Skip to main content

"Pastor Oyedepo Slaps President Jonathan"-SaharaTV’s Video Comes 3rd On YouTube All Time Nigeria’s Viewership

The SaharaTV video of Bishop David Oyedepo slapping President Goodluck Jonathan has emerged as the third most viewed non-musical video out of Nigeria.

Display in Video Section
On
Labels
Cartoon
Caption
Bishop Oyedepo Slaps President Jonathan-A Parody

Google, the owners of YouTube, made this known on Thursday as part of the 10th anniversary of the video streaming online portal.

The parody made by Dr. Damages Show on SaharaTV came third behind “Charlie bit my finger again!” by HDCYT.

The number one ranked non-musical video out of Nigeria was the famous Channels TV’s “There is God” video of Patience Jonathan. Channels TV video captured Patience Jonathan’s breakdown following the abduction of over 230 Chibok school girls by Boko Haram insurgence.

Made in 2011, SaharaTV’s Bishop Oyedepo Slaps President Jonathan’s video has garnered over one million viewers. It was a parody of a viral video of Bishop David Oyedepo of the Winners Chapel slapping a poor girl who had come to his church for salvation.

In SaharaTV’s parody video, the producers turned the table on the Oyedepo incident. By placing President Jonathan in place of the poor girl, it forced the viewers to confront the gravity of what Bishop Oyedepo’s action meant.

On another level, the video turned out to be a prophetic depiction of how the Jonathan’s administration would ultimately crumble. Produced before President Jonathan pegged his re-election campaign on inducing church leaders to sway their followers towards him, the video illustrated the relationship the president later forged with the church leaders in Nigeria.

At first the church leader represented by Oyedepo did not have the interest in attending to the president’s needs until he realized that there was a potential to make money in the process. In the election that took place in March 2015, there were allegations that the president’s party gave over N6 billion Naira to church leaders to drum up support for him.

The video also made a caricature of President Jonathan’s slow reaction to matters of great importance.  That character flaw later became the signature of his administration as seen in how he handled several corruption allegations. In each case, the president was slow to react and even when he did, he muddled things up in words and actions.

“It took less than eight minutes to write the script,” says Rudolf Okonkwo, a producer at Dr. Damages Show. “We didn’t expect that it would get the kind of reaction it did. We just wanted to begin the conversation on how to hold people in power accountable.”

Despite the viral nature of the video, Bishop Oyedepo won a court case brought against him for slapping the poor girl.

One thing the video changed was that churches in Nigeria are now extra careful of activities they undertake in public view for fear that someone with a video camera might be watching. Some churches even have security men confiscate recording devices of church members right at the entrance of the church.

“The fact that Patience Jonathan’s “There’s God” video is number one shows you that she should have been the one who ran for president,” says Rudolf Okonkwo. “We’ll miss her, greatly.”

 

Topics
VIDEO NEWS