𝟏𝟓 𝐏𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐃𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐘𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐍𝐈𝐆𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐀 – Success

By Dr. Yemi Success

There are fifteen pastors destroying Nigeria; fifteen patterns of ministry and messages, fifteen expressions of Christianity that is helping to produce the Nigeria we complain about every day.

Years ago, Dr Sunday Adelaja sounded this alarm.
He warned that what Nigerians call ‘revival’ today will only bring shame and embarrassment to Christianity in Nigeria.
He warned that the younger generation will see through this charade and abandon the Church.

Many people got angry at him.

Many rejected the message.

Many said he was attacking the church.

But DSA’s question was uncomfortable;

If Nigeria is one of the most religious countries in the world, why has our religion produced so little transformation in the nation?

The problem is not that Nigerians are not praying. We pray a lot.

Perhaps we need to examine what we are being taught to believe.

Because people eventually become what they repeatedly hear.

And if the pulpit repeatedly teaches a nation that success comes through prayers without process, wealth without productivity, victory without responsibility, spirituality without thinking, we should not be surprised when those fruit eventually appear in our society.

So here are the fifteen Pastors who are destroying our country.

1. 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑷𝑨𝑺𝑻𝑶𝑹 𝑶𝑭 𝑪𝑶𝑵𝑺𝑻𝑨𝑵𝑻 𝑷𝑹𝑶𝑷𝑯𝑬𝑪𝒀

Every January, he gives another prophecy.

Another ‘prediction’ for the year.

Another “Thus saith the Lord.”

But where is the accountability when last year’s prophecy fails?
When people question the results of last years’ prophecies, they claim you are attacking the Church.

This Pastor is always seeing vision and dreams. He is always giving a prophecy.

The problem is not prophecy.

The problem is prophecy without accountability.

If a prophetic word can never be examined, questioned or tested, you have not created faith.

You have created a culture of gullibility.

Nigerians are obsessed with annual prophecies and the lack of accountability when previous predictions do not materialise produce shallow people.

2. 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑷𝑨𝑺𝑻𝑶𝑹 𝑶𝑭 “𝑶𝑵𝑳𝒀 𝑷𝑹𝑨𝒀𝑬𝑹”

“Just pray.”

“Only prayer can save Nigeria.”

‘’Nigeria is praying nation’’
‘’Nigeria is a revival nation’’

But after decades of prayer, where are the systems?

Where are the industries?

Where are the institutions?

Where are the innovations?
If truly believers are the salt and light of the earth, where is the salt? Where is the light?

Prayer should not become an excuse for intellectual and civic laziness.

Pray, Then think.

Pray, Then work.

Pray, Then build.

The Kingdom of God does not ask us merely to ask heaven to change earth.

It asks us to bring heaven’s order into earth.

3. 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑷𝑨𝑺𝑻𝑶𝑹 𝑶𝑭 𝑪𝑶𝑵𝑺𝑻𝑨𝑵𝑻 𝑩𝑹𝑬𝑨𝑲𝑻𝑯𝑹𝑶𝑼𝑮𝑯𝑺

“Your breakthrough is coming!”

“Instant miracle!”

“Sudden elevation!”

“Before this time tomorrow, you will hear good news!”
‘’This week is your week’’
‘’Today is your covenant day of breakthrough’’

Lies, lies, lies.

Eventually, people stop respecting process with all these emphasis.

They begin looking for shortcuts.

And when a generation is repeatedly taught that extraordinary outcomes can arrive without extraordinary preparation, somebody eventually starts looking for a miracle where there should have been discipline.

4. 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑷𝑨𝑺𝑻𝑶𝑹 𝑶𝑭 𝑷𝑹𝑶𝑺𝑷𝑬𝑹𝑰𝑻𝒀 𝑮𝑶𝑺𝑷𝑬𝑳

Everything becomes money.

‘’Seed of prosperity’’

Offering of breakthroughs.

Prosperity messages.

Financial breakthrough.

Another financial breakthrough.

And another financial breakthrough.

The Kingdom of God certainly speaks about stewardship and wealth.

But the Kingdom is bigger than money.

When money becomes the central measure of blessing, people eventually begin worshipping what Jesus called Mammon.

Excessive emphasis on prosperity can distort the church’s values and wealth should be connected to productive work and character.

5. 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑷𝑨𝑺𝑻𝑶𝑹 𝑶𝑭 “𝑺𝑶𝑾 𝑨 𝑺𝑬𝑬𝑫 𝑨𝑵𝑫 𝑮𝑬𝑻 𝑹𝑰𝑪𝑯”

Give £100.

