SLAP SOME SENSE INTO BISHOP DAVID OYEDEPO!

I am angry, not just angry but very, very angry. I am indignant, not just for myself but on behalf of many sisters especially the voiceless sisters! If you are not angry after watching the infamous video of Bishop Oyedepo slapping a young girl to the thunderous applause of his church members, you are also a target of my anger!

It is said that “Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from a religious conviction”. Present day examples abounds like “Homosexuality is a sin, let us kill Gays”, “Witchcraft is evil, let us slap young witches”, “I am the chosen one, therefore I will bomb out all brownies from my holy land”, “Sorcery is a sin, let us behead its practitioners”, “Adultery is bad, let us stone the unmarried pregnant woman” and the list goes on and on.

The YouTube video of Bishop Oyedepo slapping a young woman whom he accused of witchcraft would make any sane person angry, but the thunderous applause from his followers is nauseating enough to make one vomit. Why is there a complete lack of common sense amongst religious fanatics? I guess if they could reason, they wouldn’t be fanatics in the first anyway! Really, how could any sane person encourage the molestation of a young person and actually went ahead to applaud the torturer?

 Religion is the opium of the masses, yes, many atrocities have been committed in the name of religion, but really, for how long must these atrocities continue before we break the chain of religious oppression in Nigeria? The colonisers that introduced Christianity to Nigerians would not even dare in this age, openly embrace such atrocities as perpetrated in the name of God in Nigeria today, in their own countries. Africans  need to wake up from their slumber and see religion for what it really is; an addictive drug that numbs reason and robs away common sense!

I do not even want to go into the mental slavery aspect of religion and how much it has Africans, especially Nigerians in its evil grip! I am still vomiting from that nauseating video. Who really does Bishop David Oyedepo think he is? Well who is David Oyedepo?

According to good old Wikipedia  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Oyedepo 

•   “David O. Oyedepo, affectionately called "Papa" by members of his church congregation (born September 27, 1954) is a Nigerian Christian author, Preacher and the founder and Presiding Bishop of Living Faith Church World Wide also known as Winners Chapel and its affiliated International churches known as Winners Chapel International, with headquarters in Ogun State, Nigeria. He is also the senior pastor of Faith Tabernacle, a 50,000 seat church auditorium reputed to be the largest church auditorium in the world by the Guinness Book of Records.” We really should nominate him for Guinness Book of records as the infamous 'Bitchshop' or 'Witchop' slapper of the year.

•    “The Winners Chapel network of churches is present in over 300 cities in all states of Nigeria, as well as in over 63 cities in 32 African Nations, Dubai, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.” Hmm… would he dare slap a young congregation member in United Kingdom or USA? I do know that many people now openly identify as Witches in the UK and USA, in fact I have some friends who claimed they are witches in the UK, would Oyedpo dare slap them or would skin colour and geographical location determine his cause of action? I am sure his “Holy spirit” knows when not to cross boundaries especially in civilized countries!

•   “Oyedepo has been seen as one of pioneers of the Christian charismatic movement in Africa and has been referred to as one of the most powerful preachers in Nigeria.” So powerful now that he goes around with body guards while slapping vulnerable young girls who are witches for Jesus! Apparently, he is the only one allowed to be a warrior for Jesus! He probably fancies himself as having a copyright to the corporation known as Jesus, what a con!

•  “He was named in 2011 by Forbes magazine as being the richest pastor in Nigeria, worth around $150 million.^”  Any wonder the man screamed “Do you know who I am?” The prick! What an arse hole! A thieving, child molesting arsehole!

•  “On September 27, 1954 David Olaniyi Oyedepo was born in Osogbo but is a native Omu Aran, Kwara into a religiously mixed family:” Any wonder he is messed up? “ his father,Ibrahim,was a Muslim healer” Wait a minute …a Muslim healer? Osama bin Laden would be proud! A Boko Haram in the making, now we know where the slaps are coming from! 

•   “and his mother, Dorcas,was a member of the Eternal Order of the Cherubim and Seraphim Movement (C&S), a branch of the Aladura movement in Nigeria.” No wonder the man is messed up! As a former devout member of Celestian church and the Cherubim & Seraphim church, I know those white garments churches could be the gates to hell for a child, young woman, old woman, and the mentally vulnerable. The pastors, prophets and prophetesses in these churches hold Masters Degrees in Torture!  Children and women are dragged to various beaches in Lagos and Badagry where they are beaten with brooms and whip in the name of exorcising demons from them. Many children are victims of these barbarians and this minute, this very second, many more children and women are being tortured in the name of Jesus! Unfortunately this is accepted as normal, in fact people just walk by and sees nothing out of the ordinary in a woman or child being beaten by men in white garments on a beach! Some would even flee from the scene, not because they do not approve of the assault but because they do not want the ‘demons’ to jump from the tortured child  or woman into them!

