This is a very curious one. I saw it on my friend- Edgar Joseph’s page & it got my attention immediately. Part of it is because, I have my understanding of what power is. Not as defined by most. Because my understand stems from knowing that P.O.W.E.R, raw, irresistible, dynamic, only belongs to the Almighty alone. What man operates is authority, which is delegated power. And there are not many that have that.
So maybe what’s been spoken of here is more of influence. Let me digress a little before I continue. For any that may not know Edgar Joseph, he is a super brilliant, Akwa Ibom dude, who by the grace of God, was (still is I presume) in the financial advisory sector for a bit. Like I said before, he is a brilliant dude, who writes very well (satirically brilliant) & a good social commentator. He has a good grasp of things about him, and has a strong opinion which he has done best to articulate well. He loves Afang to death & doesn’t joke with!
Why is he asking who is the most powerful (influential) amongst these 4 supposed men of God (god)? Because he has a fantastic coffee table book upcoming, that would attempt to list & chronicle 100 of Nigeria’s most influential people, which cuts across all sectors, strata, etc.
He calls it MaddTimes Power 100. Most of those that would feature in this book which I must get when it comes out, were nominated by people & those who nominated gave cogent reasons why they think their nominees merit such a mention.
I believe the inspiration for this brilliant upcoming book must be the famous annual Time Magazine 100.
So what’s up about these 4?
This is my little understanding.
Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye:
The oldest (eldest of all of them) is most definitely Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye of the RCCG. He is the Nigerian general overseer of the biggest Pentecostal congregation in Nigeria, in Africa, & most probably in the world. His parishes dots everywhere. His monthly (holy ghost) convention is a must go, with a gathering in the hundreds of thousands in one place monthly, tens of millions more joining via technology from around the world. His church (not that he owns it though), is one of the wealthiest in the world too, by virtue of the sheer number of members across the world. With all of this things said, does that make him the most powerful? One thing you can’t deny is, he is very respected, and held in highest esteem by all other well respected men of the cassock.
Bishop David Oyedepo, the fiery exponent of Faith. Who is said to have claimed that God told him to make people rich. He sits atop the hierarchy at Winners’ Chapel, which is just an acronym for the Living Faith Church. He practices what he preaches. He is acclaimed to be the wealthiest pastor in Nigeria, in Africa & most probably one of the top 20 in the world. He owns a few private jets, he drives the best of the best cars. His 2 universities are 2 of the best private universities in Nigeria. He use to have the biggest church in Nigeria, most probably one of biggest in Africa & the world in terms of the number of congregation that could sit & worship in a church building at a go. But that record was taken by the dome in Abuja, where Pastor Paul Eneche presides. But the highly respected, feared, influential man is set to take the record again soon, with a colossal project called the ark, gradually nearing completion. Does all these & more that I haven’t spoken about make him the most powerful (influential) of the 4? He is by far the far the wealthiest of them all. In fact he may have more than all owned by the other 3 combined.
Pastor Chris Oyakhilome of the Believers Loveworld Inc. aka Christ Embassy. He is younger than the 1st 2, most suave of the 4, with highly accented English like an American televangelist.
He has been a recurring fixture for a bit now, having 1st swept the campus by storm, appealing to the youths, who followed him in their millions. He grew his congregation massively into millions across the globe. What made him majorly popular is his healing ministry modelled after some top international ones, likes of Benny Hinn & Kenneth Copeland. He is also vastly popular for his daily devotional called Rhapsody of Realities which is distributed across the globe in many languages. He owns a private jet, highly valuable real estate/property investments, owns a bank (microfinance) & others. He is believed to be the 2nd or 3rd wealthiest man in cassock in Nigeria, & one of the top 10 in Africa. He is highly revered by his congregants. Who see him as God’s (god) greatest gift to humanity.
Prophet Odumeje, the youngest & most daring of all. Very physically strong , a comic & entertainer per excellence- the liquid metal himself. The war, the battle, the indaboski bahose, the lion himself. He has other funny names too. He also has many powers, e.g. the abido shaker, Gandusa, Ganduka, the Rebadu, the citadel, the sanctum santorial, etc.
He is highly theatrical in his approach. He speaks mostly in Igbo, as he seems to have a limited understanding of English. People view him more as a comic than anything else. But he seems to have his followers, which is supposedly increasing by the day. In recent times he has been carrying his preaching, in the entertainment style abroad. He has some entertaining songs in the market for streaming, he is also a good dancer. He isn’t overly serious like the other 3. He is the overseer of the Mountain of the Holy Ghost Intervention & Deliverance Ministry. Dude is highly controversial as he claims to be extremely powerful. But when a part of his church was demolished at a point for building on the wrong place, he was pushed about by security agents sent. So is he the most powerful (influential) because he is a major comic relief?
What says you?
By OmoOba Rare Abiola O. Aloba
