The Delusions of the Manipulated

A man and six of his friends came to me sometime last year at Muritala Mohammed Domestic Airport 2. He was fifty-two years old, a music promoter who had lived in the United Kingdom for many years and had done well for himself financially The man, however, has had a very rough patch maritally and has not been able to settle down with any woman, a friend of his decided to help him connect with a lady in Warri, Delta State. The friend also had some young Nigerian talents whose music he wanted to promote in the United Kingdom, and he brought them to the airport to meet with this music promotion legend. They all met him at the airport and were supposed to take the next local flight out of Lagos to Warri. The flight was delayed I was also meant to be on that flight.

The man saw me and brought all his friends to me I didn’t know him, but I had crossed paths with one of his friends in the UK, who was seriously sick (leukemia), and prayed with the friend over the phone the friend got healed, and the testimony of the friend was how the man got to know about me, the online fellowship, and GSWMI. I was shocked to see them, especially because of the way they were all dressed (dreadlocks, coloured hair, tattoos, earrings, jeans sagging, sunglasses of different colors, and jewelry all over) I don’t judge anyone by their dressing, but I was raised in Ibadan, and sometimes that conservative training makes me run far away from those who are dressed like that because of the deviant behavior that usually comes with their culture.

He shouted, “Brother Gbenga, I stretched my hand to shake him, and he brushed the hand aside and embarrassingly hugged me.” He carried me up with a hug and was screaming with joy. All the while, I was wondering who he was. After he eventually dropped me back on my feet in one piece, he introduced himself and then proceeded to introduce all the guys that came with him. All of them greeted me in a very familiar and warm manner. Then he told me he was going to Warri to check out a babe and see if it is possible to marry her while he still had some time to raise children.

I wanted to tell him, “Great, the Lord bless you,” so that they can all move back to their seats and give me some space, but there is the Spirit of God in me. He has his right of expression. He is the fullness of all my expressions.

I said, “They are not taking you to Warri to give you a wife, they are taking you to Warri to torture you and collect all your hard-earned money.” I didn’t say it into his ears I just said it so that they all heard me, There was silence, then his so-called friend said, “That is true. He deserves all the bad things that will happen to him in this life and more. If we kill him today or if someone else kills him tomorrow, it will be a well-deserved death. This man is evil, and he should suffer.”

The fifty-two-year-old man was shocked to the bone at the outburst of his friend. They had been friends since they met in 1993 as secondary school friends in Nigeria. It was right after secondary school that he moved to the United Kingdom with his family. They reconnected through Facebook in 2009 They had never had any business dealings, and they usually would catch up once in a while on WhatsApp or FaceTime and just talk about life and work. So, how did he offend this “Friend”

The friend said things had never gone the right way for him in life (He got rusticated out of three universities and also couldn’t complete his degree programme with the Open University. He couldn’t hold down a job, had three children with three different women who were taking care of the children without his input, and he does odd jobs around clubs, event management companies, security companies, and upcoming musicians. Everywhere he went for prayers, he was told someone close to him stole his glory, but nobody ever told him who did that and how it was done He said the last place he visited, the man (pastor) asked him who in his life does something similar to him, who is very rich, and they see each other as friends The only person who came to his mind was his friend in the United Kingdom, they are both in the entertainment industry and pushing the same hustle, but while his friend had prospered, he had wallowed in poverty.

The pastor then asked him if his friend had ever tried to help him out financially or in any other way (like helping him to move to the United Kingdom) He said his friend had always known of his financial and life struggles and had never offered to help or support him in any way The pastor then asked if they lived together at any point in their lives, and if he remembered if his shirt or any item of his clothing was missing at the time He told the pastor they met in the boarding school, and his friend asked him specifically for combat jeans made by FUBU, which his parents bought him, and he willingly gave them to his friend.

The Pastor then said, “That was the moment you traded your glory with your friend.” He said his body was covered with chills and goosebumps, as soon as those words were spoken, it was as if his body confirmed the pastor’s words as true He asked the pastor how it could be recovered The pastor told him it is either the person using his glory dies or willingly hands it back to him by willingly giving him any form of gift, help or money without being asked The pastor told him to fast and pray for three days, and either of the two would happen to confirm the Word he had heard He said he fasted and prayed.

On the third day of the fast, his friend suddenly called him out of nowhere and told him he just got some commission on a tour he organized for a music band to the tune of seven hundred thousand pounds He, in turn, told his friend that things were tough and he had not even paid his rent His friend just said, “Buckle up and man the storm out, man, man it out.” To his mind, this was a further confirmation of the prophecy he received because he had assumed his friend would send him some money, and this would then mean a turnaround in his fortune as he would get his glory back.

After another six months without making any progress in life, he decided to talk to his friend about this lady whom he could get married to or have children with in Nigeria, and they began to talk about the friend’s journey to Nigeria It was when the plan had matured that he decided he would have to take what was taken from him by force, since it was not given to him willingly.

I asked the friend if he had any money on him He said “Yes” I told him to bring out his wallet and empty it out for this friend in Nigeria he did so without an argument, the friend also collected it. I told the friend that if what his pastor said was true, that would mean he had recovered his glory by collecting the money which his friend offered willingly, he said yes I said Thank you. The friend and his goons left at that point, the one that flew in from the UK stayed with me, still too stunned to speak.

Eventually, he said, “Thank you so much, Brother Gbenga, I don’t even know what I should do now. I had planned to be here for two weeks and lined up many activities with the help and support of my friend. Do I cancel them or reach out to those people directly? Do I just return to the UK or maybe visit some friends and family members while I am here?” I told him to keep as far away from his Nigerian friend as possible. I know many Nigerians in his shoes who misuse their life daily but always blame their misbehavior on a third party. I have seen husbands whose wives were prospering financially, and they concluded that the wife was using their glory. I have seen children whose mothers believe their fathers were using their glory to prosper in life. I have seen wives who also claim their husbands became fortunate in life by the use of their glory.

The story of someone stealing a friend’s glory by taking their shirt or clothes is not new to me. I heard it first in 2009 from the mouth of a pastor who said it happened to him in Akure, and only God helped him to rescue his glory from a friend who wanted to use it. The pastors and prophets who made these assertions a thing in Nigerian Christianity didn’t know the Word of God, and they also do not have the spirit of God. NOBODY CAN USE THE GLORY OF ANOTHER PERSON, IT IS SPIRITUALLY IMPOSSIBLE.

When the weak-minded is told such a thing, they believe it and want it to be true so that they can hide behind it as an excuse not to do well in life. The strong-minded, when told such a thing, laughs it off because he or she knows success is an assured destination for him or her in life. It is time to bury this lie once and for all.

PS: The friend returned to the United Kingdom and cut off all ties with his old friend Imagine my shock when, at about 4 AM this morning, I got a message from the Nigerian friend, who claimed his glory was used, lamenting to me that things are still very difficult for him and he would like me to pray for him and with him to break the yoke of stagnancy and poverty. I thought he had collected his glory back, and by now, he should be swimming in success and fortune. He would have killed or injured his friend for nothing. His lack of ability to put his brain to work is the true reason behind his poverty. Anybody who believes someone can use his or her glory would not know how to prosper, even if you draw him or her a map

-GSW