I watched Pastor Olumide Emmanuel’s attempt to respond to my criticism of prosperity preachers on a recent episode of The Honest Bunch, and instead of addressing the issue, he exposed it. On that show, I spoke plainly about a system where prosperity preachers take from the poor while denying them any meaningful benefit from the wealth created by their sacrifices. His response was not just defensive; it was revealing, even though he tried to be demeaning. Rather than engage the substance of the argument, he resorted to anger, curses, and theatrics. But in doing so, he confirmed exactly what I said. He openly admitted that churches raise “capital” from poor members to build elite institutions such as schools, only to later separate those institutions from the church so they can “survive.” In plain language, that means the people who paid for these schools are deliberately excluded from them. That is exploitation. In any serious economic system, this is at least "sweat equity." When people contribute their money, time, and belief, they have a stake in what is built. You cannot take from the poor in the name of faith, convert their sacrifices into profitable assets, and then deny them access to those very assets. It is deeply troubling that struggling church members are encouraged to give beyond their means, while those same funds are used to acquire properties, build businesses, purchase private jets and helicopters, and create elite structures they will never benefit from. The cycle is that which extracts from the poor, builds for the privileged, and justifies it with doctrine. The question remains, why take their equity if they are not allowed to share in what they have built? Pastor Olumide also pointed to church-owned estates with constant electricity and running water as evidence of success, but failed to mention that these developments are products of the same extraction model. The real question is how many ordinary church members can afford to live in these estates. In places like Redemption Camp, it is common knowledge that many residents are wealthy individuals, including politicians who don't even attend the church on Sunday, while the average church member cannot even dream of owning property there. Where are the provisions for low-income housing for members? Where is the housing for the poor who attend massive programs like the Holy Ghost Congress and are forced to sleep outdoors during the holy ghost congress? There is practically none. Faith-based denominations should not be a vehicle for extraction or extortion. They should uplift, empower, and create shared prosperity. What we are seeing instead is inequality being institutionalized and defended under the guise of divine blessing. Conclusively, he was shouting angrily that if this nation were run like Redemption Camp, there would be free education and constant electricity, and that if it were run like Canaan Land, everything would work. But that argument collapses under its own weight. The very people who should be running this nation properly are already inside your churches. They are your elders, your biggest donors, your celebrated tithe payers. They are the political and economic elite whose actions have contributed to this country's dysfunction. Yet, unlike Jesus, you have not driven them out of the house of the Lord. Instead, they are welcomed, honored, and elevated. So you cannot point to church estates as models for national governance while ignoring the fact that the same class of people who undermine the nation are the pillars of your institutions. WATCH THE FULL EPISODE OF THE HONEST BUNCH BROADCAST REFERENCED HERE: youtu.be/df1tVQvxPRU?si…
