The Stupidity of Charlatans in priestly garbs!

“The inspiration of the Bible depends upon the ignorance of the gentleman who reads it.” – Robert Green Ingersoll

As one watches happenings on the African continent, it’s no longer anger but huge sadness one feels at the apparent failure to move things forward. It is like we in Africa are no longer part of the human race that continues to pry secrets from nature to improve their material well-being here and now.

However we dice it, as we remain incapable of feeding and clothing ourselves or building our own houses without foreign assistance, we have failed ourselves!

As we read how Iran has become the latest country to join Russia and China in fielding physics-defying hypersonic weapons, we continue to read how our lives in Africa continue to be wasted on inanities and the stupid abracadabras spewed by pure charlatans in priestly cassocks who pretend to stand between our fear and the wraths of the gods.

The abysmal political and socioeconomic situations in almost all the countries in Africa belied Kwame Nkrumah’s bold and optimistic assertion that The Black Man is capable of managing his affairs!

This is a painful thing to say for someone who has spent his entire adult life championing the cause of the continent!

Tragically, only a handful of countries in the continent have managed to build States that are strong enough to champion national, forget continental, causes!

Let’s take the example of Ghana. Close to seven decades of nationhood, the country has not managed to build a State that can withstand the buffeting of centrifugal forces, and firmly stamp its authority on national affairs. In some parts, a chief's proclamation is considered more authoritative than the country's constitution. And officials of the State tiptoe around religious leaders.

One hardly needs a degree in political science to know that solid and prosperous societies are anchored on a disciplined State whose authority is not contested by any force of equal power or authority. That explains why the English say that there cannot be two captains on a ship that expect to sail safely.

Our empire-building ancestors also recognized the importance of State Power, even as they allowed generous check-and-balances to temper their Kings and Emperor's propensities for dictatorship.

Why then do modern states in Africa allow tribal and religious bigots to contest for relevance and authority with the states?

Why do we have tribal chiefs proclaiming laws in a supposed republic?

And why are the utterances of nonentities in priestly gabs considered the divine words of gods?

The Republic of Ghana is currently in a totally wasteful and unnecessary controversy over a religionist's declaration of a community as a "Demonic Capital of Ghana."

The hullabaloo erupted when a self-declared Archbishop, Charles Agyinasare, who, apparently failed to do proper vehicle maintenance proclaimed to his adulating congregants that the powers of his god saved him from witches and demons when his vehicle's wheels came off in a village.

Naturally, the citizens of the community took exception to the ignorant views of the Archbishop. They, in turn, issued a 14-day ultimatum for the pastor to appear before their chiefs, otherwise...

No, this is not some badly-scripted Nollywood or Ghallywood film, all these are happening in 2023 Republic of Ghana.

Africa is indeed a place of mind-bogging contradictions. We have in Africa a place where someone will go through the rigors of university education, follow rigorous scientific and engineering training, and acquire all the degrees available yet will believe that tying a talisman to a waist or shouting biblical or Koranic verses is protection against car accidents.

Africa remains a place where people still believe that nature is governed by supernatural forces that could be appeased by bathing in olive oil and dancing senselessly at ‘prayer retreats.’

It is sad that no matter the level of education the lives of many Africans continue to be guided by beliefs in stupid superstitions.

A good example that I like to cite is: If I tell a sick primary school child in the Netherlands to follow me to a pastor, her question would be: " What for?' or "What are hospitals and doctors for." A professor, even of philosophy or engineering in Africa will tell me: "Let's go!"

Per his scanty bio on his Wikipedia page - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Agyin-Asare

"Archbishop Charles Agyinasare was born Charles Yewuraekow Agyinasare in Achiase in the Eastern Region of Ghana on March 22, 1962. He later moved to Accra in the Greater Accra Region to attend school. He is a past student of Weija Barracks Primary, Armed Forces Experimental School and Nsawam St. Martins. There, he was a “women-chasing college freak” who got caught up in what he calls “sin, revelry, alcoholism and drug addiction” and “a life of smoking, truancy, chasing girls, using hard drugs, night-clubbing, and stints with various occult associations”. He was later expelled from St. Martin’s. In 1980, Agyinasare was invited to the Church of Pentecost, where, at the age of 18, he converted to Christianity, was delivered from his immoral life, and joined the Church of Pentecost. In 2011 Agyinasare did a statutory declaration as to change of name to Charles Agyinasare.

Blah, blah, blah.."

So, we have, in effect a primary school graduate commanding millions of followership including highly-educated people, parley with presidents and movers and shakers of society, and we pretend not to know why remain mired in ignorance-induced poverty.

While true that primary schools of old were solid institutions that imparted great knowledge but, c'mon, primary school graduates were, even then, not trained or equipped to run national affairs.

The Archbishop, undoubtedly, would have followed some theological training or such, but as Thomas Paine told us: "The study of theology, as it stands in Christian churches, is the study of nothing; it is founded on nothing; it rests on no principles; it proceeds by no authorities; it has no data; it can demonstrate nothing; and it admits of no conclusion.”

Listen to him: "During this crusade in Aflao… we slept at Agbozume – that’s where our hotel was, and you have to go through Nogokpo… we only had not said it, but the second night, I made Bishop Yaw Adu talk about witchcraft, and we disgraced the witches and wizards.

“When we were driving from Aflao to Agbozume, immediately we got to Nogokpo, Bishop Yaw Adu’s 4-wheel drive, the tire came out from under the car."

Mark Twain told us that: It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.

So, after almost a century of self-governing ourselves, all that we could come up with are people who believe that witches can remove tires from a vehicle?

And we complain loudly when other people consider us mental lilliputians!

For people that disturb our ears with their shouts of "love thy neighbor", and "turn the other cheek," I always find the Christians an intolerable bunch of bigoted fanatics. I don't know why it is impossible for them to Live and Let Live.

Ask the simple question of what single thing all their investments in prayers, holy ghost jamborees, and other pyrotechnics have achieved for the nation, they will resort to insults and vituperations.

And for people who claim that this world is not their home and that they are preparing us to die and go to heaven in Jesus' name, their pastors' love for V8 Jeeps among otherworldy things is quite sickening. The hypocrisy nauseates me greatly!

“How well we know what a profitable superstition this fable of Christ has been for us“. – Pope Leo X. (1513 – 1521). Catholic Encyclopedia. vol. V1, 1910. p. 292 .

“A fact never went into partnership with a miracle. Truth scorns the assistance of wonders. A fact will fit every other fact in the universe, and that is how you can tell whether it is or is not a fact. A lie will not fit anything except another lie.” – Robert Green Ingersoll

“If a man would follow, today, the teachings of the Old Testament, he would be a criminal. If he would follow strictly the teachings of the New, he would be insane.” – Robert Green Ingersoll

The saddest part of the whole sorry saga is that the State remains a silent spectator in this inflammatory situation that can easily degenerate into violence.

©️ Fẹ́mi Akọ́mọ‌láfẹ́
Farmer, Writer, Published Author, and Social Commentator

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