Religion is the greatest menace plaguing Nigerian society. Surprisingly, our problem is not even politics but religion. Some religions are raising cult groups, fanatics, and extremists, those that can kill and cause mayhem and would not mind clearing off entire mankind or go any length in the fight and defense of their religion. 

When we talk about religious extremism and fanaticism, people cast their minds first to the Islam religion but surprisingly, Islam is not the only religion with some sects being fanatics and extremists; some Christian religious groups are arguable raising extremists who if care is not taken will soon start taking up arms to cause havoc all in the name of fighting for their god, fighting for their leader or in defense of their church. 

Some Christian religious leaders are raising cult members, feeding their minds, and feasting their souls with adulterated doctrines of the Christian faith, some have turned some of the followers into violent extremists waiting to explode at any slightest opportunity. 

What happened in Adoration ground on Sunday is a recent case study on how some of the Christain religious groups if not bridled may blow up into terrible violent groups who can do anything, “anything” in defense of their leader or church. 

The protest that was staged on Sunday by the members of the adoration ministry or “adorers” (as they are fondly called) for the fact that the higher authority of the catholic religion in Enugu state decided to call the adoration ministry spiritual director to order should be a cause to worry about. 

Background to the story: Adoration Ministry is a religious group that was founded by Father Ejike Mbaka and is located in Enugu State, Nigeria. Father Mbaka as he is famously called is fond of getting involved in politics and telling his followers who to vote and who not to vote during the elections period, sometimes, he publicly insults politicians and lays curses on them in his church before the worshippers. 

The story goes that he (Mbaka) had an unsettled score with Mr. Peter Obi, the former governor of Anambra state and a presidential hopeful under the platform of the labour party and he (Mbaka) got a wind that Peter Obi is contesting for the presidency, he launched a verbal attack on Peter Obi, he stated before his worshippers that Peter Obi is a stingy person and cannot be Nigerian President that a stingy man cannot be a Nigerian president.

Mr. Mbaka, during his weekly ministration service, last Wednesday is quoted to have said emphatically that Mr. Obi will never be the president of Nigeria come 2023 because Obi is a “stingy man who does not give out money to people.”

He said unless Mr. Obi returned to his ministry to apologize for refusing to make a donation to the ministry when he was asked to do so, his ambition to become president of Nigeria would be fruitless.

Many Nigerians, especially the youths who have been the major advocates of Mr. Obi’s emergence as Nigerian President come 2023 severally called out and criticized Mr. Mbaka over his comment on Obi. 

The Enugu Diocese of the Catholic church first disassociated themselves from the comment of Mr. Mbaka and the Bishop of Enugu Diocese, Callistus Onaga subsequently banned Catholic members from attending activities of the Father Mbaka ministry until further notice. 

The worshippers of the chapel launched a heated protest on Sunday, protesting against the Bishop, some are even threatening to Kill the Bishop and Kill Peter Obi and some can be heard boldly praying that the Holy spirit should kill the Bishop. 

The fact that a Christain religious group can stage a heated protest against the superior head of their organization for the reason that the superior called their leader to order is troublesome. One will be forced to ask what doctrine are they being taught in their place of worship because the Bible I also read which is the handbook of the Christain religion states: 

“Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God”- Romans 13:1.

When I first penned down my women entrepreneurship research in March 2019, Celebrating Women’s Day: A Poem on my Research, little did I realise that I would be reflecting upon that piece more than 3 years on. There are two issues here with a common denominator.

First, my most recent research on a woman businessowner (i.e., Heaven Kigali, Rwanda) highlighted a major pivot which is acknowledged here. Second, the 2022 Commonwealth Womens’ Forum is today and tomorrow, and yes here in Rwanda!

As I pointed out many years ago, or so it seems, “I am pleased to share a timeline of my research on women between 2009 and 2015 – albeit from an entrepreneurship lens.” Let me recount the journey of my research staring with that which published in 2009. This inaugural article on the subject, which is entitled Breaking the glass ceiling in Nigeria: A review of women’s entrepreneurship, explores the relevance of the age-long conundrum known as the glass ceiling as ever more questionable for a number of compelling reasons. First, its root in the invisible barriers (push factors) facing women’s career progression prospects in the corporate world is ever-changing at a rapid pace across every region of the globe. Second, research shows some evidence of a major dramatic increase in women-owned businesses as being attributable to women’s desire to gain more flexibility in their work arrangements (pull factors). By providing a catalogue of pull factors in the context of African (especially Nigerian) women entrepreneurs, this paper surmised that:

the glass ceiling problem may have well been shattered in numerous spheres, and thus become less tenable as a gender-specific reality in the twenty-first century.

