The Nonreligious Community in Nigeria has strongly criticised the widely publicised testimony shared by Nollywood actress Tonto Dikeh at Streams of Joy International, describing it as another example of how celebrity influence and religious platforms promote superstition while masking personal responsibility and human agency.
In a press statement released on Tuesday, signed by Ikechukwu Obasi Esq, National Coordinator, and Genesis Eririoma, National Secretary, the group said while individuals are free to interpret their life experiences in personal ways, it rejected what it called the dangerous spiritual framing of ordinary human struggles such as anger, emotional instability, substance dependence, and recovery. According to the organisation, these challenges have long been explained through psychological, social, and medical research, not supernatural intervention.
The statement argued that millions of people across the world overcome similar difficulties without belief in God, demons, pastors, or prayer platforms. Presenting recovery as spiritual deliverance, the group said, does not amount to evidence of divine intervention but rather repackages human effort in religious language.
Reacting directly to Tonto Dikeh’s testimony, the group expressed concern over her repeated attribution of destructive behaviour to demons and her crediting of prayer platforms and pastors for personal change. It warned that such narratives encourage the belief that personal failures are caused by supernatural forces and that growth can only occur through religious rescue.
According to the organisation, this mindset weakens accountability and distorts how change truly happens. It stated that personal transformation comes through maturity, reflection, discipline, support systems, and conscious decision making, not because demons fled or pastors intervened. Labeling anger as demonic or addiction as spiritual captivity, the group said, does not heal society but promotes intellectual decline driven by fear based religion.
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The Nonreligious Community also placed part of the blame on Nollywood, describing the film industry as a long standing engine of religious superstition in Nigeria. It noted that for decades, Nollywood films have portrayed human problems as spiritual attacks, elevated pastors and prophets as miracle workers, demonised skepticism, and normalised fear driven beliefs.
According to the statement, actors who rose to fame within this system cannot be separated from its influence. The group argued that celebrity testimonies now echo the same themes Nollywood has sold to audiences for years, with church pulpits replacing movie screens as the stage for spreading these ideas.
The organisation further criticised what it described as a growing testimony economy, where celebrity narratives follow a predictable pattern. In this model, ordinary struggles are spiritualised, religious platforms are credited with recovery, doubt is framed as evil influence, and pastors gain legitimacy, followers, and financial rewards. It described the trend as a miracle industry sustained by emotional storytelling and celebrity endorsement, while denying the role of human effort.
Clarifying its position, the Nonreligious Community stated that recovery does not validate religion, change does not prove divine intervention, and pastors do not possess supernatural powers. It emphasised that human beings recover every day without God, churches, or prayers, insisting that Tonto Dikeh changed because she chose to change, a capacity the group said exists in every human being regardless of belief.
The organisation called on Tonto Dikeh, Nollywood actors, media platforms, and social influencers to acknowledge the harm caused by promoting superstition as truth. It urged Nigeria to invest in critical thinking, mental health awareness, personal responsibility, and evidence based support systems rather than recycling religious myths.