•      “He was raised by his grandmother in Osogbo, who inculcated into him the virtues of Christian life via the early morning prayers which she do attend with him. She taught him the importance of tithing.” Wow, Grandma would be proud; Tithing has made grandson a billionaire! “Oyedepo is the wealthiest preacher in Nigeria with a net worth of over USD $150 million. The church he pastors, owns four private jets and they own buildings all around the world, including London and the United States.” Hurray for tithes! With his stupendous wealth from his astute business sense of taking from both the rich and poor in the society, Oyedepo still felt he needed to remind his adoring fans who he is… the living god amongst his miserable sheep, the shepherd of his directionless flock, and the “Chief Executive Officer” of a conglomerate, the one and only President of David Oyedepo Ministries International (DOMI).

•   “DOMI is the umbrella organisation comprising Living Faith Church World Wide (a global network of churches), World Mission Agency (WMA); the global missionary arm of the church's operations, Dominion Publishing House; the publishing arm of the church, Covenant University, etc.” a conglomerate he built for himself with the monies of his sheep. Never mind that 99% of his members' children cannot attend his privately owned schools! As stated in Wiki “On March 21, 2011, Landmark University, Omuaran Kwara State (another educational institution founded by the Ministry) officially opened the doors to her pioneer students. Landmark University by her founder (Dr. Oyedepo) was said to be built with over USD $100 million at one of his speaking engagement in 2011.”  And to think that this man benefits from tax exemption under religious disguise! With such blind loyalty, is it really any wonder that this pastor/child molester would deem himself a god on earth?

Bishop David Oyedepo had the audacity to slap the young girl who dared to assert that she is not a witch as accused but a witch for Jesus. Now, how is being a witch for Jesus a crime? Why did he make himself the accuser and the judge in this case? Didn’t the girl have human right to self identity? If the girl says she is a witch, how is that a crime warranting assault and battery? The crime of sorcery is not even in Nigeria’s criminal code unlike Saudi Arabia where women are still beheaded for the crime of sorcery! Now, let us not put ideas into Oyedepo’s head, he might actually fancy beheading the next person that calls herself a witch for Jesus, and knowing Nigeria and Nigerians, he might just get away with it!

What is this thing that has made many Nigerians slave to religion? Why are many so blindfolded to the power of reason and have chosen instead to seek sojourn in the false arms of religion thereby elevating pastors to a whole new level of deities and gods amongst men? Has colonization, poverty and self imposed ignorance really taken the last vestige of reason and self respect from the average Nigerian that they would willingly subject themselves and their loved to such atrocities? 

It is actually a common practise in Nigeria for pastors and prophets to torture people, especially women and other vulnerable members of the society like the aged and mentally disabled. Women are easily accused of witchcraft and are often beaten and most times sexually abused by pastors/prophets in the name of god under the excuse of driving out demons. I have no problem with anyone who wish to fight demons or other imaginary beings, as far as I know, demons are not legal entities, they cannot sue or be sued, however I have a big problem with anyone who under whatever disguise decided to assault a human being in the name of fighting demons. If you wanted to fight demons, do so but do not assault a human being. Cast out the demons and fight your imaginary beings, be a mad man on the street or in your church if you wish, be applauded by your adoring members but never lay a hand on a human body while doing your macabre exorcism! It is assault, it is battery, and it is a criminal offence. 

It does not matter whether you slapped in the name of Jesus, sexually abused a child in the name of Mohamed, or tortured a person in the name of Sango; the law must take its due course. Last I checked, and that means this very second as you are reading this, the Bible, Quran or any other holy book is not, repeat, IS NOT the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria. Your holy books are not acceptable evidence in a court of law. So if a fabled deluded old man once heard a voice asking him to kill his son to please a deity, and he obeyed, it is not acceptable evidence in a court of law as reason for you to put a knife on your child’s neck , neither is slapping or torturing anyone in the name of god. 

The most awful part of this whole nauseating episode was the thousands of members applauding that heinous crime. The horrible, senseless applause shows the sorry state of my beloved country. There is a Yoruba adage that says ‘Agba kin wa loja , korio omo tuntun wo’  which roughly translates as ‘Whenever an adult is around in a market place, a new baby’s head would be tenderly and appropriately placed on the back of his mother’. However what we are now witnessing in Nigeria is a bunch of adult religious fanatics cheering on a bully who slapped a child in a church, actually more like a market since a church is now a market place alas with only one seller and many clueless buyers who actually have no idea what they are buying! And guess what? Many of these buyers are willing to pay for a slap whiles the seller cruise home to his mansion in a private jet!!!