The second article entitled Micro-credit for microenterprises? which published in 2010, is a co-authored paper that examines the factors that constrain women petty traders’ access to microcredit, and the innovative measures they have initiated in order to counter these constraints. Based on in?depth interviews with women micro?entrepreneurs drawn from a convenience sample of 20 petty traders in the market town of Awka – the capital of a state in Eastern Nigeria, the paper identifies three main constraints – internal, socio?cultural and policy induced – as the key moderating influences on women petty traders’ ability access to micro?credit. This paper posits that the lack of access to credit promotes market exclusion and deepens the socioeconomic and political vulnerability of women as a consequence.

In the third article entitled Setting an agenda for women entrepreneurship in Nigeria, and published in 2011, the discourse on women in a developing world context is moved from the margins of international obscurity by acknowledging the contributions of reputable academics from an emerging market context on a subject that has pervaded the global podium in recent years – i.e. women in management. Adopting a strictly qualitative stance – a narrative analysis of a single book on women written by “a woman of status” – Dr (Mrs) Faseke, a graduate of the University of Ibadan and one time Head of the Department of History at the Lagos State University (Nigeria). This paper acknowledges:

…the “silent voices” of African women, drawing upon a publication that was encountered purely by chance – Modupe Faseke’s “The Nigerian Woman,” published by Agape Publications (Ibadan, Nigeria) in 2001.

Fourth in the line-up is a co-authored article Broken silence: a commentary on women’s entrepreneurship in the United Arab Emirates, published in 2012, which draws upon the scant literature on women’s entrepreneurship in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It explores the motivations of women business owners in the country based on 10 in-depth interviews. Considering the patriarchal socio-cultural environmental context associated with the Middle East, a number of surprising dynamics are highlighted in the specific case of the UAE.

Growing numbers of women graduates and businesses are observed, which suggests that the historical silence among this group is gradually being broken and that changes in government policies and the socio-cultural environment are the key drivers behind this evolution.

In the fifth article, this book chapter entitled Women entrepreneurship in sub-Saharan Africa, published in 2014/ 2015, highlights the challenges of women business owners in SSA using in- depth interviews from four different countries. The primary aim of the chapter is to pinpoint shared challenges of women entrepreneurs and/ or business owners drawing upon their narratives and attributions. The chapter unpacks four critical dimensions impacting upon the similarities and/ or differences in experiences – notably:

The owner’s background (nationality, ethnicity, education, family etc.); prior motivations (why they chose to start- up); challenges (including start- up capital, government regulations, personal achievements), and plans for the future.

Sixth, and finally this full case study entitled Heaven Kigali-Knocking on Heaven’s Door, which published in a leading textbook, Strategic Marketing: Creating Competitive Advantage published by Oxford University Press in 2015 highlights the story of Heaven Restaurant & Bar, Kigali (capital city of Rwanda), owned and managed by an American woman who has been doing business in a foreign country since 2006 and navigating the “liability of foreignness”. The case was developed over a 6-month period (June-December 2012), on the back of personal observation and a prolonged in-depth interview with the Entrepreneur. Heaven first came to light as part of a CNN documentary with a focus on developments in Rwanda – dubbed Africa’s Singapore.

Given Rwanda’s tourism plan in its Vision 2020 commitment to improving hospitality and supporting tourism, the story of Heaven, provides an ideal contribution to the realities of doing business abroad and the attendant liability-of-foreignness usually attached to such enterprise. 

The same case was only recently updated in an article Hospitality in Crisis Times: Heaven Kigali Case Study | ICSB | International Council for Small Business

Indeed, further scholarly enquiry on how to cope with the realities of women in business both large, small and everything in-between.

I have since added two more case profiles from Ghana and again Rwanda – notably Alhaji’s Wife Kitchen redefines the Waakye Experience – Tekedia and Pangolin’s Burrows, Kigali, Rwanda: My Encounter with Aileen Lyatuu, CEO – Tekedia