Nollywood actress Julianna Olayode has knocked those dragging Nigerian clergymen over their silence on the country’s insecurities.
In a series of Instagram posts, she noted that she would get dragged for her statement and that, though she believes pastors should speak up just like Imams, Sheikhs, and everyone else with influence, pastors aren’t activists.
She explained that, though pastors are human, they are under divine authority and also bear a spiritual responsibility before God. She noted that throughout scripture, God’s servants didn’t always respond to national crises with public statements.
According to her, their assignment was to pray, intercede, offer counsel, and personally engage those in authority as God directed.
“I know I might get dragged for saying this and not to deviate from the issue at hand, but I don’t know if it’s just my Tiktok and Instagram algorithm, I’ve been seeing a lot of videos of people calling out pastors. There’s something I think we should also take into consideration.
Yes, I believe pastors should speak up more. So should Imams, Sheikhs, and everyone with a voice and influence. But we should not automatically assume that those who are not speaking publicly on social media are doing nothing or are unconcerned about what is happening in the country. Not all meaningful action is visible online.
Pastors are not activists, though they certainly can speak on political and societal issues when they feel led to do so.
I understand that some people have no regard for pastors. We have seen and heard painful stories of what some have done in the name of God. But, while false pastors exist, so do genuine ones, men and womén who serve faithfully, walk in integrity and carry their spiritual responsibility with sincerity.
Yes, pastors are human beings like the rest of us, but they are under divine authority and also carry a spiritual responsibility before God.
Throughout the scriptures, God’s servants didn’t always respond to national crises with public statements.
Sometimes their assignment was to pray, intercede, offer counsel, and personally engage those in authority as God directed”.
Earlier this year, many on TikTok had hopped on the Holy Spirit trend, which involves someone reaching out to the Holy Spirit (who wears a bird form).
The likes of Funke Akindele, Mercy Johnson, Kiekie, Uche Ogbodo, Uche Elendu, Mercy Aigbe and others have joined the trend.
Knocking them, she expressed anger at seeing some captions like, ‘Holy Spirit no carry me because of my nyash, weight and others. She questioned whether they knew who they were talking about and admonished them to be careful and not reduce something sacred to a joke.
In 2022, Olayode had called out Pastor Timi Adigun, who was her ‘spiritual’ father and manager, for taking control of her Facebook and other social media accounts. During their social media verbal exchange, the actress revealed that the pastor molested her sister, but the clergyman debunked abusing her sister.
