Lucky Obukohwo, Reporting
Benson Idahosa’s daughter has finally spoken out, and her remarks are generating widespread reactions across social media.
Ratiande Idahosa, daughter of the late Archbishop Benson Idahosa, has recently expressed perspectives on religion and culture that contrast significantly with the values her parents championed. Although many assumed she would continue the family’s ministerial legacy, she ultimately chose to forge her own distinct path.
Unlike her late father, Archbishop Benson Idahosa, a pioneering figure in Nigeria’s Pentecostal movement, and her mother, Margaret Idahosa, Ratiande did not pursue a career in ministry and is neither a pastor nor a preacher.
She has stayed out of church work and public ministry. That low profile is why many Nigerians did not even know she existed until now.
Her stance shows a clear generational shift in belief and identity.
In her comments, Ratiande argued that religion and culture are deeply intertwined.
She cited examples: Indians with Hinduism, Arabs with Islam. According to her, Christianity does not align with African culture because Africans had to strip away their identity to accept it. “How can we truly worship a God that doesn’t look, talk, or act like us?” she asked.
She went further to say that other civilizations adapted religion to fit their culture. Europeans created a version of Judaism that became Christianity. Persians shaped Islam to reflect their culture. But for Africans, she believes Christianity was imposed without cultural adaptation. That, she says, is why she rejected it.
“I am unapologetically African,” Ratiande declared. “I believe in the efficacy of ancestors. African spirituality does it for me. I pour libation to my ancestors. I am too conscious to worship a foreign god.” Her words have sparked conversations online about faith, culture, and identity in modern Africa.
Truth Live News Media reports that Rantiade Benson-Idahosa (sometimes written as R. Evon Benson-Idahosa or Ruth Evon Benson-Idahosa) is one of the daughters of the late Benson Idahosa and Margaret Idahosa.
She is a lawyer, women’s rights advocate, speaker, and anti-human-trafficking activist.
