When the Church Went Silent – A Reflection on 2023 and Now.

The first thing this man said after the massacre of the #EndSARS youths was,
“What are they doing there?”

That statement pierced me. It was cold, dismissive, and void of empathy.

Then, during campaign season, he paraded fake bishops. CAN and PFN overlooked it. No greater insult could be thrown at the body of Christ. My heart aches even as I type this.

In a country where even in secondary schools, if the head boy is a Christian, the assistant is a Muslim, and vice versa, this man still chose a Muslim running mate. It was a loud statement to every Christian in Nigeria: “You don’t matter.”

Some of our fathers tried to speak, but majority kept quiet. Their silence was louder than words. Their body language betrayed their choice.

And then, Christians themselves voted for him. Why? Because tribal loyalty meant more to them than the bond we share in Christ. They didn’t stop to ask if their choice would lead to the blood of their brethren. They didn’t care. They were first their tribe, before their identity in Christ.

The Bible says in Galatians 3:28,
“There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
But many chose tribe over Christ.

Woe unto those who did that. Be ashamed. Cover your faces in shame.

Even Muslims themselves would never support a Christian-Christian ticket, no matter how saintly the candidate appeared. They would rather vote for one of their own. Yet, Christians proudly supported what others would never support.

I remember seeing a Muslim post during that time:
“Christians are very foolish, because a Muslim will not support what they’re supporting irrespective of who the person is.”

That cut deep.

We saw fathers of faith defend this administration like their very lives depended on it. One even went as far as calling the sitting president his in-law. He defended everything the president did, and when things went wrong, he blamed everyone except the president.

Something inside me broke that day. It felt like a betrayal of the flock, a denial of the prophetic responsibility to speak truth to power.

The Bible says in Ezekiel 33:7–8,
“Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. When I say to the wicked, ‘You wicked person, you will surely die,’ and you do not speak out to dissuade them from their ways, that wicked person will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood.”

That is the weight of silence, the cost of compromise. When spiritual fathers defend corruption, when they excuse injustice, when they trade truth for tribal loyalty, something dies in the hearts of those who looked up to them.

It was not just disappointment, it was grief. Like Jeremiah lamented in Lamentations 2:14,
“The visions of your prophets were false and worthless; they did not expose your sin to ward off your captivity. The prophecies they gave you were false and misleading.”

Another, who loves organizing leadership conferences, chose silence when it mattered most. When it was time to stand for truth, he went the other way, because of tribal ties.

One even said, “Saul will come before David.” This, after we had already endured eight years of Saul.

The Bible warns in 1 Kings 22:23,
“So now the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouths of all these prophets of yours.”
Believers, know God for yourself.

That day, I realized that not every father in the faith is willing to carry the burden of truth. Some will defend power, even at the expense of the people. And when that happens, the sheep are scattered, and the strength of the young is crushed.

I am grateful for the few whose voices remained loud. God sees them.

I remember Pastor Bosun Emmanuel, who God gave a voice in 2014 to warn about these evil men. His own spiritual father and home church denied him. Yet today, God has vindicated him. His story reminds me of the young prophet and the old prophet in 1 Kings 13.

Please, know God for yourself. Never use another man’s standard as your standard for serving God. People start well, but finishing is not always the same as starting.

That is why Psalm 139:23–24 must be our daily prayer:
“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

The Nigerian church taught me a serious lesson in 2023. I will never forget it.

We cannot do this journey by ourselves. Only by His grace and mercy.
We are because of Him.
We will be because of Him.

Never lose sight of the cross.

And to those who were happy to endorse this man, remember this:
If you truly knew God, you would defend His cause.
I do not wish you well. I declare upon you the judgment written.