This week, Ibadan did not allow the rest of the country to enjoy the total blackout occasioned by NLC’s. As labor leaders stormed the streets to demand a new minimum wage, a 39-year-old man named Muideen was seen in Bodija market wearing the garment of poverty he had abandoned after Ibadan pastor Agbala Gabriel solicited funds from the public to help him. Both labor leaders and Muideen were in search of freedom. The former was in search of financial freedom, while the latter just wanted to eat, drink, and live in peace without being monitored.
Muideen was a disadvantaged man and a wanderer. He was roaming the streets of Ibadan with empty phone chargers and a dirty school bag. He was not poor. He was in absolute poverty. If it was not fate that made him poor, then one must fear people who piloted his life into such extreme conditions. I have my doubts. A part of me is in question about the true existence of ‘Muideen’. He appears to me more as a character. Nigeria is a nation of stage-managed miracles and expensive skits. The dangers of false prophets who want to be feared, admired, and venerated, including their fellows who are money- or fame-seeking content creators, have ruined the trust and perspective of every average Nigerian.
Another part of me is in agreement with the possibility of a ‘Muideen’ being a citizen of this nation with a dying economy. An average Nigerian does not eat for body development; rather, he eats to be alive. There are millions of disadvantaged Nigerians who are living in extreme bad conditions, and Muideen is not an exception. If ‘Muideen’ is a character in a movie script, those who immersed him in the pool of poverty and vulnerability to lure and deceive innocent Nigerians must be extremely wicked. They are capable of quenching the flames of hellfire.
If you see the character ‘Muideen’ and you do not pity him, you surely have a strong heart that lacks compassion. For Nigerians, particularly Pastor Agbala Gabriel, the character of “Muideen” is not new or rare. They are everywhere. They are under bridges, in slums, in markets, and on roads. Why did Agbala Gabriel pick Muideen out of all? He claimed that he sighted Muideen when he was struggling to sell a phone charger for him. He further disclosed that he picked up an interest in him and requested that he come and see him in his church for a positive turnaround.
The very first time I watched Muideen’s video, I was completely down. If he had not spoken in the video, I would have concluded that he’s a mentally deranged person. When Agbala Gabriel saw Muideen, he thought he needed a bungalow and a shop to break out of his shackles of poverty. He organized cameras and gave Muideen a platform to solicit for financial assistance via social media. Muideen was lucky. A wanderer became a house and shop owner. They call it grace, but I call it a favored Facebook algorithm and an intense appeal to people’s consciences.
Coincidentally, the camera and social media Agbala Gabriel used to turn Muideen’s life positively were the same weapons that announced their hostility. The relationship between Pastor Agbala Gabriel and Muideen went sour. Muideen left the church premise and entered Bodija Market, the same location he was either randomly or selectively picked for greatness. He removed his artificial teeth and carried a big pot. The moment he was identified by some people, Muideen positioned himself correctly and was ready to engage the camera. I could not argue with those who posited that it was likely an arranged plot.
Muideen courageously faced the camera, and he was ready to devour his main target. He did not mince words at all. He did not miss the target of his shot. He fiercely told his spectators and those who cared to listen that he was no longer in control of his house, home, shop, and wife. He alleged that his helper had collected everything from him. He also alleged that he was beaten by security agents and his benefactor, Pastor Gabriel. His new benefactors posted the video, and it went viral. The social media went on a rage, and emergency activists rose up in defense of Muideen. Those who have personal issues, including prophets who see Pastor Agbala Gabriel as a common enemy and arrogant competitor in the business of religion, took up the matter.
Agbala Gabriel was boxed into a tight corner. He was pacing up and down. He did not want to watch the funeral of his fame without fighting back. He is a social media pastor and understands the implications of his silence. He put Muideen’s wife on camera, and she launched the counterattack against her husband. According to her, Muideen left the house, and they’ve been looking for him since dawn. She added that nobody chased him away from his house, but she’s the one in charge of the shop due to Muideen’s addiction to bets. She further claimed that Muideen is a serial player of ‘Baba Ijebu Lotto’ and alleged that her husband’s shop nearby went bankrupt because he has no limit when it comes to Baba Ijebu.
The counterattack was working until some people bundled Muideen to Agidigbo FM, a radio station in Ibadan owned by Oriyomi Hamzat. Is Agidigbo a court or police station? Of course, not. It is just a place where cases of disadvantaged people are poorly handled. Is Oriyomi Hamzat a police officer or judge? No. He is a freelance broadcaster and interloper who uses situations to boost his social media presence. Oriyomi took Muideen to Agbala Gabriel’s church to reconcile the duo, and it was streamed live on Facebook. I watched it, and I was dumbfounded.
Muideen took the bull by the horn. He looked into Agbala Gabriel’s eyes and expressed his mind without fear. He claimed that Agbala Gabriel supported his wife against him. He also claimed that he took the shop from him and asked his wife to run the shop. He further disclosed that he was abandoned when he sustained an injury. He accused Agbala Gabriel and his security officers of beating him up. Muideen removed his shirt and showed his back filled with cuts and wounds to the camera. He kneeled down and begged Agbala Gabriel to free him. He requested that he be allowed to live the way he likes. Agbala Gabriel had no choice. He could not say no. Hundreds of people were watching. The cameras were active too. The atmosphere was already toxic for him, and he had become a new bride for content creators and a victim of the act he promoted.
When Agbala Gabriel saw Muideen, he thought he needed a bungalow and a shop. He used his story to solicit funds for him and helped him build a house within the church environment. Agbala Gabriel was wrong. He sees bungalows as a solution to every problem. Muideen needed more than a bungalow. He was in dire need of rehabilitation as a drunk, smoker, and addicted Baba Ijebu’s player. If he’s not properly rehabilitated, all the favors he receives will surely go down the drain. Sadly, he cannot be rehabilitated with prayers but with premium medical attention. I want to assume that Agbala Gabriel opted for donations to build a house for personal reasons.
Why did Agbala Gabriel beat Muideen? Why did a 31-year-old man beat up a 39-year-old Muideen? A friend queried. I forwarded a video where Muideen could be seen addressing Agbala Gabriel as ‘Daddy’. He calls him ‘Daddy’. What does ‘daddy’ do to kids who show signs of indiscipline? Beat them up, I answered him. I told my friend that ‘Daddy’ is a product of human innovation in religion to enslave or acquire rights to abuse the dignity of human persons. Go to fellowships on our campuses. You would discover that Agbala Gabriel is not alone. Muideen has fellows too. I have witnessed cases of assault and harassment within fellowships that were later swept under the rug. Why did top pastors fail to condemn it? It is simple. They are enablers. A friend said it’s part of the training these school pastors acquire to face the unorganized world of religion.
There are millions of Nigerians who, in the course of seeking salvation or prosperity, were enslaved, and their problems multiplied in the hands of those who were supposed to save them. There are a lot of ‘Muideens’ who went to churches or Islamic organizations for salvation or solutions to problems and ended up being workers in these organizations. Instead of solving their problems, they either add to them or keep them. You do not need to lose your freedom for salvation. The moment Agbala Gabriel insisted on keeping Muideen within the church premises and making him a worker, I knew he might not taste freedom again. That is the usual practice. If Muideen was not beaten up, he would not have desired freedom. Now that Muideen has been released by Agbala Gabriel, our prayers and actions should be for many Nigerians who are in Muideen’s current status but have no means to escape from the chains of organized spiritual oppression.