Prosperity, poverty gospels corrupt true faith – Banky W

Nigerian singer and politician, Olubankole Wellington, popularly known as Banky W, has cautioned against making sweeping generalisations about the church, saying it is unfair to condemn the entire institution because of the actions of a few individuals.

Speaking on Mentality, a podcast hosted by TV personality, Ebuka Obi-Uchendu which was shared on Friday, the music executive acknowledged that while there are valid allegations of corruption within the church, “generalistic statements” often distort the full picture.

He said, “I think that there are fair allegations in certain regards. I have a problem when we make generalistic statements. And that I think is… We’re speaking generally, which is wrong, but I get you.”

Banky W, who drew parallels between the church and other sectors, said that corruption and misconduct exist in every system, from education to entertainment, insisting that it is “unreasonable” to label an entire group as corrupt or manipulative based on isolated cases.

But I think that therein lies the problem, because you don’t say, because there were doctors who were bad or guilty of abuse, then I’m never going to go to a doctor or hospitals are evil or whatever the case may be, right? You have bad teachers and good teachers.

“In the same secondary school, I have teachers that I loved who were instrumental in making me the person I became. I had teachers who were abusive.

“Everybody has that story. In the same families, there’s always, you know, one or two people that have great touch. So I don’t think that it’s fair when we make generalistic statements and say, because I’ve seen evidence of this here, then everybody is guilty of this thing.

Addressing the controversial issue of prosperity preaching, the singer-turned-cleric said both extremes of “prosperity gospel” and “poverty gospel” distort the true message of the Christian faith.

“The prosperity gospel is false, is corrupted. The poverty gospel is also false and corrupted.That the idea that, oh, you are just meant to be poor, wait until you die and just submit to everything and just wait.
Yes, that’s also false. What the gospel really says is that God will provide all of your needs. God will bless you enough for you to be a blessing.

That’s the promise.The promise is not we’re all meant to be Dangote and Otedola. And it’s also not that we’re all supposed to sleep under the bridge. It’s a gospel of provision, not prosperity and not poverty. “

Banky W acknowledged that some segments of the church have indeed abused the gospel for personal gain, but maintained that such instances should not erase the positive impact of many genuine pastors and ministries.

“Now, there is a segment of the church that has taken that and abused it. And I know, and those allegations are true.
And I don’t like them either. But I also don’t like when we take that, those evidence, the evidence that we do have of corruption and allegation.Just like what you said about the music business.
Oh, you and your people, all of you are, it’s an unfair statement. And I think that as intellectual, intelligent, eloquent people, we have to be reasonable enough to say that within this field, there are some really good things and there are some bad things, regardless of your belief system. I think that’s only fair. And that’s my pushback.”

Banky W’s comments come amid renewed debates about excesses within Nigerian churches and growing skepticism among younger Christians towards religion.