Receive £1,000 in returns.

Give an offering.

Receive a house in return.

Sow a seed.

Receive a breakthrough in return.

But who taught you how to create value?

Who taught you how to manufacture?

Who taught you how to build a business?

Who taught you how to develop a skill?

Real wealth is created by creating value.

If you want to be truly prosperous, you must cultivate your “land” of calling; that is your profession, talent, ability and capacity, then develop it and deploy yourself to your maximum potential.

6. 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑷𝑨𝑺𝑻𝑶𝑹 𝑶𝑭 𝑺𝑼𝑫𝑫𝑬𝑵 𝑾𝑬𝑨𝑳𝑻𝑯

Someone suddenly becomes rich and it immediately becomes a testimony.
No checks, just validation.

Nobody asks: Bro, how did you make the money?

We celebrate the size of the pocket instead of the quality of the character.
The young boy with the Rolls Royce gets appointed the youth president.

But Kingdom culture should asks a different question: Can I trust the person who has the money?

Money is not proof of virtue.

Character is wealth before money becomes anything.

Churches that elevate people primarily because of their wealth or unexplained financial success are the pillars of rot and wickedness in our nation.

7. 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑷𝑨𝑺𝑻𝑶𝑹 𝑾𝑯𝑶 𝑹𝑬𝑾𝑨𝑹𝑫𝑺 𝑴𝑬𝑫𝑰𝑶𝑪𝑹𝑰𝑻𝒀

You don’t need excellence, just a word from the Bishop will fix it.

You don’t need preparation, just a prayer from the man of God will make you pass.

You don’t need competence, favour from God will allocate it to you.

You don’t need qualification, sow a kingdom seed and it’s yours.

Just find the “man of God.” Book appointment with Bishop etc.

Just get a prophetic word.

Just receive the anointing.

This is all brainwashing and lies from hell.

God is not a substitute for preparation.

The Kingdom does not glorify incompetence.

If you are going to build a bridge, pray, but also better learn solid engineering. Else, great flood will wash both you and your prayers away.

If you are going to run a hospital, pray, but also become competent. Else, your hospital will become a slaughter house.

If you are going to pray for good leadership for a nation, pray, but also understand economics, policy and administration. Else your country will become what others describe as a ‘shithole’.

Anointing should never become an excuse for incompetence.

Preaching instant favour without diligence can communicate that God rewards mediocrity rather than preparation and excellence.

8. 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑷𝑨𝑺𝑻𝑶𝑹 𝑾𝑯𝑶 𝑻𝑼𝑹𝑵𝑺 𝑪𝑯𝑹𝑰𝑺𝑻𝑰𝑨𝑵𝑰𝑻𝒀 𝑰𝑵𝑻𝑶 𝑴𝑨𝑮𝑰𝑪

This is a very sad one, but it is how many people understand Christianity in Nigeria and Africa.

They have used their Pastors to replace herbalists.
Prayers to replace incantations.
Anointing oil has replaced charms and talismans.
Prophetic declarations have replaced magical spells.
Seed offerings have replaced sacrifices.
Deliverance sessions have replaced traditional cleansing rituals.
Spiritual warfare has replaced the fear of witches and wizards.
Pastors have replaced babalawos as spiritual intermediaries.
Church altars have replaced village shrines.

Traditional fears have been baptised in Christian language.

The vocabulary has changed, but the worldview has remained the same.
They abandoned the shrine but carried the shrine’s mindset into the church.
They changed the spiritualist, but not the superstition.
They changed the incantation, but not the mentality.
They changed the altar, but not the worldview.
They changed the religious language, but not the operating system.
They replaced the old spiritual intermediary with a new one, but never learned to think differently.
For them, God is too powerful to be approached in simplicity, they always want a medium; a man, a seed, a sacrifice.

They buy anointing oil for everything.
They see demons/deliverance in everything.

They make declarations for everything.

They seek objects for everything.

They attend Church rituals for everything.

They changed the shrine for the church, the incantation for the prayer, and the herbalist for the pastor, but never changed the worldview that made them dependent on all three.

Christianity begins to look less like discipleship and more like a spiritual technology for manipulating outcomes.

But Christianity is not magic.

This world operates through principles. Read that again and again till it sinks in.

God gave humanity intelligence, responsibility, creativity and dominion.

We must stop teaching people to search for magical shortcuts to problems that require wisdom.

If Africa will arise, we must reject superstition and magical practices in all its forms that have entered Christian practice. We must return people to faith, Scripture and a genuine relationship with God.

To be continued;

‘Yemi Success, MD

Oct., 2026.
As copied!