How the public posture of the gospel musician, Sammie Okposo is a danger to Nigeria’s democracy may seem remote to some, but in reality, his actions and assertions pose serious dangers to our collective well-being.
Sammie Okposo who goes with the identity of a gospel singer cum preacher has been in the news for all the wrong reason of late.
Before the trench of bad news, he had on January 23, 2022 performed before high society members of the white garment church, Love of Christ Generation Church, Oniru, Victoria Island, Lagos. At that performance he was seen dancing side by side with the well-respected leader of the flock, Rev. Mother Esther Abimbola Ajayi aka, Iya Aladura.
As with many of his performances, the aura at the auditorium was super charged with resounding praise to God Almighty.
Two days after that super charged performance, a United States based lady with the sobriquet, African Doll, came out to claim she had an affair with Sammie Okposo after he wooed her on the sidelines of his musical tour of the United States.
It was not a one time weakness of the flesh, as according to the lady, they sustained a months-long adulterous relationship during which according to the lady, “they messed up.”
The relationship only came to an end last month, when according to her, when she discovered that she was pregnant and her refusal to abort (kill) the baby. Following her refusal to kill, she said Okposo blocked her from all his social media platforms.
After she went public Okposo immediately issued an apology on his Instagram page admitting his failure and apologies to his wife.
Even more, the seemingly contrite Okposo according to some reports, deactivated his social media platforms. It was like as if he was literally obeying the injunctions of Jesus, The Christ, who charged His followers to cut off any part of their bodies that would cause them to go to hell.
That was given that the adulterous relationship with the African Doll was facilitated by social media handles.
However, after the seeming act of contrition, Nigerians have been slammed with a series of claims by Okposo as he returned partially to social media. Partially, because he has locked the comments section of his Instagram as he has slammed his critics over their perceived censures of his moral failures. Okposo has claimed that he is the righteousness of Christ, that he is a child of God, that he is not controlled by the lust of the flesh and all that.
Okposo may be a private individual but he is in every fact, a public figure celebrated when he does good and should be censured when he does evil. He has from the altar preached to us to embrace the good and reject the evil.
The issue is that when Okposo covered his sin and appeared to be prospering as he performed penultimate Sunday before the congregation at Rev (Mother) Ajayi’s congregation, we did not know that he had just as alleged by his accuser plotted murder in the form of an abortion.
The danger for us as a country is that many public figures are looking at the likes of Okposo and drawing examples from him; to wit that if Okposo could as alleged ask his girl to commit an abortion that they could as well do worse.
Those teenagers in Osun State and their ilk who according to news reports used the girlfriend of their colleague for a money ritual would be further hardened by the narrative from the Okposo case.
Public office holders in Nigeria have done much damage to us and they milk from the country to siphon outside the shores of the country.
Gospel ministers whether ministering in music or word must be moral guides for the larger society and live above board to be a voice against the indulgences of the political class.
The late Archbishop Desmond Tutu was celebrated as such. Even here we have had the likes of the late Archbishop Benson Idahosa who were moral checks on the excesses of the political class. We even have Panam Percy Paul on the plateau as a reference for music stars in good standing.
The sickening state of Nigeria is largely because of the failure of the church and its leaders to mobilise their followers in the path of righteousness.
It is significant that the Dr. Eneche led Dunamis Church, Abuja was quick to cut Okposo off from a programme he had been listed to perform reflecting their abhorrence for his real life testimony.
Yes, some may have judged Okposo wrongly, and even failing to realise that those judging may have a beam in their own eyes. But it is not just insulting on society for Okposo to slam his critics, but to set a negative benchmark for the larger society. That is the danger. That many will pick up his standard and so, the collective standard of right and wrong is devalued because Sammie Okposo is unwilling to face up to his sin.
As Jesus warned, Publicans and harlots go before you into the kingdom; meaning that tax collectors who are this quarter busy slamming and changing tax figures and all that are a step ahead of many preachers into the Kingdom of God. May God help us all to meet His true standard and as such positively impact society.
