Seriously, we are indeed in the end of times. Many strange things are happening almost on a daily basis. If there’s anybody still doubting the reality of end-times, that person must be in another world and far from reality. Such height of wickedness and irresponsibility is what would make a pastor to descend on his church member and take undue advantage of her, to satisfy his inordinate sexual urge.
Pastors, by virtue of their calling, are supposed to be above board. Apart from their piety, they are expected to be role models, source of inspiration and confidant to their followers. This makes them ever relevant, going by the sacred place of the church as agent of social engineering. This age-long and historic respect for the church cannot be easily jettisoned. The failure of the state to perform its constitutional and social obligations has created dislocation such that the citizenry are forced to take solace in religious formations to provide for their financial, emotional and basic needs of life.
We have been so improvised that nothing comes from the government, acting for the state. Infrastructural amenities such as potable water, good roads, education, healthcare and pension are out of reach of the people. To have access to all of these is to spend a fortune. At the end, it is only the rich that can afford to live a comfortable life in our dear country.
Those who struggle to be educated are roaming the streets without any source of livelihood thereby constituting a menace to the society. In a bid to break the cycle of poverty fostered on the people, resorting to supernatural becomes a viable option such that miracles can happen and good fortunes may smile at them. That is why our religious grounds are always full with people who are looking for one solution or another because of the failure of the state to adequately provide for its citizens.
Nowadays, there’s virtually nothing that worshippers do not tell their pastors. Simply put, churches now come in handy to fill the gap created by the irresponsibility of the Nigerian state. Apart from their many personal problems, pastors are bombarded with curriculum vitaes of job-seekers, stories of turmoil in families and unending persecution in places of work, among others. The burden placed on pastors is so much that people have equated them to gods that can solve almost all their problems – real and imaginary.
Forgetting that the pastors too need assistance, some people are desperate and ever ready to do whatever the pastors tell them to do. Girls, ladies and women seem to be more vulnerable. This is so for two reasons. First, they are more emotional than the male-folk. Second, they are more passionate and committed to domestic issues. A woman would do anything humanly possible to make sure that the entire household is fine and happy, even at a very great cost, which an ordinary man can never do. Without thinking twice, a woman would tell her pastors everything in a jiffy.
Unmarried ladies and those looking for fruit of the womb would always throng to pastors for healing and supernatural interventions to get positive results. Most of them would do anything they are asked to do. Women become easily gullible because of desperation and the fact that the so-called pastors are crafty enough to exploit the weak soul of the woman in dire situation. The women would simply give in and expect ‘miracle’ from their encounter with their spiritual leaders. What even makes matters worse is that victims are warned of dire repercussions of what would befall them should they attempt to voice out their ordeal.
The great philosopher, Karl Marx, had warned of the evil that religion would do for man. Marx’s celebrated dictum, ‘religion is the opium of the masses’ becomes relevant here. While Marx was not actually against religion because faith was a thing that ‘the people’ conjured for themselves, which is a sort of phoney or artificial source of happiness to which they turned to help to numb the pain of reality. It is worthy of mention that some pastors are truly up to their calling. They are upright, honest and passionate about their duties. But for the bad eggs, the havoc that these pastors wreak on the people should be put under serious control.
To begin with, the state should perform its constitutional role in providing basic needs for the people. This would drastically reduce the avoidable dependence on pastors. Also, any pastor found to have abused his office by engaging in illicit affairs with female members should be punished in accordance with the provision of the law of the land. Those apprehended should severely be punished without whipping up sentiments. They can be tried for criminal assault; women should endeavour to open up to their spouses and close allies. When this is done, many pastors would just sit-up. More importantly, victims of such heinous crime against humanity should summon the courage and share their experience, not frivolity. To keep silent is to be a victim and at the same time an accomplice.
