A HISTORICAL STUDY OF PROSPERITY GOSPEL PREACHING IN NIGERIA, 1970-2014.

A HISTORICAL STUDY OF PROSPERITY GOSPEL PREACHING IN NIGERIA, 1970-2014 BY RIMAMSIKWE HABILA KITAUSE Reg No.: PG/Ph.D/11/59635 DEPARTMENT OF RELIGION AND CULTURAL STUDIES FACULTY OF THE SOCIAL SCIENCES UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA NOVEMBER, 2015 i TITLE PAGE A HISTORICAL STUDY OF PROSPERITY GOSPEL PREACHING IN NIGERIA, 1970-2014 BY RIMAMSIKWE HABILA KITAUSE Reg No.: PG/Ph.D/11/59635 A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF RELIGION AND CULTURAL STUDIES, FACULTY OF THE SOCIAL SCIENCES IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY DEGREE (Ph.D) IN RELIGION AND CULTURAL STUDIES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA NOVEMBER, 2015 i ii CERTIFICATION KITAUSE, RIMAMSIKWE HABILA, a Postgraduate Student in the Department of Religion and Cultural Studies with Reg No.: PG/Ph.D/11/59635 has satisfactorily completed the research work for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN RELIGION AND CULTURAL STUDIES The work embodied in this project is original and has not been submitted in part or full for any other diploma or degree of this or any other University Rev Fr Prof H C Achunike (Supervisor) Date Rev Fr Prof H C Achunike (Head of Department) Date iii DEDICATION With a heart full of gratitude, I humbly dedicate this thesis in cherished memory of my well-beloved and unforgettable father and mother, late ITSE HABILA KITAUSE who passed onto glory on March 4, 1999 and late IYA ALISABATU HABILA who slept in the Lord on July 11, 2006 whose prayers, wishes, concerns and sacrifices have catapulted me to where I am today Sadly, they are no more to enjoy the fruits of their labour of love I equally dedicate this thesis to my son KOTSO TRIUMPH HABILA and daughter TSINTOP REJOICE HABILA, praying and wishing sincerely that they will surpass me in all areas of life iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS All glory, honour and thanks are unreservedly due to God, who alone is King, the eternal and immutable God whose unmerited benevolence, protection, guidance and grace has inspired and preserved me throughout my academic pursuit Though, the journey has been very challenging, rough and tough, but it is only, and only for Him that this landing is very safe and sweet It is on this premise that I must quickly and most sincerely with very deep satisfaction register my unflinching and profound gratitude to all the admirable contributors to the successful completion of this programme and especially my research work in particular I am deeply indebted to all my sources Therefore, I will like to place permanently on record my immense and undying gratitude to my supervisor, Rev Fr Prof Hilary Chukwuka Achunike for his versatile wealth of academic scholarship, resourcefulness, expertise criticisms, approachability, insistence on breaking new ground, fresh insights and originality, and his up-to-dateness in the area of his specialty Without mincing words, Father Achunike has in all ways throughout the programme always been stirring up the fire and zeal for hard work in me through constant identification of current issues of national and international interest, close supervision of any assigned written work, which enable him to provide me with sound academic mentorship He thoroughly supervised this work I see it as a rare privileged to have worked under this reputable, strong and foremost Nigerian Church historian whose interest in my academic progress is quite amazing; allowing me to fly on his academic wings I am ever grateful for making his library available for my use Prof Achunike is indeed more than a father to me encapsulate in his warmth of heart, nature of kindness, generosity and friendliness towards me I am extremely very proud to be associated v with him, a vast scholar worth his salt I have no single moment of regrets whatsoever being under his tutelage for these years Prof Achunike thanks a million times May Heaven richly reward you for being there for me at all times! Amen! I am greatly indebted to my eldest brother, Mr Jeremiah R Habila, the Deputy University Librarian, Federal University Wukari for his ardent patience, deep love and enthusiasm for my education as well as his generous financial assistance towards me I am particularly thankful to him and his wife for the role they played in my life which is simply unquantifiable Also deserving of my gratitude are my brothers Mr Bitrus Habila and Mr Rimamtsiwe Habila and their wives; my sister Mrs Polina J Japhet and her late husband, Late Mr Japhet Joshua Iratishe for their magnanimity and constant financial and material support May God reward all of you abundantly in Jesus name! I am most appreciative of my beautiful wife and queen, Mrs Margaret R Habila who had toiled and moiled indefatigably with me for these ten years of our marriage I must indeed confess that she is my strength and everything; who has always been supporting me and managing the home competently while I concentrated on my study I sincerely thank her in high spirit for her companionship, understanding and all the sleepless nights she had while I was on journeys and as a very senior nurse always bringing her wealth of experience to bear in nursing my corpulent beautiful children and myself My sweet baby, I love you and I say thank you so much You are the reason why I made it gallantly Remain ever blessed Amen! I am very much indebted in gratitude to