LAURETTA ONOCHIE

It is an open secret that most Nigerians are religious. Those who are, subscribe to either the religion of their parents and some, as they grow older and independent of their parents, go further to search out for themselves and chose a different way of having a relationship with their God. The history of how Pentecostal form of Christianity came to push the traditional form of Christianity to the background cannot be written in Nigeria without mentioning the likes of Benson Idahosa, William Kumuyi and later on, the catholic charismatic movement’s Emmanuel Ede. Before this time Nigerians were content with making simple sacrifices prescribed by the Native doctors in order to ward off Evil spirits. The advent of the Pentecostal form of assembly took most of that role from the Native doctors and placed it squarely on ‘Men Of God’, some of who, I must add, were not and are still not in talking terms with God. Warding off Evil spirits has become a lucrative venture and our ‘Men of God’

It is an open secret that most Nigerians are religious. Those who are, subscribe to either the religion of their parents and some, as they grow older and independent of their parents, go further to search out for themselves and chose a different way of having a relationship with their God. The history of how Pentecostal form of Christianity came to push the traditional form of Christianity to the background cannot be written in Nigeria without mentioning the likes of Benson Idahosa, William Kumuyi and later on, the catholic charismatic movement’s Emmanuel Ede. Before this time Nigerians were content with making simple sacrifices prescribed by the Native doctors in order to ward off Evil spirits. The advent of the Pentecostal form of assembly took most of that role from the Native doctors and placed it squarely on ‘Men Of God’, some of who, I must add, were not and are still not in talking terms with God. Warding off Evil sprits has become a lucrative venture and our ‘Men of God’