Just a church girl...

 

Dear M,

Have you read the poem Ambassador of poverty by POC Umeh? If not I have a short extract from the main poem here:

Ambassadors of poverty are

The dubious sit tight patriots

Frustrating the corporate will of their followers

The beleaguered, hungry and famished owners of the land

People priced out of their conscience and power

Incapacitated by destitution

Unable to withstand the temptation

Of crispy mints and food aroma

Ambassadors of poverty are

The political elites

In air conditioned chambers

And exotic cars

With tearful stories of rip offs

Tucked away from

Their impoverish constituencies

Lying prostrate

With death traps for roads

Mud for water

Candle for light

Underneath trees as schools

Rat for protein

Fasting as food

And alibi as governance

For the next few weeks I will be writing you letters on my take on religion especially in Nigeria and Africa.
My literature teacher in high school once defined religion as “ an embodiment of self enslavery” meaning  to put into slavery or make a slave of.  Then, I felt he was being unreasonable but after a while realization dawned on me that  religion in Nigeria (Christianity, Islamic and  traditional) is truly an embodiment of self enslavery! Don’t get me wrong, I am a Christian and a strong believer of Jesus Christ but why is the attention turning away from God? Why are we worshipping our pastors and religious leaders? Yes I know we have to honor them as “servants of God” but then why is the attention shifting from The Bible or Quran to religion leaders? I remember the story of a pastor who kept telling his members to “sow seed” in no time he bought a  car! Not a vehicle or motor but a CAR!! Money contributed by many church members  is used in beautifying the life of the pastor and his family while the member can’t even afford to eat three times in a day. Same with a particular Alaji I know, he is the chief imam of the local mosque. I remember counting 6 different cars with IMAM 1, 2,3.... as plate numbers. I’m not sure if you listen to the song by Falz a Nigerian artist titled “this is Nigeria “ he mentioned a pastor putting his hands on the breast of the member because he is pulling out the demon! I have so much to say on this topic but I have to stop here for now. I will continue from where i stop in my next letter
my  lab work awaits

With love
Oluwatoyosi