Soft power prophet(s): the unexplored dimension of Nigeria’s religious soft power potential

ABSTRACT

Despite Nigeria’s reservoir of soft power resources, adequate attention has not been given to the growing transnational influence of Nigeria’s Pentecostal pastors/prophets. Drawing on the recent emphasis on soft power capabilities of individuals which moves soft power discourse away from focusing strictly on state-centric analysis, this paper examines the soft power attraction of Nigeria’s Pentecostal pastors/prophets, especially, the late Prophet TB Joshua. The article argues that with the enormity of such influence, the Nigerian state can leverage it as a potent tool of diplomacy to further enhance its soft power, although it notes that the expected separation between the state and religion might pose some challenges.

KEYWORDS:

• Nigeria
• Pentecostalism
• soft power
• prophecy
• Prophet TB Joshua

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. Nigeria’s 2006 Census enumerated over 68 million Muslims in the country compared to Egypt’s 55 million, which is the highest for any Arab country.