Reality star Natasha Akide, popularly known as Tacha, has criticised the behaviour of some Nigerian Christian clerics, asserting that 90 percent of them would face consequences abroad for actions they get away with in Nigeria.
Her comments came in response to a viral video involving Senior Pastor of House on the Rock Church, Paul Adefarasin who was filmed holding an alleged pistol-like object while confronting a car spotter filming his Range Rover in Lagos.
In a video message on her X handle, Tacha challenged Adefarasin’s claim that the object was not a firearm and that the car spotter was aggressive.
She argued that the footage clearly showed Adefarasin stopping his car, lowering his window and holding what appeared to be a firearm while warning the young content creator, who she said was merely praising the pastor’s vehicle.
Tacha accused Adefarasin of gaslighting the public by misrepresenting the incident and criticised his congregation for applauding his defense during a Sunday service.
Tacha emphasised that car spotting is a common global practice and questioned how the young man’s actions constituted aggression.
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She condemned the hypocrisy of excusing such behavior simply because Adefarasin is a pastor, stating that the brand of Christianity practiced by many Nigerian clerics would not be tolerated abroad, potentially leading to their churches’ closure within a year.
She said, “I didn’t want to say anything about the church brouhaha that’s going on until I saw clips from today’s service. Because there’s nothing I hate more than gaslighting. Everybody saw the video. We all saw the video. And from the video, we can tell who the aggressor was.
“In case you have forgotten, this pastor stopped his car, wined down, held an object that looks like a firearm and told this boy, ‘Don’t do that, don’t do that…’
“And from what I remembered, the boy was even hailing the pastor in that video. There are so many car spotters all around the world. I don’t see what that boy was doing wrong. I don’t see how he was being aggressive. How was he being aggressive?
“Nothing pain me pass the gullible congregation that was clapping and cheering. Because what are you clapping and cheering for?
“Didn’t you watch the video or you have selective blindness? And let me make this very clear, 90 per cent of our Nigerian Pastors will not get away with what they do in Nigeria outside Nigeria. The kind of Christianity they practice, if they try it anywhere outside Nigeria their church will close down within a year. But because he is a pastor, some people are making excuses for him.
“So anybody holding a phone now is aggressive? This selective hypocrisy is so crazy. Let’s stop being hypocrites.”