By Odesola JF., PhD
When the desire for clicks, likes and publicity becomes more important than the truth, journalism loses its conscience.
I honestly wonder what some people stand to gain from their seemingly endless determination to drag Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), into one controversy after another.
Must everything about this elderly man of God become an opportunity for ridicule? Must every statement he makes be twisted, every photograph of him given a different interpretation, and every opportunity to mention his name turned into a sensational headline?
What exactly is the attraction?
Is it no longer possible to disagree with a religious leader without insulting him? Must criticism always descend into personal attacks? And, more importantly, why have some people become so comfortable with presenting half-truths, distorted accounts and misleading information simply to attract attention, generate online traffic and, perhaps, make money?
Let me say this clearly: Pastor Adeboye is not above criticism. As an academician he cherish constructive criticism. He is human, and like every other public figure, his words, decisions and public positions can be questioned. Nobody should be exempt from legitimate scrutiny simply because of his religious position or influence.
However, there is a world of difference between genuine criticism and deliberately misrepresenting somebody to destroy his reputation.
That distinction seems to be disappearing in our public conversation.
Two recent issues involving Pastor Adeboye illustrate this unfortunate development.
THE PLACARD PHOTOGRAPH: WHY DID NOBODY BOTHER TO CHECK THE DATE?
Recently, somebody reportedly described Pastor Adeboye as a very partial man because he allegedly carried a placard in protest against former President Goodluck Jonathan.
The photograph was brought out, and the accusation was repeated as though it were an established historical fact. People saw the photograph, accepted the accompanying story and joined the conversation.
But did anybody stop to ask a simple question: When was that photograph actually taken?
Pastor Adeboye did not deny carrying the placard. He admitted it openly. What he challenged was the story being attached to the photograph.
Explaining the circumstances, he said:
“True, I carried a placard. I can’t deny that. It was not a protest. It was a prayer walk. We wanted to pray.”
He explained that the exercise followed a directive from the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), which had encouraged churches to organise prayer walks in their communities. He participated in the exercise at Ebute-Metta, Lagos.
Then came the question of timing.
He explained that the photograph was taken in 2020, during the second term of President Muhammadu Buhari.
Now, let us put the dates in perspective. Goodluck Jonathan left office in May 2015. The photograph was taken on February 2, 2020. That is a difference of almost five years!
How can an event that happened in 2020 honestly be presented as evidence of a protest against a president who left office in 2015?
This is not a complicated historical issue. It is a matter of checking the date before publishing a story.
What happened to the basic responsibility of a journalist to investigate before going to press?
A photograph is evidence of a moment, but it does not tell the whole story. You need to know when it was taken, why the people involved were there and what was happening at the time.
A prayer walk is not automatically a political protest. Carrying a placard does not necessarily mean that one is protesting against the government.
Indeed, Africa Check previously investigated the widely circulated photograph and traced it to the February 2020 prayer walk.
So, why should a simple historical fact be sacrificed to create a damaging narrative about an elderly pastor?
What is so difficult about telling the truth?
WHEN A THIRTY-MINUTE SPEECH IS REDUCED TO FIVE MINUTES OF CONTROVERSY
The second issue is even more troubling because it concerns the very sensitive matter of insecurity and the abduction of schoolchildren and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State.
We all know how painful the security situation in Nigeria has become. Parents are worried. Communities are frightened. Families are living with the trauma of abduction, uncertainty and loss. Nobody with a conscience should take these realities lightly.
During an engagement abroad with some highly placed Americans, Pastor Adeboye spoke about the kidnapped children.
He recalled that one of the speakers before him had suggested that nothing had been done about the children.
Pastor Adeboye disagreed. He explained that he had been praying for them and believed God had assured him that they would return alive.
He said:
“God is already on the move for the Orire children because I have prayed for them. God has told me that none of those children will die; they will come out alive.”
This was an expression of his faith and his confidence in God’s intervention.
He then made an illustration involving President Donald Trump and the responsibility of a commander-in-chief.
