Why I stopped going to church is because of constant criticisms of Buhari by my pastor —Deacon Femi Adesina

Femi Adesina, special adviser to former President Muhammadu Buhari, has said that he stopped attending his Foursquare Gospel Church in Abuja because he could not stand the constant criticism of the former president by his pastor, Rev. Babajide Olowodola.

He revealed in his new book; “Working with Buhari: reflections of a special adviser, media and publicity (2015-2023),” that he had to quit the Asokoro-based church in February 2018 because the pastor thought he could pull Buhari down.

He accused the man of God of being prejudiced and exhibiting messianic tendencies.

The former presidential aide wrote: “I am a member of the Foursquare Gospel Church in Nigeria, and I have been since I got converted in 1988. When I went to work in Abuja in 2015, I began to worship at the Asokoro branch of the Church, pastored by Rev. Babajide Olowodola.

“A retired very senior civil servant, Olowodola is a good preacher and pastor. But at a stage, he began to exhibit some messianic tendencies, in which he believed he would pull down President Buhari single-handedly.

“Week after week, I heard snide remarks he made against the President from the pulpit. He would threateningly ask people to get their PVCS (Permanent Voters Cards) against 2019, and vote out the incompetent government. I didn’t let it bother me initially.

“Matters however came to a head in 2018, when Boko Haram abducted the Dapchi girls. I was in church on Sunday, and there was no name the pastor did not call the President. He even went into the fallacy of saying more people had been killed in the country since 2015, than what we lost during the Civil War.

“Recall that Nigeria lost between two and three million souls during that fratricidal war: He went on and on that Sunday, but I kept my peace.

“As it turned out, the Dapchi girls were recovered within the week, save for Leah Sharibu, and few others. So, the next Sunday, I went to church, waiting to hear what Rev. Olowodola would say. Not a word! Not even by accident.

“He did not mention the positive development, thus showing him as unfair and prejudiced. After the service, I picked my Bible, went home, and never returned to the church.

“I remained a member of Foursquare Gospel Church, but I could not imagine myself sitting to listen to a prejudiced preacher. I left the church in February 2018, Rev. Olowodola, who we were on regular talking terms almost weekly on phone didn’t ask after me. Neither did I reach out to him.

“Till one day in January 2021, the son of Moji Makanjuola of Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) was getting married, and I was at the reception. I was already seated, and an usher shepherded another person to the table. Lo and behold, it was Rev. Olowodola.

“I rose to greet him, and he said: ‘Brother Femi, how did a trailer pass in between us, and I did not see you again?’ I told him my grouse, and he reflected for moments. Then said: ‘But you should have come to meet me, and you should have said, you foolish pastor, why are you preaching like this?’

“We both laughed, and he proceeded to apologise for hurting my feelings, saying he should have been more mindful of the fact that I served the President, and was a member of the church. No more war.

“He had retired from pastoring, and we left the ceremony on amicable terms.”

Adesina alleged that other preachers were blatantly hostile to Buhari among whom were Bishop David Oyedepo of Living Faith Worldwide, Catholic Archbishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Kukah.

He wrote: “A good number of preachers displayed blatant hostility against the Buhari government. Even when they went prophetic, and hit the crossbar, they still continued to parade themselves as somebody, instead of sitting in sackcloth and ashes.

“Bishop David Oyedepo of Living Faith Worldwide, popularly known as Winners Chapel, had arrayed himself against Buhari before the election.

“Indeed, he was on tape as instructing members to kill any Fulani they saw near the Church. Jesus sure wouldn’t say that, would he?

“There is a story, on good authority, of a meeting convened of top Christian leaders by Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye at Redeemed Christian Church of God Campground, off Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. It was shortly before the 2015 presidential poll.

“A renowned pastor at the meeting told me that Pastor Adeboye asked the preachers if any of them had a word from God on the forthcoming election. Bishop Oyedepo was said to have stood up, and pontifically declared that God told him President Jonathan would win.

“Many times, Oyedepo reportedly cursed the President and government. In fact, there was a time in the first term that he declared Buhari’s time as over, that God had rejected him. The President not only won re-election in 2019, he completed the second term,” he stated.

“In fact, there was one Pastor Bosun Emmanuel, who recorded a widely circulated audio tape, describing APC as Muslim/Jihad party, and its candidate a precursor of the anti-Christ. Horrendous!

“Buhari still won the clection, but a disgruntled army had been mobilised against him. Armageddon. Prejudiced preachers and congregants with scant knowledge of the word of God. They just follow their leaders unquestioningly, not like the Berean Christians as mentioned in Acts of Apostles Chapter 17.”

As for Kukah, the former presidential spokesman noted: “We had Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah, of the Sokoto Catholic Archdiocese, who specialised in hate speech against the President. Every festive season, he would release homilies in which his pastime was to take potshots at the President. At a time, I called him out through a piece, ‘Kukah, don’t cook me nonsense.’”

Adesina did not have to much complimentary words for the then President of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor of Word of Life Bible Church, who he said was a supporter of former President Goodluck Jonathan who Buhari defeated in the 2015 presidential election.

He wrote that Oritsejafor “was also said to have indicated support for the incumbent President, as government was going to do bid rounds for oil blocs soon, and he needed one for works of the kingdom. Fine. The election held, and you know the rest of the story. The pro-Jonathan pastors never forgave Buhari and the APC.”

Adesina also lambasted other Christian preachers including Primate Elijah Ayodele, Paul Adefarasin, Tunde Bakare, saying: “What shall we say of Primate Elijah Ayodele, and anti-Buhari prophecies that never came to pass, Pastor Paul Adefarasin of House on the Rock who asked Nigerians to have a Plan B of fleeing the country, whether an

Okada to Cameroon, or flying boat to Seme border, because of security challenges in the land.

“He knew that the President was tackling the challenges head on, but decided to pump unbelief into his flock. He even added that his wife, Pastor Ifeanyi, was out of Nigeria, ‘helping to create our own Plan B.’ Cowardice and lack of faith on the altar of God. And how many millions of Nigerians are not in a position to create a Plan B, as Pastor Ifeanyi Adefarasin was already doing? Unpatriotic posturing.

“We had Pastor Tunde Bakare, Serving Overseer of the Citadel Community Church (formerly known as Latter Rain Assembly). He was running mate to Candidate Buhari in 2011, on the platform of Congress for Progressive Change (CPC). He came around in the last two weeks of the adninistration, met with the President,

and went to say that he was very discouraged after that visit, that I need time to encourage myself in the Lord my God.” But one thing you can not deny: Pastor Bakare truly loved the President, but also loved to play to the gallery, hence his inconsistencies.”

On former President Jonathan, Adesina accused him of church-hopping and secretly asking for votes, saying: “Before the 2015 presidential poll, the then President Jonathan went church-hopping. He visited most major Congregations, secretly campaigning for votes, generating hatred for the APC candidate.”