Some social media users have accused Nigerian pastor Enoch Adeboye of being “silent” as the country faces hardship under President Bola Tinubu.
Adeboye is the leader of the Redeemed Christian Church of God.
One post reads, in part: “This same fvcking clown was at the street of Abuja and the Eagles Square protesting against Jonathan government when fuel was #100 and a bag of rice was 7k, but now that it’s his tribesman in power, he’s saying we should call God?”
Goodluck Jonathan served as the president of Nigeria from 2010 to 2015. Tinubu was sworn in on May 29, 2023, succeeding Muhammadu Buhari.
According to the post, Adeboye is deliberately silent because he and Tinubu are from the Yoruba ethnic group, while Jonathan is Ijaw.
Nigeria is facing its worst economic crisis in decades, leading to an increase in fuel and food prices. There have also been protests in some states against the rising cost of living under Tinubu.
The claim started circulating after popular Nigerian singer Eedris Abdulkareem called out Adeboye in one of his songs. Abdulkareem said: “Pastor Adeboye, during Goodluck Jonathan’s tenure, your voice was so loud. You even vowed to stage a one-million-man march. Now, with the hunger and hardship under Tinubu’s government, you say Nigeria has a spiritual problem.”
Other versions of the claim feature a photo of Adeboye holding a placard.
But did Adeboye protest during Jonathan’s tenure?
Petitioned Jonathan, did ‘prayer walk’ when Buhari was president
A Google reverse image search of the photo led us to a report by Punch newspaper on February 2, 2020, during Buhari’s presidency. The newspaper reported that Adeboye had led millions of his church members on a “prayer walk” against insecurity and killings in Nigeria.
The walk was also covered by other news agencies, featuring photos of Adeboye holding the same placard.
We searched Google using keywords from the claim to find reports of Adeboye protesting during Jonathan’s tenure. We found a Vanguard news article from 2010 stating that Adeboye had sent a petition to Jonathan over the spate of kidnappings in the country. According to the article, Adeboye’s church was planning a “one million-man protest rally.”
However, we found no reports of Adeboye actually taking to the streets while Jonathan was president.
Source: Africa Check
