Who Exactly Is Pastor Adeboye Addressing With His N20 Billion Request? — Adedara Oduguwa, PhD

African pastors and their business as usual. So, Pastor Adeboye asked for ₦20 billion from 110 Nigerians. Someone said, “He is asking it from those who can afford it.” Who exactly was Pastor Adeboye addressing in the world headquarters of poverty?

Let us put this into mathematical calculations using the top jobs in Nigeria.

1. Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN): Estimated average salary: around ₦1.9 million per month (about ₦22.8 million annually). Entry-level staff typically earn between ₦122,000 – ₦220,000 per month. Mid-level roles (e.g., senior officers) range from ₦300,000 – ₦1,000,000 per month. Directors and executives earn from ₦800,000 up to over ₦2 million per month depending on position.

On average, even a Director in the CBN makes around ₦24 million from salaries per year, that’s ₦2 million × 12 = ₦24 million. To raise ₦100 million without deductions, it will take ₦24 million × 4.2 (4 years and 2 months) = ₦100 million.

This means after spending between 20-25 years in the CBN, a director (without stealing) cannot afford to give someone ₦100 million. In other words, Pastor Adeboye was not addressing a CBN director.

2. Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC): Interns earn about ₦20,000 – ₦40,000 per month. Entry-level staff usually earn ₦180,000 – ₦350,000 per month. Mid-level to senior staff earn between ₦500,000 – ₦1,000,000 per month, with managers or senior engineers possibly earning up to ₦2 million.

On average, a Manager in the NNPC makes around ₦24 million from salaries per year, that’s ₦2 million × 12 = ₦24 million. To raise ₦100 million without deductions, it will take ₦24 million × 4.2 (4 years and 2 months) = ₦100 million.

Again, Pastor Adeboye won’t be addressing a Manager in the NNPC making legitimate money. We may need to dig deeper to know who he was referring to.

3. Airline Pilots (Commercial): First Officer (entry-level): approximately ₦500,000 – ₦1.2 million per month. Airline Captains (domestic routes): around ₦1.5 million – ₦3 million per month. International Captains: can earn ₦3 million – ₦5 million+ per month. Private/charter pilots typically earn between ₦400,000 – ₦1.5 million per month. Flight instructors earn about ₦300,000 – ₦700,000 per month.

On average, an international pilot (highest rank in this category) makes around ₦60 million from salaries per year, that’s ₦5 million × 12 = ₦60 million. To raise ₦100 million without deductions, it will take ₦60 million × 1.7 (1 year and 7 months) = ₦100 million.

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Even a captain pilot who has served between 6-12 years, cannot afford this amount as a gift, except he/she is involved in some fraudulent deals.

4. Medical Doctors: Salaries vary significantly depending on role, sector (public vs. private), and experience: Public sector (e.g., teaching hospitals): House Officers earn ₦110,000 – ₦200,000/month. Medical Officers earn ₦180,000 – ₦220,000. Junior Registrars earn ₦220,000 – ₦280,000. Senior Registrars earn ₦250,000 – ₦350,000. Consultants earn ₦450,000 – ₦700,000. Private sector: Resident Doctors earn ₦120,000 – ₦250,000. Consultants earn ₦300,000 – ₦500,000.

On average, a medical doctor Consultant (highest rank) makes around ₦14.4 million from salaries per year, that’s ₦1.2 million × 12 = ₦14.4 million. To raise ₦100 million without deductions, it will take ₦14.4 million × 7 (7 years) = ₦100 million.

It will take a doctor from entry level 12-15 years (fastest 10 years) to become a consultant. Yet, this person won’t be able to afford this request from Pastor Adeboye, except involved in criminal dealings.

5. IT Roles: Entry Software Developer: ₦150,000 – ₦400,000; Mid Software Developer: ₦400,000 – ₦800,000; Senior Software Developer: ₦800,000 – ₦3,000,000+; IT Support (Entry to Mid): ₦80,000 – ₦400,000; IT Support (Senior/Manager): ₦400,000 – ₦1,500,000; Cloud Engineer / Cybersecurity: ₦500,000 – ₦2,000,000+; Executive Roles (CTO, CIO): ₦900,000 – ₦2,800,000; Specialized Roles (Cloud, DevOps): ₦600,000 – ₦2,500,000+.

On average, an IT executive role (highest rank) makes around ₦33.6 million from salaries per year, that’s ₦2.8 million × 12 = ₦33.6 million. To raise ₦100 million without deductions, it will take ₦33.6 million × 3 (3 years) = ₦100 million.

Again, a successful IT professional cannot afford to give Pastor Adeboye the requested ₦100 million.

Consequently, for the ₦100 million request, the Nigerian pastor businessman is speaking to fraudsters, ritualists, and corrupt politicians. These categories of people are the only ones who can afford the said amount, not legitimate people.

Meanwhile, the pastor also asked 10 Nigerians to donate ₦1 billion each. From the analysis, it is clear he was not asking employees but employers/ politicians. How many employers/ politicians can gift anyone ₦1 billion without being fraudulent? They are definitely not up to 10 in Nigeria.

So, the pastor does not care where the money is coming from. What he cares about is the money, not the salvation of sinners and not the redemption of their souls.

Nigerians will continue to be poor until this insatiable desire for wealth of religious leaders is stopped. They are the dumping grounds of stolen destinies and the wealth of the nation.