Pentecostalism and Electoral Politics: A Projection of Nigeria's Soft Power in Africa

Abstract

There exists strong relationship between religion and politics, especially in Africa. In Nigeria, there is a trend of spiritualizing electoral politics with regard to consulting spiritual leaders prior during and after elections. The dynamics and manifestations of this interface between religion and politics is recently more pronounced with Pentecostalism which from its humble beginning in the early 1990's is now a global brand with a blend of socio-economic, political and religious influence. Nigerian politicians of all shades and aspirants now visit prophets, not because of the large pool of adherents this brand of Christianity command, rather it is anchored on its spiritual and future telling tendencies. However, this pattern of interactions has invariably given rise to far rising religious leaders in Nigeria who are now consulted by political leaders outside Nigeria, not only for spiritual needs but also political matters like elections. It is within this context therefore, we attempt to interrogate the linkage between the spiritualization of electoral process and the projection of Nigeria's soft power, given the strategic position of Nigeria in the African continent. Specifically, the central focus of the paper is to investigate the nexus between prophetic electoral declarations by Nigerian pastors and the projection of Nigeria's soft power potentials in Africa. The paper drawing on the theory of power, relying on documentary method of data collection and adopting content analysis, argues that Nigerian pastors of Pentecostal extraction in the course of their prophetic electoral declarations vis-à-vis the political ambitions of many African leaders have contributed to the soft power reservoir of the Nigerian state. The paper, therefore recommends that the Nigerian state should incorporate and calibrate such power resources to shore up its hegemonic claims as a regional power in Africa.