By Ugwu Kelvin

For a while now, one will hardly come online in any social media platform without stumbling into something concerning the Onitsha self acclaimed prophet Chukwuemaka Ohanemere popularly known as Odumeje, indaboski. . .abi na liquid metal.

I sense that most people share video clips about him just for entertainment and laughter. Some share them out of surprise and shock… some are concerned about his approach to faith, some feel “scandalised” at his healing methods, some even try to understand his kind of Christianity, while some are just indifferent (as long as wetin him dey do no affect daily bread, lol).

If we truly look at it as a people with Christlike conscience and are sincere to ourselves, we will realise that most of those videos of Odumeje say a lot about our brand of Christianity than about him as a person.

Most of the things we do in our churches in the name of worship are mainly for SHOW. The difference between most of them and what Odumeje does in his church is that Odumeje does not polish or hide the “fakeness”. It is not refined. It is raw. It is served hot in the cooking pot. No need for decorated cutleries. No time to shame shame.

Let me say it again, what we see in most Churches today are pure showbiz. Our so called worship in churches is often about what will give us excitements.

A typical Sunday service in a typical Nigeria setting is basically a place for shouting. People outdoing each other in faking speaking in tongues and casting imaginary demons. Pastors outdoing each other on who can fake miracles better. If pastors can fake the miracle of raising someone from the dead, what else can they not do?

To excite the people more, pastors now invite comedians, secular musicians, Nollywood actors etc to perform on their worship Altars. You think people go to church to meet Jesus? Think again!

Have you not seen people dancing “soapy” in churches? These are the same people saying that locking churches because of Coronavirus is an attack on the church. They miss the excitement they get from churches not the true worship.

A question readily comes to mind… Can the church of Christ be locked? If you are truly prayerful and in touch with God, you will know the answer…Now, I ask you, yes, you! Can the Church of Christ be locked?

Well, I know for sure that the church of Christ can never be locked and that the worship done at home is not less a worship once it is done with one’s sincere heart.

Have you not heard people say “I won’t go to church today because I don’t have new dress?” Or you want me to be the one to tell you that pastors wear new suits and shoes every time you see them, drive latest cars with red carpets laid on the ground as they step into the church? What name do you call that? Is that not Showbiz?

And when they preach, it is coloured to excite. The words are carefully chosen in ways that will excite someone to say “preach it on.” It is all packaging with high sounding topics:

“7 powerful ways to infuse and diffuse the spiritual breakthrough.” “10 spirit undiluted steps towards provoking the anointing.” “Possessing corrosive anointing against Coronavirus”, and so on.

Then, people will be jotting, jotting what they will never read. They are mesmerized. “Our pastor is powerful”, she tells everyone. “He is the man of power.” Blablabla… The same Odumeje’s phony, different packaging.

It is in Africa that someone who never saw the four walls of medical school is called a doctor. An apprentice in chemist store who never went to primary school is regarded as a pharmacist. An illiterate who never passed basic exams not to talk of having a degree in theology is founding a church to lead the educated including PhD holders. A pastor with just a claim of being anointed is teaching scientists and doctors about Coronavirus and 5G and they will be nodding heads like Agama lizards.

To a large extent, some of us ministers act more like clowns under the guise of preachers. Indaboski is just expressing it more loudly and we are pained because people are getting to know us for who we truly are.