Can you fault those who dismiss Pastor Bolaji Idowu’s contextualisation of the “Men dey!” response as mere damage control? Was his explanation even necessary, considering what people actually heard and saw in the footage? How are people expected to believe that a gleeful chorus that sounded more like a consensus was merely an echo of a lone voice’s whisper? These are questions begging for answers following the video that shattered the tranquillity of the internet over the past few days. The intensity of the reactions was such that the man of God’s disclaimer did little to halt the uproar.
The viral video captured the founder of Harvesters International Christian Centre (HICC) dramatically ending a relationship-coaching session following the enthusiastic response of single women in the congregation. While teaching his members about three types of men—the predator, the hunter, and the farmer—a female congregant recounted her relationship with a former boyfriend whom she described as a “farmer,” stressing that she hated penny-pinchers.
Noting that women long for men who can buy them cars and iPhones, take them shopping, or place them on a monthly allowance of one million naira, the pastor wondered aloud how many eligible bachelors could bankroll such an extravagant lifestyle. In response, he received a chorus of voices shouting, “Men dey!” This Nigerian street slang implies that wealthy men, also known as Odogwu, who can lavishly fund luxurious lifestyles and expensive gifts are readily available. What followed was the cleric dramatically removing his shoes and shaking the dust off their soles in an incongruous enactment of Matthew 10:14—a gesture suggesting that his members were incorrigible.
We shall soon address the incongruity of the altar act, but first, let us examine the questionable claim behind the ladies’ assertion that “men dey!” How can that be when, as of 2024, the coordinator of the national economy reportedly disclosed that only five per cent of Nigerians could boast of having more than ₦500,000 in their bank accounts? The 2026 Global Multidimensional Poverty Index, reportedly released on Monday, states that Nigeria recorded the world’s largest increase in the number of people living in multidimensional poverty, with an additional 17.9 million Nigerians becoming poor between 2021 and 2024. If you dismiss the data from the United Nations Development Programme and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative because it is two years old, examine your personal finances and the living standards of your neighbours to determine whether there has been any improvement. So, where are the Odogwus that the sisters in Idowu’s church claim are readily available?
This column feels sorry for the ladies in that gathering who provoked Pastor B into such a melodramatic response. As it were, they ought to be pitied, given the dire consequences associated with the biblical act of shaking the dust off an evangelist’s sandals. In Matthew 10:15, the Master warned, “Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!”
This is not the only reason the man of God appears to have acted out of order. What Jesus instructed His dispatched disciples to do while evangelising was intended for those who rejected their message, not for members of the flock under a shepherd’s care. Since these congregants have been listening to his messages all this while, he cannot simply disown them because of their intransigence. Some are even interpreting the incident as the germination of seeds sown over the years.
Online commentators have been asking what kind of teaching or discipleship has been taking place in the church to produce members who appear unabashedly worldly and materialistic. Have these individuals been taught the lessons of 1 John 2:15 and Romans 8:6–10? It is high time the Body of Christ in Nigeria took Romans 12:2 seriously. The verse reads, “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
It beggars belief that a congregation would express such a questionable desire without scruples before its pastor. Such an attitude reflects the love of money warned against in 1 Timothy 6:10. Imagine the audacity of shouting down a minister who was attempting to correct them! Hebrews 13:17 speaks to the importance of respecting spiritual leadership. By the way, I thought the general ecclesiastical order was that no one should interrupt a preacher on the pulpit. This is consistent with 1 Corinthians 14:40, which requires that all things be “done decently and in order.” How, then, could the congregation speak so openly against the very message being delivered?
The Apostle Paul’s admonition in the aforementioned verse also makes it difficult to understand Pastor B’s “Oh, I’m grinding him” demonstration, which depicted a supposed Christian sister leading nightclub patrons into immorality. This occurred in the full video, in which the pastor also said, “The guy you’re grinding is now very hard; you say sorry o, me I’m a born-again; I don’t do that!” What a lurid illustration to use in the house of God! The church must not be made to resemble a social hangout under any guise.
The virality of his members’ response must have been so embarrassing that the global lead pastor of HICC felt compelled to issue a clarification. In the statement, he said:
“During yesterday’s teaching on expectations in relationships, we discussed what a 26-year-old woman should reasonably expect from a man at a similar stage of life… In the course of the conversation, a lady made a comment, and I asked her twice to repeat what she had said. The congregation echoed her response so I could hear her clearly. This does not mean every woman in the church shares that mindset.”
Thank heavens that such vanity does not represent the general mindset of the church. This is another reason why the act of shaking the dust off his shoes should not apply, at least for the sake of those who agree with the truth the pastor was preaching.
Did the avenging Lord not agree to spare Sodom and Gomorrah if just ten righteous people could be found in the sinful city (Genesis 18:24–32)? This is also why the senior pastor of Harvesters should not have discontinued his teaching. He could have continued, just as the Lord Jesus rejected the premature uprooting of the tares lest the wheat be damaged in the process. He should have continued teaching so that whoever has ears could hear.
If the pastor wanted to be theatrical, a more appropriate illustration would have been Pontius Pilate washing his hands of the decision by the Jewish leaders to have Jesus crucified. Although that was not necessarily the best course of action, acting like Pilate would have conveyed a similar message without as much contradiction or complication. What is being recommended instead of the drastic act of dusting his shoes is a familiar cultural expression: “washing one’s hands of something.” Perhaps playing Pilate was too far-fetched, given that the spur of the moment would not have allowed him to wait for a bowl, water, and a hand towel.
Nevertheless, while we hope that the abrupt end to the service does not signify an abdication of the very important responsibility of feeding the Lord’s sheep, Pastor Bolaji deserves credit for refusing to compromise the truth merely to please his congregation. Some general overseers would rather water down the Message than preach something that might negatively affect church attendance.
For this particular general overseer to have resisted what appeared to be a popular opinion in defence of the truth is commendable. Yet, he should have gone the whole hog and refrained from issuing a statement that appeared to cast doubt on his resolve.
The Apostle Paul provides a worthy example here. After rebuking the church in Corinth, he went on to write in 2 Corinthians 7:8–9:
“Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it—I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while—yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us.”
No matter how exasperated a shepherd may become, he should not stand akimbo and watch his flock head towards the cliff simply because the sheep have chosen to behave like goats!