The gospel according to Apostle Johnson Suleman poses a moral problem in the Nigerian clime. Unlike Jesus Christ’s gospel of minimalism, compassion and sacrifice, the gospel according to the Nigerian pastor advocates an obscene, pocket-friendly version of faith. It enhances the capacity to say the right things without doing them.
His brand of faith propagates life without integrity, devotion without humanity and the darkest possible version of prosperity. Thus the impulse for acquisition, pursuit of gain and money which has nothing to do with spiritualism. Rather it has everything to do with capitalism. One may say that it has been common to all sorts and conditions of men at all times and in all cultures of the earth.
Yes, it is an open secret that some Nigerian pastors are done waiting for their rewards in heaven. As you read, they engage in a mad, desperate hustle for earthly rewards. Little wonder they drive the best cars, live in trophy homes and fly private jets even as too many of their congregation wallow in abject poverty.
However, the General Overseer of the Omega Fire Ministries International, Apostle Johnson Suleman, says he bought his third jet during the raging COVID-19 pandemic, which pushed the country into economic recession. Suleman said this in a recent sermon. Although the date of the sermon could not be verified, the video has gone viral on social media.
The cleric further stated that he was praying for the pandemic not to end because he was prospering and resting. He said, “In COVID (pandemic) I bought a jet; the third one. I have three. I was praying for COVID-19 not to end because I was resting. While people were complaining, my wife asked, ‘Can life be this sweet?’ Am I talking to somebody here?
“No stress. I read on the Internet that there’s a rumour going around that I have a machine that prints money. I like that rumour. They say, ‘He should be investigated. He has a machine that prints money’. “Somebody asked if it’s true and I said it is true. They said, ‘It’s risky o’. I said I didn’t know it’s risky because I already bought the machine. When you speak in tongues, you’re printing money.”
Suleman has been enmeshed in an adultery scandal in recent times with one of his former pastors, Mike Davids, accusing him of sleeping with his wife, an allegation which Suleman has denied.
