Joshua Mike-Bamiloye, the son of renowned Mount Zion filmmaker and evangelist Mike Bamiloye, recently addressed remarks made by Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, regarding the influence of church activities on Nigeria’s productivity.
During an appearance on the Honest Bunch podcast, Obi proposed that church night vigils should be replaced with night shifts to enhance productivity. He argued that the numerous churches and frequent vigils detract from the work culture, stating, “We are going to turn night vigil into night shift so that people can be productive.”
Obi commented, “It’s attractive, politics and church, but it has to be dismantled. We can’t have people attending church from Monday to Friday, morning and night. When I travel from here to my house, the only signs I see are for churches. In the East, it’s all about burials, and that’s not the hallmark of a functioning country.”
In a pointed rebuttal, Joshua Mike-Bamiloye, a gospel artist and filmmaker, expressed his disagreement with Obi’s statements, deeming them misguided and even offensive. He argued that blaming church attendance for Nigeria’s productivity challenges overlooks the real issues at play. “Vigils are typically held on Fridays, right before the weekend. If we want to increase productivity, should we also ban recreational activities, comedy shows, concerts—essentially every social gathering?” he tweeted.
Joshua further asserted that Nigeria’s productivity problems stem from deeper, unresolved issues rather than church gatherings. He concluded his response with humor, suggesting that such ideas might be the result of Nigeria’s hot weather, which he joked could be clouding some people’s judgment.