His argument was that when a president gives an instruction to the appropriate military authorities, he has performed his immediate responsibility as the commander-in-chief. The soldiers are then expected to carry out that instruction.
He applied the same illustration to Nigeria’s President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu. He explained that the President had instructed the security officers to go and rescue the kidnapped children.
His point was that the President had issued the necessary directive and should not be judged as though he personally had to go into the field and conduct the rescue operation.
But that was not the end of his address.
He spoke about the need for international assistance. He expressed appreciation for America’s involvement and raised concerns about those sponsoring and financing terrorism.
Yet, what did some people choose to report?
A portion of his address, which lasted approximately thirty minutes, was reportedly reduced to less than five minutes and presented as though it represented the entire message.
The impression created was that Pastor Adeboye had simply declared that President Tinubu had done his best and that Nigerians should accept whatever was happening.
But was that really the totality of what he said?
This is where I find the whole situation particularly disappointing.
How can anyone listen to a thirty-minute address, extract a few minutes, discard the explanations surrounding those statements and then present the selected portion as the complete position of the speaker?
Would we consider that fair if it were done to us?
Imagine speaking for thirty minutes, explaining your position, giving illustrations, making appeals and expressing concerns, only to discover that somebody has taken one or two sentences and used them to make you appear to have said something entirely different.
How would you feel?
This is not simply a question of media interpretation. It is a question of fairness, honesty and basic respect for the truth.
PLEASE, DO NOT TURN JOURNALISM INTO A BUSINESS OF CHARACTER ASSASSINATION
I understand that controversy sells. I understand that sensational headlines attract attention. I also understand that in today’s digital world, clicks, views, shares and online engagement can translate into financial benefits.
But must we make money at the expense of another person’s reputation?
Must somebody be presented as wicked, insensitive, compromised or politically biased simply because such a description will attract more readers?
There is something fundamentally wrong when the desire to make a story trend becomes more important than the responsibility to establish whether the story is true.
Journalism is a noble profession. Its purpose is not merely to entertain, provoke or generate traffic. It is to inform society, expose wrongdoing, hold powerful people accountable and help citizens understand what is happening around them.
Of course, journalists must ask difficult questions. They must challenge religious leaders, political leaders, traditional rulers and influential personalities. Nobody should demand special treatment simply because of his position.
But there must be a difference between asking difficult questions and manufacturing misleading stories.
There is a difference between criticism and misrepresentation.
There is a difference between investigative journalism and sensational journalism.
And there is certainly a difference between holding someone accountable and deliberately dragging that person through the mud.
The media must not lose its conscience in the pursuit of commercial success.
AN ELDERLY MAN DESERVES FAIRNESS, EVEN WHEN YOU DISAGREE WITH HIM
One thing we must never forget is that Pastor Adeboye is an elderly man.
He has spent several decades in Christian ministry. He has preached to millions of people, raised generations of ministers, mentored leaders and participated in the development of a church that has grown beyond Nigeria’s borders.
People may have different opinions about his ministry. Some may agree with his approach to national issues, while others may disagree. That is understandable.
But surely, after all these years, he deserves the basic courtesy of having his words reported accurately.
Age does not make anyone immune from criticism, but neither should old age become an invitation to public humiliation.
There is something deeply uncomfortable about a society that finds pleasure in constantly ridiculing its elderly citizens, particularly those who have devoted a substantial part of their lives to serving others.
We can disagree without being disrespectful. We can question without insulting. We can demand accountability without inventing facts.
The Bible says in Leviticus 19:32 (KJV):
“Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honour the face of the old man, and fear thy God: I am the LORD.”
This is not an instruction against accountability. It is a reminder that our society should not lose its sense of honour, decency and respect.
And this principle should apply to everyone, irrespective of religious affiliation.
HIS OWN CHALLENGE TO JOURNALISTS IS WORTH REFLECTING UPON
Pastor Adeboye recalled his exposure to journalism studies at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, in the 1960s.
He remembered the emphasis placed on investigation, accuracy and the need to establish the facts before publishing a story.
His message was simple:
“Investigate, if you have a story, before you take it to the press.”
I wish more people in the media would take those words seriously.
