Cleric sparks debate, saying the country was a colonial construct shaped by foreign empires rather than God’s will
Senior Pastor of the House on the Rock Church, Paul Adefarasin, has stirred national debate after boldly declaring that Nigeria was not created by divine will but rather by the greed and political interests of Britain during the colonial era.
Delivering a sermon on Sunday, August 24, 2024, Pastor Adefarasin dismissed the long-held belief that Nigeria’s foundation was God-ordained, stressing instead that it was a man-made construct shaped by foreign powers for economic exploitation.
“Nigeria, I do not believe it was created by God. I don’t believe it,” the pastor said. “I believe that Elizabeth the First entered into an arrangement with the Ottoman Empire concerning the Sudan. For those who wish to confirm this, it is documented in a book titled The Martyrdom of Man.”
He went further to argue that Africa’s partition and the eventual creation of Nigeria were products of negotiations between global empires, not divine design. According to him, “two empires got together and decided that this land would be allocated to the sons of Ishmael. It is self-evident.”
While stressing that his pulpit was not a political platform, Adefarasin said the church bears the responsibility of addressing historical wrongs and guiding society toward truth. “The church is the light of the world and the salt of the earth,” he noted, urging Christians to take responsibility for correcting what he described as the errors of man-made history.
