UK-based Pastor of SPAC Nation, Tobi Adegboyega, sat with Chude Jideonwo, host of #WithChude and founder of Joy, Inc., to discuss controversies surrounding his lifestyle as a pastor and people’s perceptions of him.

His name has been in the news for dining with popular stars like Tiwa Savage and Davido and recently for a BBC series on fraudulent activities and a viral choir video.

In this episode of #WithChude, he shares his choices, what influenced them, and his perspective on his work.

Addressing the concern that his lifestyle might affect the reception of his message, he said, “I think the shiny attracts; the time it takes to attract may just be longer. I have been preaching here for 17 years and never knew anything about the ‘shine-shine’ world or Instagram until 2016. We were growing but not at this pace.

The message has always been there, but do people care? People follow what they believe, their religion. Things have to be different to break in and pass a new message. What we believe is to attract first; when you attract, there will be controversies, and people will share their opinions, but eventually, the message gets clearer. My worry is, does the typical church care about souls? Because if no one is attracted to you, how will they hear the message?”

He believes that there is more sincerity outside the church than in the church. He mentioned that the church is to reach the unconverted.

He said:“Jesus said something very clearly, ‘Those who well do not need a physician’. You don’t go to the hospital when you are well. If we feel that we are supposed to reach other people our perspectives. It really bothers me that the church preaches to the converted; their Sunday services are to the converted. The people already believe what you are saying they have been listening for ten to twenty years. Apart from that, I like them. I have spent all my years growing up in the church. But I think there is more sincerity outside of the four walls. What changes nations is people’s debate on sincere topics, not on frivolous things.”

Reacting to the viral video of him spraying money on the popular musician, Davido, he said, “I love Davido, and I think I am still allowed to be human, right? These churches invite pastors and give them honorariums. Our honorarium is that when a person comes all the way, I don’t know where David was coming from at the time or in some other country. He heard that one of our pastors was having a wedding, so he decided to come. In our tradition, if you go to parties, people spray money maybe it’s the Yoruba culture, I don’t know if the Igbos or others do it but see, they spray money, so for me, it wasn’t meant for the video. At the same time, those who hide are cowards. I know pastors in Africa who have big cars, and they drive Toyota to church, and I say, ‘Why do you do that, this is deceit’. They will say, ‘you know people will talk’. Then you shouldn’t get in the car in the first place.

“Some of us are who we are; if I have a penny, once the boys around me know, somehow it will get on the internet because everybody can see my life, this is where I live, it is not a secret almost everyone in the Nation family knows. I am comfortable with how I look and dress in my private space. If I am something else, I won’t like it, but I have also found out that it reaches other people,” he added.

The 2022 edition of The Nigeria Prize for Science Wednesday, announced two most outstanding works on “Gains in Grain Yield of Released Maize (Zea Mays L.) Cultivars under Drought and Well-Watered Conditions” by Muhydideen Oyekunle and Shehu Ado; and “Development of Process Plant for Plantain Flour” by Sesan Peter Ayodeji and Emmanuel Olatunji Olatomilola, as winners of the $100,000 prize money.

The Prize’s Advisory Board, led by Professor Barth Nnaji, announced the judges’ verdict based on the 2022 theme “Innovations in Sustainable Food Security” at a press conference in Lagos.

In his remarks on the verdict, Mr. Andy Odeh, NLNG’s General Manager, External Relations and Sustainable Development, said the science prize is growing in strength as the 2022 verdict depicts.

He stated that the Advisory Board and NLNG are working behind the scenes to review the prize for bigger impact and inclusiveness for the good of society.

He emphasized that science can provide solutions to most of the country’s challenges and urged relevant stakeholders and the public to continue to support NLNG through the Nigeria Prize for Science to make scientific breakthroughs the biggest enabler of development in Nigeria, adding that industry and public investors should consider the commercial value of the winning works.

Commending the winners for the big feat, Mr. Odeh implored all past winners of the prize to synergize and become a think-tank that can generate and sustain the flow of ideas, innovation, and scientific advice to the public and private sectors, adding that this will make scientific ideas and innovations beneficial to Nigerians, thereby helping to build a better Nigeria, in line with NLNG’s vision.

He added that the winning works have the potential to significantly impact the country’s food security positively, guaranteeing a stable, efficient, and sufficient system of food production.

Referring to the judges’ report, Professor Nnaji said the work(s) addressed food security which is a key component of our national agenda. “At the global level, Goal 2 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) seeks sustainable solutions to end hunger in all its forms by 2030 and to achieve food security.

This entails improving the productivity and incomes of small-scale farmers by promoting equal access to land, technology and markets, resilient agricultural practices, and sustainable food production systems”, he stated.

Professor Nnaji said the choice of the judges reflects a multi-disciplinary approach relevant to the theme in focus.

He added that “the advisory board is particularly pleased that in evaluating the entries, the judges upheld the objectives of the prize which seeks to identify and promote excellence in utilizing scientific knowledge for the achievement of desired solutions”.

Muhyideen Oyekunle and Shehu Ado’s work on “Gains in Grain Yield of Released Maize (Zea Mays L.) Cultivars under Drought and Well Watered Conditions” provides us with a unique opportunity.

The maize seeds they selected courtesy of breeding programme has been tested to be high yielding and water stress tolerant. The hybrids they selected records yields of 1.73-2.51 t/ha in stress areas and 5-6 t/ha in areas with good rainfall distribution in farmers’ fields.

Sesan Peter Ayodeji and Emmanuel Olatunji Olatomilola’s work on “Development of Process Plant for Plantain Flour” is important for reducing spoilage of farm products and package for distribution as well as value addition for farm products. It is resourceful in scaling up from batch production to industrial scale continuous flour production relevant beyond plantain to other food items.

He commended the Board and Management of Nigeria LNG for instituting, sponsoring, and sustaining what is arguably the biggest Science Prize in Africa.

Winners of this year’s edition of the prize are Muhyideen Oyekunle, a Maize Breeder and Lecturer at the Institute for Agricultural Research (IAR), Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria, and his colleague Prof Shehu Garki Ado, an agricultural expert, eminent academic, and researcher of international repute. He is a professor of Genetics and Plant Breeding and is currently the vice-chancellor of Al-Qalam University Katsina.

Professor Sesan Peter Ayodeji is a professor of Machine & Process Design and Applied Ergonomics at the Federal University of Technology, Akure, and his colleague is Emmanuel Olatunji Olatomilola.

The decision on the winning entries was reached by a panel of judges, led by Professor Christian Ugwu Agbo. Professor Agbo is a professor in the Department of Agriculture at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

Other members on the panel are Ms. Funke Opeke and Prof Mohammed Magaji. Ms. Opeke is an experienced telecommunications executive and the founder/CEO of MainOne,while Professor Magaji is a professor of Agronomy at the Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto.

For the Advisory Board of the NigeriaPrize for Science, in addition to Professor Nnaji, are Chief Dr. Nike Akande, a two-time minister and former President Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry; and Professor Yusuf Abubakar, a professor of Animal Breeding and Quantitative Genetics and the Coordinator of Agriculture Group, R & D Standing Committee, at the Tertiary Education Trust Fund.