Femi Adesina, the former Special Adviser to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, has disclosed how some pastors stopped him from going to church.
Adesina said criticisms from some pastors and that of his church, Foursquare Gospel Church in Abuja made him stop going to church.
He lamented that he could not stop the constant criticism against Buhari by his former pastor, Rev. Babajide Olowodola and others.
Adesina disclosed this in his book; “Working with Buhari: reflections of a special adviser, media and publicity (2015-2023).”
The former presidential aide said Olowodola thought he could pull Buhari down with his prejudice and messianic tendencies.
According to Adesina: “I am a member of the Foursquare Gospel Church in Nigeria, and I have been since I got converted in 1988. When I went to work in Abuja in 2015, I began to worship at the Asokoro branch of the Church, pastored by Rev. Babajide Olowodola.
“A retired very senior civil servant, Olowodola is a good preacher and pastor. But at a stage, he began to exhibit some messianic tendencies, in which he believed he would pull down President Buhari single-handedly.
“Week after week, I heard snide remarks he made against the President from the pulpit. He would threateningly ask people to get their PVCS (Permanent Voters Cards) against 2019, and vote out the incompetent government. I didn’t let it bother me initially.
“Matters however came to a head in 2018, when Boko Haram abducted the Dapchi girls. I was in church on Sunday, and there was no name the pastor did not call the President. He even went into the fallacy of saying more people had been killed in the country since 2015, than what we lost during the Civil War.
“Recall that Nigeria lost between two and three million souls during that fratricidal war: He went on and on that Sunday, but I kept my peace.
“As it turned out, the Dapchi girls were recovered within the week, save for Leah Sharibu, and a few others. So, next Sunday, I went to church, waiting to hear what Rev. Olowodola would say. Not a word! Not even by accident.
“He did not mention the positive development, thus showing him as unfair and prejudiced. After the service, I picked my Bible, went home, and never returned to the church.
“I remained a member of Foursquare Gospel Church, but I could not imagine myself sitting to listen to a prejudiced preacher. I left the church in February 2018, Rev. Olowodola, who we were on regular talking terms almost weekly on the phone didn’t ask after me. Neither did I reach out to him.
“Till one day in January 2021, the son of Moji Makanjuola of Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) was getting married, and I was at the reception. I was already seated, and an usher shepherded another person to the table. Lo and behold, it was Rev. Olowodola.
“I rose to greet him, and he said: ‘Brother Femi, how did a trailer pass in between us, and I did not see you again?’ I told him my grouse, and he reflected for moments. Then said: ‘But you should have come to meet me, and you should have said, you foolish pastor, why are you preaching like this?’
“We both laughed, and he proceeded to apologise for hurting my feelings, saying he should have been more mindful of the fact that I served the President, and was a member of the church. No more war.
“He had retired from pastoring, and we left the ceremony on amicable terms.”
