Ololade Adeyanju/
A message shared on Twitter today by the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye, in which he said that he once asked his son to sack his secretary in order to avert an extramarital relationship has triggered an intense war of words.
The argument is raging between those who agreed with Adeboye’s counsel and those who opposed it.
The cleric’s post is currently the number one trending topic on Twitter in Nigeria.
The revered clergyman in the message he titled, ‘Crush the crush’, which he shared on his Twitter handle, said he gave the advice after his son confided in him about how he eagerly looks forward to being in the office on Mondays just to see the secretary.
Adeboye said the outset of extramarital relationships could be likened to such immoral attraction, adding that no one should be closer to a man or woman than his or her spouse.
He wrote: “It’s said that many still have crushes with persons apart from their spouses. If there’s any fellow aside from your spouse you’re admiring unduly, you must get rid of them immediately.
“One of my sons told me that he was always excited to resume office every Monday so he would get to see his secretary again. I told him to fire her immediately. No one is worth your marriage.
“What’s a married woman doing on the phone with another man for countless minutes? Why would a married man be spending so much time with another man’s wife?
“Why discuss intimate issues with your opposite sex ‘friend’ instead of your spouse? You say ‘I am not doing anything with the fellow; we are just friends.’ That is exactly how it starts…
“If you have any friend that you talk to more than your spouse, break that friendship now. Spend more time with your spouse and make him/her your confidant.”
One of those who criticised the cleric was Nigerian author, Chika Unigwe, who wrote on handle @chikeunigwe: “Lol. This son should gouge his eyes out, fill his ears with wax, cut out his tongue, never leave his house lest he be tempted by what he sees/hears/says/meets. Since the solution is to remove the ‘temptation’, ensure that your son is covered in every way from being tempted.
“Also: your son is abusing his power as the boss by denying a good worker her wages, forcing her on to the job market, sacking her for no fault of hers. It’s not very Christian.
“Also: speaking as a mother of 4 sons and as a Christian, it is better that we teach our sons that self-restraint is a virtue. One does not go after everything one wants. We expect our daughters to have self-control but not our sons?
“Also: this is part of the thought process that blames assault victims for their assault: ‘what was she wearing? She must have tempted him’ etc. and enables assaulters to assault with impunity.”
See some other reactions to the post:
Read Adeboye’s full post below: