According to him, these leaders undergo medical procedures and plastic surgeries but continue to mislead their followers with claims of miraculous healings and prophecies.
Omoyele Sowore, the Nigerian human rights activist, has slammed Nigerian religious leaders, particularly general overseers (GOs) and high-profile pastors, accusing them of deceiving their followers.
In an exclusive interview on the KaaTruths programme, Sowore alleged that top religious leaders and overseers secretly access the best medical facilities and top health professionals for their treatments while misleading vulnerable followers.
According to him, these leaders undergo medical procedures and plastic surgeries but continue to mislead their followers with claims of miraculous healings and prophecies.
“There is none of these GOs, high-level evangelists, or pastors who mess with their health.
“They don’t play with their health. They use some of the best medical doctors all over the world to heal themselves,” Sowore said.
According to Sowore, these religious figures secretly undergo expensive treatments, including surgeries, cell replacement therapy, and even cosmetic enhancements like hair transplants and Brazilian Butt Lifts (BBL).
Despite this, he argued, they continue to mislead their followers by promoting supernatural healing.
“They do all kinds of plastic surgery. Why do they deceive the masses that they can carry out what they know is scientifically impossible?” he questioned.
“Our society deserves some honesty because I know that if the country is working in a way it should work, our prayer points will be different.”
Sowore criticised the reliance on religious solutions for health and social issues, emphasising the need for functional healthcare.
“I don’t want Nigerians who have been praying to cure headaches or who believe that olive oil made in Palestine or Italy can make you see when you know you can’t,” he said.
He added, “I want a country where we have hospitals that function such that even some of the pastors who can’t see well can get someone who knows how to treat their eyes very well and get the best treatment so that they won’t need to hide when they are undergoing treatment.”
He referenced the late TB Joshua, founder of the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN), alleging that he sought medical treatment in Turkey for a stroke but kept it secret.
“TB Joshua, when he had a stroke, didn’t even go to a Christian country. He went to Turkey. He spent time in Turkey treating his stroke. He was flown there by his private jet,” Sowore revealed.
“But many people never heard that TB Joshua was treated in Turkey when he had a stroke.
“Part of what I heard killed him is that he was hiding his sickness, and when he was supposed to go for the treatment, he didn’t want the public to know that he had a stroke. It was never made public.”
Sowore also questioned why self-proclaimed miracle workers did not intervene in Joshua’s case.
Sowore said, “I wondered, if TB Joshua had a stroke and this our brother in Port Harcourt (Prophet Umueke Miracle of Dynamic Flame of Fire and Miracle Ministries) has the ability to cure stroke, TB Joshua could have been one of the people he could have used. He shouldn’t have allowed a brother-man of God to die of stroke.
“That is unfair. TB Joshua died of stroke and we have a stroke magician in Port Harcourt. He could have just flown to Lagos, placed his hand on TB Joshua, and we would have TB Joshua with us today.”
He further argued that religious leaders use faith as a distraction from critical socio-political issues.
“If the number of people who pray for light every day decide to go to the NEPA office one day, light can be restored for 10 years,” he stated.
Sowore blamed corruption within Nigeria’s power sector for persistent electricity shortages, arguing that excessive focus on prayer have diverted attention from holding officials accountable.
“The people who are managing NEPA started destroying the electrical system or grid for their own personal greed.
“If we had taken them on 30 years ago, we would not be praying for light now. They know that as long as you are praying for it, you are not going to confront them for destroying your life,” he said.
He pointed out that in more developed societies, religion is losing its stronghold.
He noted, “In other parts of the world, including where religion originated from, they don’t care about so many things anymore.
“In fact, it has been predicted that those who invented religion and transferred it to us may not practise it in the next 50 years. They are abandoning what they sent to you because they knew what they did.”
Sowore strongly asserted that religion has played a significant role in Nigeria’s underdevelopment.
The human rights activist said, “With absolute certainty, I can say that religion has contributed significantly to the underdevelopment of Nigeria and Africa at large.
“If we had not embraced the kind of religious ways we have now, we wouldn’t have been as complacent as we are now and our leaders wouldn’t have taken us for granted the way they do.”
He linked the widespread influence of religion to economic hardship, arguing that religious institutions exploit the poor.
“What has happened in Africa is that there is a correlation between religion and poverty.
“The poorer you are, the more you are likely to be more religious and the more you are likely to be ripped off by these religious practitioners who are selling snake oil,” he said.
However, Sowore clarified that his criticism is not of religion itself, but of its misuse by deceptive leaders.
He said, “It is not just Christianity, it is religion as a whole. It is not limited to Christians or Muslims alone.
“And I’m not condemning religion, I’m talking about the one that is obviously theatrical and deceptive and dishonest and is aimed at scamming the same vulnerable people that ought to be helped in the society.”
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