LAGOS, Nigeria — Senior Pastor of House on the Rock Church, Paul Adefarasin, has ignited a national debate after declaring during a Sunday sermon that Nigeria was not divinely created but rather designed by British colonial interests for economic exploitation.
“I do not believe Nigeria was created by God. I don’t believe it,” Adefarasin told his congregation on August 24, 2025.
“I believe that Elizabeth the First got into a deal with the Ottoman Empire … it is self-evident. This is not a political forum, this is a church, and the church has responsibilities to get right what man got wrong.”
The cleric, one of Nigeria’s most prominent Pentecostal pastors, argued that the country’s foundations were fundamentally flawed because its 1999 Constitution was imposed by military leaders rather than by the consent of “we the people.”
Citing Psalm 11:3, he warned: “If the foundation is corrupted, if it is destroyed, what can the righteous do? To build a sustainable building, you have to build a solid foundation.”
Questioning Nigeria’s Legitimacy
Adefarasin criticised Nigeria’s nationalist figures — Obafemi Awolowo, Tafawa Balewa, Ahmadu Bello, and Nnamdi Azikiwe — dismissing their roles as the “true founding fathers.” Instead, he attributed the country’s creation to British colonial administrators.
“The founding fathers of Nigeria are some men from Whitehall and a fellow called Tob Goldman. His girlfriend, she named the country, and also Lugard,” Adefarasin said, referencing Lord Frederick Lugard, the colonial governor whose 1914 amalgamation joined Northern and Southern Nigeria.
“This nation was created for the business of the British purse so they wouldn’t have to bear the bill for the not as prosperous and wealthy part of the country,” he added.
Criticism of Governance
Turning to contemporary governance, Adefarasin used infrastructure as a metaphor for systemic corruption.
He questioned why major roads, such as those leading to Lagos airport, are built to higher standards than others.
“Why they build roads and resurface them wrongly, I don’t know,” he said.
“Somebody suggested to me that it’s that kind of road because they want the same contract next year. That means that somebody sitting down somewhere making decisions has no sense of equity and justice.”
Reactions
The sermon has drawn sharp reactions on social media, with some Nigerians applauding Adefarasin for confronting what they see as historical truths about colonial exploitation, while others criticised him for dismissing the contributions of Nigeria’s nationalist leaders.
The pastor’s comments come amid renewed debates on constitutional reform, restructuring, and governance failures, underscoring persistent questions about the foundations of Africa’s most populous nation more than six decades after independence.
