be Denied.
Africa has the fastest-growing Christian population in the world. Pew Research reports that by 2060, 40% of all Christians globally will live in sub-Saharan Africa. Yet, this growth has not translated into reduced corruption or poverty. Why? Because religion has been domesticated into an escape from reality rather than a tool of transformation.

The prosperity gospel enriches pastors not societies. Forbes reports that some Nigerian pastors rank among the richest religious leaders worldwide, with fortunes worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Meanwhile, Nigeria ranks as one of the poorest nations, with over 133 million people living in multidimensional poverty according to the National Bureau of Statistics (2022).

Government complicity is evident. In many African countries, churches are exempted from taxation, even while they collect billions in offerings and donations. Politicians regularly appear at crusades during election seasons, using pulpits as campaign stages.

These are not coincidences; they are strategies.

The Path Forward: Reclaiming the True Gospel.
If Africans are to break free from mental slavery, they must demand a gospel that liberates rather than imprisons. The words of Ghanaian scholar Kwame Nkrumah ring true: “The emancipation of the mind is the greatest task confronting our continent.” This emancipation will not come from pastors selling anointed oil or politicians buying church loyalty; it will come from believers insisting that the gospel must confront, not comfort, oppressive systems.

The church must return to its prophetic roots:

Condemn bad governance with fearless boldness.

Defend the oppressed against exploitation.

Teach financial independence, not blind dependence on “miracle seeds.”

Remind believers that faith without works (without justice, without accountability) is dead.

Final Word.
The gospel of Christ is REVOLUTIONARY, RADICAL and LIBERATING. The gospel of today’s pastors is DOMESTICATED, COMMERCIALIZED and ENSLAVING. Until the church reclaims its true mission, governments will continue to support these mental prison wardens because they help keep the masses silent.

As the great African-American theologian Howard Thurman said: “Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and go do it. What the world needs is people who have come alive.”

Africa needs a church that is alive, not one that is asleep in the arms of corrupt power.