Rev Prof Ibrahim Musa Ahmadu the University of Jos for his huge support and for granting me the privilege of an interview from where he bears his mind freely on prosperity preaching in Nigeria I am most thankful to all the Professors of my department for their excellent vi contributions in my education notably Prof E N Chinweokwu, Prof Agha U Agha, Prof Malachy I Okwueze and Prof Christopher O T Ugwu who is so dear to me It is with a great pleasure that I register my thanks to all the academic staff of my department particularly Dr S O Onyeidu, Ven Dr B C D Diara, Rev Dr Sr Mary Jerome Obiora, Ven Dr Collins Ugwu, Rev Dr Ngele Omaka, Dr C N Ibenwa, Dr Chinyere Nwaoga, Rev Canon Nweze Stanley, Lady Chidinma Precious Ukeachusim, our departmental Postgraduate students’ President To all the non academic staff, I say a hearty thank you May God bless you all! I am particularly overwhelmed by the show of love and interest over my education and progress from my paternal uncle Rev and Mrs Adams Eyab I am so `thankful for your constant phone calls and encouragement I cannot also so easily forget the wonderful encouragement of Dr Richard Adeola, Rev Barr and Mrs Y S Tukura, Rev Dr Ben Ubeh, Rev Remigius Oguh, Rev R Y Shamaki, Rev and Mrs Innocent Boyi, Mr Andetarang G Iramae, Dr Edon Aboki and Mr E A Tonga They are simply wonderful A word of appreciation to my cousins Mr Ifraimu Musa for the much concern about my total wellbeing and progress in life and Mr and Mrs Elkanah Musa for always sheltering my family and I in Jos each time we come around and especially throughout my research trips to Jos I must remain ever grateful to Rev Anokam Obed Osonwa of the Assemblies of God Church Port Harcourt for his constant friendliness and financial assistance Of special mention is Barr Y N Akirikwen and his wife for their very huge financial and moral support Of special mention too is Mr Frank Kyafa Adamu who assisted me with a good sum of money The Rev and Assoc Prof Mrs Rimamnde M Andemum equally deserve special mention for assisting me with good amount of money Equally, Mr and Mrs Isaac Markus Kaigama, Mr and Mrs Reuben Iratishe, Mrs vii Juliana C Shaiki and Mrs Gloria Agaibe stood by me financially in the course of the programme Thank you so much for your support I am honestly bereft of the right word to use in appreciating Elder Walter E Maduagwu and Dr Maxwell Aniekwem of Ukraine who helped me out when I was having difficulty in paying for all my international publications Elder Maduagwu has always been a very close friend in times of financial and emotional need Thanks are also due to Dr Samuel Bello Adeseye for the role he played with regards to my Ph.D admission at UNN and his assistance to my education generally, Dr Istifanus Akila Barde who first accommodated me at Nsukka and continued to lift me in his car most times to and fro Nsukka, Rev Fr Gabriel Ngbea who did likewise, Mr Rimamchaten Lawi accommodated me during my final session of 2014/2015, Mr and Mrs Fwabenya Ishaku Kuni, Archbishop Ibe Ogboso Ukah and Mrs Monica Ejim Uche, all supported me wonderfully I thank in a special way Evangelist William D Lamu, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Jalingo, Taraba State and Dr Rebecca D Irany of TSU Jalingo for graciously, painstakingly and assiduously proofreading this work in spite of their very tight schedules To all of you, I say a big thank you for the honour A very special gratitude to Chap Dr Leonardo Stephen, Taraba State Commandant of United Nigerian Chaplaincy for all his wonderful encouragements and prophetic declarations on my life endeavours A word of thanks to my friend Rev Dr Okechukwu Nwachukwu who had so much material on my area of research but only selfishly allowed me access to very few of them to photocopy I learnt from it and for this I appreciate him The following also rendered invaluable assistance in various ways, for which I am most grateful: Mr Bitrus Bature of Kaduna Polytechnic, who tirelessly went viii through Kaduna city for three months in search of relevant books on prosperity for me; Rev Nansel Barry and Pastor Uche Okpani Peace for loaning me 23 and 22 prosperity books respectively; Mrs Mahci Amos Nkare of Glamorous Bookshop who offered me some books free of cost; Rev Fr Jonah Rimamndeya of St Augustine Major Seminary Jos who kindly sought three relevant books for my research free of charge; Mr Ande Roland of Taraba State University (TSU) for always giving me free access to the university’s internet facility and preparing my Ph.D proposal power point presentation; Mr Caleb Yakubu Tapu who helped to provide me with a song, Lady Grace Ozioma Nwamah of Imo State University, Engr Charles Ugwunna of Taraba State Polytechnic and Mr Jonathan Apuru also of TSU for their constant patience in putting me through whenever I am faced with serious challenge in my laptop and typesetting To all of you I say a big thank you Indeed, time and space is limiting me compulsorily to acknowledge all that contributed in one way or the other to the successful completion of my academic pursuit It is my prayer that God in his infinite mercies who alone knows your labour of love will richly reward you in Jesus name! Thank you so much! 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I am most appreciative of. .. have been reawakened to probably give a balanced teaching about financial prosperity The teaching that Christians can gain financial freedom from serving God without reference to hard labour and