Enoch Adeboye, better known as “Daddy General Overseer”, is a Nigerian pastor loved by his millions of followers, but who has once backed social media critics with what they say is his sexist attitude.
The 78-year-old man sits at the back of the West African nation’s list of mega-evangelists, however, he is arguably the most popular.
He led the Church of Redeemed Christian God (RCCG) for nearly 40 years, and under his leadership, he has grown enormously.
It is rare to find a street in Nigeria’s predominantly Christian south without an RCCG church, some streets have two, and its pigeon logo is now a component of the landscape.
But the pastor’s vision of marriage and gender roles has set blank eyes on #metoo, even in this conservative country.
“No matter your schooling point or success, your husband is your head and you deserve it as such at all times,” he tweeted to his 1.3 million followers.
On Instagram, he added about his wife: “It doesn’t matter what’s on your itinerary, if I say I’d like you to come with me to that place… she would cancel out everything she had to do and accompany him.”
In a January message, she pleaded with her married son to fire a secretary “who was looking ahead to see pictures,” which they didn’t paint well.
And in 2016, he gave this recommendation to singles: “Don’t marry a lazy woman. Don’t marry a woman who can’t cook. She wants to know how to do household chores and cook because you can’t go out to eat.” . “
My children, don’t marry a woman who can’t cook. He wants to know how to do family chores and cook because he can’t eat out all the time. “EAA78” – LetThereBeLight3 pic.twitter.com/TgeGKRv9xQ
– Pastor Adeboye (@PastorEAAdeboye) February 17, 2020
The televised confrontation of his fans infuriated the activists, but his reception was not entirely negative, a fact that was demonstrated through the good fortune of his church, which he runs as a business.
Every Sunday, before the ban on giant meetings due to coronavirus, thousands more people walked through the doors of the RCCG around the world in search of miracles, redemption, eternal life, or a monetary break.
Others said they were attracted to Pastor Adeboye’s “sanctity,” “humility,” and “adherence to what he preaches.”
Those who come to church are happy to offer donations or buy church souvenirs.
Most agree to donate 10% of their source of income to the church, a practice known as tithing.
“Anyone who pays their tithing passes to heaven, period,” he told his clerics two years ago.
It’s hard to know the true extent of Pastor Adeboye’s wealth, the barriers blurred between what belongs to the church and what belongs to him: estimates of the diversity of his $60 million (46 million pounds) fortune to $130 million.
This places the former mathematics profiesor at the University of Lagos, who refuses to talk to the media, in the same league as the country’s music stars and richer than the top Nigerian professional footballers abroad.
But throughout a series of bow ties accompanying his safari cuts and striped shirts, he looks austere through the striking judgment of his Pentecostal companions.
Without lustrous shoes, no oily hair, his English doesn’t and falls with an American accent.
Born to deficient parents, he has a humble figure and his relatives describe him a lot.
However, he, or the church, owns a university, a Gulfstream jet and some cars.
Pastor Adeboye is also politically tough and reputable among middle-class urbanized Nigerians.
Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye
1942: Born in Ifewara, Osun state, southwestern Nigeria.
1967: Earning a bachelor’s degree in mathematics.
1967: Marries Foluke Adeyokunnu
1977: Ordained pastor at the RCCG
1981: becomes general supervisor of the RCCG
During presidential election campaigns, some applicants set out to visit their prayer sessions and be noticing praying and shaking hands, and their online page shows photos of him greeting world leaders.
Some people notice that their perspectives on women, in which it refers to the Bible, are not surprising, although some say that the verses themselves can be interpreted in some other way.
“Christianity and religions are the executors of patriarchy, so it is no exaggeration that a leader agrees with such a vision,” Martha Edem, a Nigerian Christian writer, told me.
She described her “birthday tweets” as a missed opportunity for mutual respect and love for couples.
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But even some of those deeply devout activists in this country need to attack it.
“For me, it’s a matter of individual interpretation…” I cannot judge a man of God, Christianity is a faith of conviction,” said activist and educational abigail Ogwezzy-Ndisika.
The wealth of Nigeria’s megastores makes them a major target for those who understand them as exploiters.
To be honest, he led a nonviolent march in February to highlight the lack of confidence in the country.
He showed that he measured in terms of his involvement in politics, not in the aspect of one party or another.
But those who expect her to be more impartial about her prospects for marriage and the role of women in the house will have to wait a long time.