On fake men of God

I know that there are some genuine prophets out there, but most so-called Men of God are nothing but a con.

Just like it is hard to find a real friend, a real lover or a real leader, it is also very hard to find a selfless man propagating the ethos of the enigma called God. In essence, not everyone who mentions God truly knows God.

I remember when I was “in the world”. In 1972, as a student of Holy Ghost college Owerri, in Imo State, I built and contrived a reputation of the strongest “native doctor” in Owerri.

I made fake charms and prayed for fellow students to pass their exams. Many came to me, many carried my story to the nooks and crannies in Imo state. They swore that I was a spirit.

I was feared in school, by the teachers and the principal, not to mention the students.

The college, in 1972/1973, won the Nigerian Secondary School Cup. I was the man behind our goal post. Through my charms and invocation, the ball always deviated, but the few times our opponent scored could always be explained away.

The mumus who paid me on behalf of the school forgot that we had the best players in Nigeria then. All sorts of unbelievable stories were rife about me. People ascribed to me all kinds of supernatural powers. I was living off their ignorance.

I made crazy money off this scam. I was the richest student. People swore I had devilish powers (some still do). They didn’t understand it was all a con game, and I was on top of my game.

I would that say most pastors, ‘men of God’ at home or overseas are con artists in the sense of the tactics they use to influence their congregation. Once your thought process becomes irrational, you’re easy to con. Hopelessness and uncertainty abound in our life and country today.

It’s amazing, really, the amount of mental gymnastics and compartmentalising rational people need to do in their lives with this kind of uncertainty in our country. Where best to turn but religion, our opium?

Most of these pastors are sociopaths who know religion is a easy gig for easy money. However, even the sincere ones get corrupted, and they love the praise of preaching what people want to hear.

I have a hard time believing that anyone who truly believes in God would dare to put words in his mouth knowing what the Bible says about false prophets.

Charles Oputa

Lagos