Femi Adesina, special adviser to former President Muhammadu Buhari, has shed more light on the relationship between his religious life and working as the image maker of the erstwhile president.
He disclosed that he stopped attending his Foursquare Gospel Church in Abuja because he grew tired of the incessant criticism of the former president by his pastor, Rev. Babajide Olowodola.
He revealed in his new book; “Working with Buhari: reflections of a special adviser, media and publicity (2015-2023),” that he had to quit the Asokoro-based church in February 2018 because the pastor thought he could pull Buhari down.
He accused the man of God of being bias and exhibiting messianic disposition, adding that he urged members of his church to get their voter card and vote out Buhari.
The former presidential aide wrote: “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 few others. So, the 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 phone didn’t ask after me. Neither did I reach out to him.
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