Activist, economic policy expert and former Minister of Education, Obiageli Ezekwesili, has urged Nigerians to focus on the country’s core challenges and stop targeting the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye.
She gave the advice on Thursday via her official X (formerly Twitter) page, following growing public criticism of the revered cleric.
Her counsel came after Adeboye shared a video clip on Tuesday, in which he urged President Bola Tinubu’s administration to issue a 90-day ultimatum to service chiefs to either eliminate terrorists or resign from office.
While advising the president, Adeboye said: “If I were asked to make suggestions, I would say quietly to our government, ‘Move fast and tell our security chiefs: get rid of these terrorists within 90 days or resign.’”
After the post made the rounds, it elicited mixed reactions from Nigerians, with some netizens accusing the cleric of shielding President Tinubu.
Reacting to the backlash, Ezekwesili defended Pastor Adeboye, saying he is not responsible for Nigeria’s challenges and should not be made the focus of public frustration.
She noted that while citizens’ anger over the country’s worsening insecurity, economic hardship, and governance failures is understandable, their frustration is being directed at the wrong target.
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According to the former minister, years of corruption, insecurity, and unfulfilled promises have created widespread distrust of politicians, institutions, and influential figures whom many citizens believe should hold leaders accountable.
She went on to say that many Nigerians expect religious leaders to play a greater role in demanding accountability from those in power, but insisted that Adeboye has consistently spoken and prayed for the country.
Ezekwesili added that the clergyman is a humble servant of God who has dedicated his life to promoting peace and national progress. She warned against what she described as the country’s tendency to focus on less important issues while more pressing national crises remain unresolved.
She wrote: “Rooted in scriptural and spiritual wisdom, Pastor E.A. Adeboye — like a true bearer of the Cross of Christ — has often chosen dignified silence whenever attacked. Through the years, I learnt from him to do the same.
“But this moment demands a historical clarity that we must not miss. I must therefore write publicly to help bring us back to what truly matters and to the urgency of this moment.
“In doing so, it is crucial to first acknowledge the broader context in which criticisms of public figures have erupted in our beleaguered country.
“Nigerians are exhausted. Decades of systemic corruption, insecurity, economic hardship, and unfulfilled promises have produced a deep well of frustration.
“That frustration has evolved into trenchant distrust — not only of politicians, but of institutions and influential individuals whom the people believe possess the moral authority to demand accountability from those in power.
“Across Nigeria today, the cry is simple: Our religious leaders must rise and help rescue Nigeria from the grip of ineffectual, corrupt, and selfish politicians.
“This is the crux of the matter. Nothing else.”
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