ON THE LORD’S SIDE Podcast | May 20 2026

The following are the views expressed by Olufemi oguntokun in the May 18, 2026’s episode of the On the Lord’s Side Podcast – Christian perspectives on news and current events.

If you are in Nigeria, you must have been inundated with the distressing reports and commentaries surrounding what happened last Friday in Ogbomosho, Oyo State, Southwest Nigeria. Some call it the outskirts of Ogbomosho. Some say the suburbs. But frankly, that detail no longer matters.

What many Nigerians rightly warned about for years has now materialized before our eyes.

The same terrorists and bandits who invaded northern communities on motorcycles, wielding machetes and sophisticated weapons, have now invaded communities in Southwest Nigeria, abducted students from schools, kidnapped teachers — including a pregnant woman — and murdered innocent people, including teachers and an Okada rider.

ON THE SPREAD OF TERRORISM TO SOUTHWEST NIGERIA

We engaged extensively with this story yesterday, but there are new developments that should make every Nigerian even more concerned and even more prayerful.

For years, we watched videos from Northern Nigeria showing abandoned villages and displaced communities fleeing terrorist attacks. Now, unbelievably, we are seeing similar scenes from Southwest Nigeria.

Videos circulating online now show communities near Ogbomosho turning into ghost towns.

One woman, speaking in Yoruba in one of the videos, lamented that over thirty students had been abducted and that residents were already packing their belongings and fleeing the community. Another man, visibly distressed, pleaded with the terrorists not to kill the children.

And that is the essence of terrorism.

Terrorism is the use of fear to force people into submission. You terrorize people until they begin to beg you for survival.

That is exactly what is happening in Nigeria.

People are no longer asking for justice. They are pleading merely to be allowed to live in peace.

And we must understand this clearly: simply fleeing from one community to another is not the solution. The people fleeing northern communities often relocate to communities that may themselves later come under attack. Those fleeing these Ogbomosho communities today may eventually find themselves in another endangered location tomorrow.

This is a national crisis.

ON SLEEPER CELLS AND OPEN BORDERS

Another disturbing video showed an elderly woman in a Southwestern community addressing beggars and itinerant northern youths in Yoruba. She said, essentially: “We used to give you money, but now that your people are kidnapping us and using the money to buy guns, we can no longer help you.”

Now, some people will immediately try to dismiss concerns like these as tribalism or discrimination. That is not the point being made.

The reality is that many communities in Southern Nigeria have, for years, experienced an unchecked influx of people from troubled regions and even from outside Nigeria altogether because of porous borders and corruption.

And this raises an uncomfortable but necessary security concern.

Across many parts of Lagos and Southwest Nigeria, even in elite estates and sophisticated neighborhoods, many gatekeepers, laborers, errand boys, fruit sellers, and artisans come from Northern Nigeria or neighboring countries. If hostile elements among them decided to organize themselves into coordinated groups, the consequences could be devastating.

That is simply a practical security reality.

Whatever you allow into your space eventually gains the power to influence or even dominate that space.

The same principle applies spiritually, personally, socially, and nationally.

That is why Scripture repeatedly celebrates the walls surrounding Jerusalem. Boundaries matter because we live in a fallen world.

You do not open your home to everyone indiscriminately. Nations also must protect their borders wisely.

And increasingly, many Nigerians are now describing some of these loosely organized groups as potential sleeper cells — individuals embedded quietly within communities while awaiting opportunities to strike.

This is not paranoia. Security agencies in Europe and America worry about precisely the same phenomenon.

The danger is real.

ON PANIC IN OGBOMOSHO

Videos also emerged yesterday showing panic spreading through Ogbomosho and the Ladoke Akintola University area after rumors of fresh terrorist attacks circulated.

Children, traders, and residents were seen running frantically for safety.

And honestly, who would not run?

When people have seen videos of abducted teachers being beheaded and schoolchildren kidnapped, even the mere rumor of another attack is enough to trigger mass panic.

My heart truly bleeds for the people of Ogbomosho.

But beyond Ogbomosho, my heart bleeds for Nigeria itself.

Because today it is Ogbomosho. Tomorrow, where next?

Only months ago, many people still believed these things could never happen in Southwest Nigeria.

Now they are happening before our very eyes.

ON SHEIKH GUMI AND THE JUSTIFICATION OF TERRORISM

One of the reasons many Nigerians are deeply angry right now is because of comments repeatedly made by the controversial Islamic cleric Sheikh Gumi.

