Former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi has responded to social media backlash following his recent comments on the need to balance religious devotion with productivity.
Obi clarified that his suggestion to “convert church vigils into night shifts” was misinterpreted and did not call for reducing or dismantling religious activities.
The controversy arose after Obi’s interview on the Honest Bunch podcast, released on Saturday, where he argued that Nigeria’s issues with poverty and lack of productivity stem partly from an imbalance between politics and excessive religious gatherings.
He expressed concern that an overemphasis on attending church services from Monday to Friday might detract from work productivity, sparking widespread criticism among Nigerians who viewed it as an infringement on religious traditions.
In response to the backlash, Obi’s media aide, Ibrahim Umar, released a statement clarifying the former governor’s remarks.
“Our attention has been drawn to a huge twist in his recent media interview, saying erroneously that he called for the dismantling of churches in Nigeria. By the headline given to the interview, the import of Obi’s message has been greatly overturned and grossly distorted to serve a mischievous end,” Umar stated.
The statement went on to emphasize that Obi, a prominent figure in the Labour Party, is well-known as a person of faith who respects all religions. His comments, Umar explained, were intended to encourage Nigerians to integrate faith with action, not to undermine religious practices.
The statement continued, “Obi, in the interview, was merely underscoring what Apostle James said in ‘Faith without works is unhelpful.’ When Obi said that he would turn night vigil into production night, he was only stressing the importance of worshipping God through work. Even Jesus Christ never picked any of his 12 disciples where they were praying but where they were working as fishermen and tax collectors, among others.”
The statement pointed to Obi’s view that prayer and work should be complementary, as encouraged in scripture.
Umar added, “What we are doing in Nigeria, which is what Obi’s interview is highlighting as wrong and should be discontinued, is exchanging work for prayer when the two should go together. There is no evidence in the scripture that Jesus blessed an idle person.”
Obi’s comments reflect a broader belief that practical action should accompany religious devotion, particularly in Nigeria’s work culture. This approach, Umar noted, aligns with the teaching of St. James to be “doers of the word.”
