The Cancer of The Nigerian Mind BY …Olakunle Allison
I once argued on this platform that religion is NOT the problem of humanity because religion is not inherently antiprogress; but that quite the opposite is true. That humans are the problem of humanity and progress. I then cited a few Islamic and generally religious countries (United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, USA, India, Singapore etc) that are breaking records in science and technology. Countries with religious bias, yet maximizing their intellectual potentials and capacity to the fullest.
I still stand by this line of reasoning, but permit me to create an exception. Nigeria is my exception. In Nigeria religion has become our bane, our albatross, our curse. I kid not. I keep seeing the signs everyday. I’ll give you an instance.
I woke up this morning and decided to switch on my data. As I casually toured my account I stumbled upon the post of a friend which she shared. The shared post was about a young Nigerian lady aged 27 who is a graduate. She has Cancer!
As anyone would guess, the post was a plea to friends and members of the public to help this beautiful 27 year old travel (I guess) for treatment and operation to tackle the cancerous tumor in her groin area which had left her with a swollen leg. She needed approximately #12.7Million Naira. Account details, contact phone numbers and her hospital photos were attached. Her story moved me greatly. Here is a lady I’m older than by not less than 10 years and she already has a life-threatening disease.
So I decided to go to the main post and read the comments to see if the ‘gofundme’ account had been fully funded. The comments were not many but majority of them broke my heart and once again showcased how religion has damaged the minds of people in this country.
The post clearly pleads for financial aid but I was reading comments like (paraphrasing);
“May God heal you… ”
“God will heal your cancer… ”
“You are cured in Jesus name… bla bla bla”
I was not surprised but very angry. I had to wonder if the post had called for an online prayer session for the sufferer. But then one comment gave me a reason to hope again. The commenter said that if everyone on the Sharer’s friend list and on the Sufferer’s friend list contributed #500Naira each the #12Million Naira would be realized quicker than anyone imagined. And then I read just ONE comment that says “Done”, meaning he has paid.
As I mourned in silence I left the page and went to my Online Banking App to fund the account with #1,000 Naira, hoping that others would do same to save this young lady. After the successful payment, I said a brief unvoiced prayer for her. “God please heal her”, I prayed.
I wished I could do more but anyone who is close to me at the moment would know that even that 1000 was a sacrifice on my part. Things have been really rough. I’ll leave it there.
Now I know some folks with a religious spirit would challenge me saying;
“But what is wrong about praying for her on that particular post?”
“Why are you being hateful of prayers?”
This is the truth: That post was not created for praying. It was created for funding!
If that offends you, you are not a Christian but a religious zealot.
The Sufferer herself who is bedridden and in indescribable pain must have spoken directly to her Maker. She must have whispered prayers to Christ in tears. Pastors, Church members and friends must have been sending countless prayer mails to heaven on her behalf. The point is that when someone has cancer prayers can never be in short supply. At least not in Nigeria.
So going to a ‘gofundme’ post to send only your prayers demonstrates an acute loss of wisdom. The post was aimed at funding her operation and not praying for her operation.
By the way, why should anyone post his or her prayer in public for all to read? Isn’t that the prayer of the Pharisees who love to be seen and heard praying in public?
Are your prayers less spiritual and less effective if they are said in secret? In the corner of your room?
Does God have to read Facebook comments to know your prayers?
Guys, we are so far removed from what Christianity is all about. People have been lied to for too long thinking they are practising Christianity.
Those who were offering their prayers on a ‘gofundme’ post were not in anyway being spiritual. They were just grandstanding religiously. Firstly because their prayers are useless without a desire to send as little as 500 Naira to the young lady. Apostle James rebuked Believers who pray for the naked rather than clothe them. Secondly because unannounced and hidden prayers are more effective than public megaphones. Jesus told us that only hypocrites pray loudly in public.
The young sufferer may be suffering from a cancer of the body, but most so-called Christians in Nigeria suffer a cancer of the mind. It’s called religion.
#truthissacred
Selah.
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