“Once you count in Naira, you are poor” – Nigerians react when Pastor Paul Adefarasin says “Nigeria is dead”

• The Senior Pastor of House on the Rock Church, Paul Adefarasin, has sparked controversy online after he declared during a sermon that “Nigeria is dead” and that anyone who counts wealth in naira is poor.
• His comments on the country’s economic decline drew mixed reactions, with some Nigerians agreeing with his concerns, while others criticized him for his insensitive remarks.

The Senior Pastor of House on the Rock Church, Paul Adefarasin, caused widespread reactions after he spoke about the economic situation in Nigeria during a church sermon.

While addressing the members during the service on May 17, the priest lamented the decline in the value of the naira and the worsening economic reality facing many Nigerians.

According to him:

“Nigeria is d+ad, let’s not fool ourselves. When you count in naira, you are p%or.”

The preacher then compared the value of money in previous decades with the current economic situation.

“I was not born because my father used to earn up to 18 thousand naira in the early 80s and 90s,” he said.

Adefarasin also reflected on how valuable the naira was years ago, stressing that many Nigerians do not understand the extent of the country’s economic decline because they only focus on the present reality.

“Do you know how much a billion naira was then when I was 15-16 years old? It was 2.8 billion dollars and we take that because we live in the present, we don’t study history and we don’t even research the data,” he added.

The remarks quickly went viral on the internet, with Nigerians sharing differing opinions on the pastor’s statement.

Some social media users criticized him for talking about poverty while churches are still collecting donations in naira.

Reacting online, @niffyboyay wrote:

“Are the offers his members give up in dollars??”

Another user, @ThreeLeftThumbs, commented:

“But he is still collecting bids in Naira.”

Others accused political and religious elites of contributing to the country’s economic challenges.

@Chukwueloka_EE wrote:

“A member of the nation that killed Nigeria is standing here.”

Meanwhile, some Nigerians agreed with the pastor’s concern over the falling value of the naira and the growing hardships across the country.