Before publishing a photograph, check its date.
Before quoting somebody, listen to the full statement.
Before accusing somebody, establish the facts.
Before writing a headline, make sure it reflects what actually happened.
And before inviting the public to condemn someone, ask yourself whether you have presented the whole story fairly.
The truth is that not everybody who publishes stories online is necessarily a journalist. Not everybody with a large following has the discipline, training or integrity required to inform the public responsibly.
We must not confuse popularity with credibility.
A person can make a video that attracts one million views and still be wrong. A headline can trend across social media and still be misleading. A story can generate thousands of comments and still be built on a false premise.
The number of people who believe a story does not automatically make it true.
LEAVE HIM ALONE DOES NOT MEAN HE SHOULD NEVER BE QUESTIONED
Let me make this point again because I do not want anyone to misunderstand the purpose of this article.
I am not suggesting that Pastor Adeboye should be protected from criticism, he himself cherish from many of his statements. I am not saying that every statement he makes must be accepted without question. Neither am I suggesting that religious leaders should not be held accountable for their public positions.
Far from it.
If he says something that requires clarification, ask him.
If he makes a statement that deserves criticism, criticise it.
If his position on a national issue appears inconsistent, point it out.
If Nigerians expect him to speak more strongly about insecurity, they are entitled to express that expectation.
But please, let the criticism be based on what he actually said and did.
Do not turn a 2020 prayer walk into a 2015 political protest.
Do not reduce a thirty-minute speech to a few selected sentences and pretend that the remaining portions do not exist.
Do not attach meanings to photographs that their dates and circumstances do not support.
And do not make an elderly man’s reputation the price you are willing to pay for online popularity.
NIGERIA HAS MORE THAN ENOUGH REAL PROBLEMS TO INVESTIGATE
There are serious issues confronting our country. There are communities crying for help. There are families waiting for their abducted loved ones. There are schools without adequate facilities, hospitals struggling to provide basic services and citizens battling economic hardship.
There is corruption to investigate, injustice to expose, public funds to account for and insecurity to confront.
Our journalists and commentators have more than enough important work to do.
Why, then, should so much energy be devoted to manufacturing controversies around an elderly man of God?
Why not direct that same investigative energy towards the people and institutions responsible for the problems Nigerians face daily?
Why not pursue the sponsors of terrorism, expose the networks financing criminal activities and demand answers from those entrusted with protecting the lives of citizens?
That would be a far more meaningful contribution to society.
MY FINAL APPEAL
I believe we must begin to ask ourselves what kind of society we are building.
A society where falsehood is rewarded with attention will eventually find it difficult to recognise the truth.
Today, it may be Pastor Adeboye. Tomorrow, it could be another pastor, a former president, a traditional ruler, a professor or an ordinary citizen who has no platform to defend himself.
Reputations take years to build. They can be damaged in minutes by a misleading headline. And those responsible for such damage may simply move on to the next trending controversy without ever considering the consequences of their actions.
Let us disagree with people without destroying them. Let us challenge authority without abandoning fairness. Let us encourage investigative journalism rather than sensationalism.
Pastor Adeboye does not need everybody to agree with him. He does not need to be defended against every legitimate criticism. But he, like every other Nigerian, deserves to have his words and actions represented truthfully.
To those who have made it a habit to find fault with everything he says, and to those who appear to delight in dragging his name through the mud for clicks, likes, followers and financial gain, I have a simple appeal:
Please, find something more meaningful to do with your influence.
There is a difference between making a living through journalism and making money by destroying another person’s reputation.
There is a difference between reporting a story and manufacturing a controversy.
And there is a difference between speaking truth to power and using falsehood to attract attention.
Leave Adeboye alone! Not because he is beyond criticism, but because he deserves fairness. Not because he is infallible, but because the truth must matter more than our personal opinions of him.
At the end of the day, we may disagree with Pastor Adeboye, but we should never become so blinded by our disagreements that we lose the ability to tell the truth about him.
A society that has lost respect for truth has lost something far more valuable than the reputation of any individual.
It has lost its conscience.