For years now, he has consistently acted almost like an apologist for terrorists in Nigeria. He regularly speaks as though he has insider knowledge of how these groups operate, their motivations, and even their living conditions.

In one recent interview, he suggested that terrorists resort to banditry partly because they need money and because government neglect pushed them into criminality.

That argument is both dangerous and morally indefensible.

There is absolutely no justification for terrorism.

None.

To suggest that economic hardship somehow excuses kidnapping, murder, and mass terror is to provide cover for evil.

Millions of Nigerians are poor. Yet they are not abducting schoolchildren or beheading teachers.

And this is why many Nigerians now openly wonder why Sheikh Gumi himself has never been thoroughly investigated given the extraordinary access and apparent familiarity he seems to have with these terrorist groups.

He speaks about them with alarming intimacy.

He openly admits meeting them.

He appears to understand their operations in remarkable detail.

And yet nothing happens.

It is deeply troubling.

ON DESPERATION AND THE TURN TO IDOLATRY

In desperate times, people begin to turn to all sorts of things for help.

One particularly striking video showed traditional worshippers in one of the affected communities gathering under a massive tree while invoking local deities to rescue the abducted children and punish the terrorists.

The traditional priest prayed passionately and sincerely. The people were obviously distressed. Their concern for their community was genuine.

But sincerity alone does not make something right.

This is exactly what happens when people become desperate without knowing the true God.

Scripture repeatedly warns against turning to idols in times of trouble. The Bible says those who trust in idols will ultimately be put to shame.

And we must say this lovingly but clearly: turning to idols only compounds the problem.

Instead of turning to the Lord God Almighty, people are crying out to powerless objects made of wood, metal, and stone.

That should remind Christians of the enormous evangelistic work still ahead of us in Nigeria.

There are still countless people who, in moments of crisis, instinctively turn not to God, but to idols.

And that should burden every believer.

ON GOVERNMENT FAILURE AND THE PLACE OF PRAYER

Reports also emerged that local hunters attempted to pursue the terrorists into the forests but suffered casualties themselves.

The reality is that ordinary citizens are increasingly being pushed toward self-help because they no longer feel adequately protected by government.

That is extremely dangerous.

Once citizens begin organizing private armed responses to insecurity, the nation edges dangerously close to anarchy.

And frankly, this is why it is difficult to understand those who continue applauding government performance at a time like this.

Even those who politically support the current administration should still be able to admit the obvious: Nigeria is facing a catastrophic security crisis.

Citizens should not make government comfortable while communities are under siege.

But above politics, our first and most important point of engagement must still be prayer.

God can do what governments cannot do.

God can overturn the plans of wicked men.

God can frustrate evil conspiracies.

God can raise courageous and uncompromised leaders.

Scripture is full of examples of God delivering His people in impossible situations. One only needs to remember how the siege against Jerusalem ended in the days of King Hezekiah and Sennacherib.

The Lord can still intervene for Nigeria.

ON LADY K, THE “SEX INFLUENCER,” AND TRUE TRANSFORMATION

Returning to the controversy surrounding the social media personality popularly known as Lady K, the discussion has now entered its third day.

This is the young woman widely known online for sexually explicit content who recently emerged as the best-performing student in a Bible Foundation program at The Logic Church in Lagos.

The pastor publicly recognized her achievement and jokingly advised her to “take it easy” on the “spicy content.”

Many Christians objected to the public platforming of someone still actively involved in such content creation, and rightly so.

Subsequently, Lady K released additional videos clarifying that she had not repented, had not rededicated her life to Christ, and was not abandoning her online lifestyle.

At the same time, she explained that she genuinely studied hard for the Bible program and that the classes forced her to engage Scripture more seriously than she had in years.

Now, many people are making the valid point that perhaps this is still a work in progress.

And honestly, that is what we should pray for.

Jesus never rejected sinners.

Matthew the tax collector was accepted.

Zacchaeus was accepted.

The woman caught in adultery was accepted.

But every genuine encounter with Christ produced transformation.

Matthew left the tax booth.

Zacchaeus repented and restored what he had stolen.

That is the critical distinction.

Christ receives sinners exactly as they are, but He does not leave them as they are.

That is the gospel.

And therefore, Christians should not merely celebrate Lady K remaining exactly as she was before. The prayer should be that the Holy Spirit truly transforms her life so powerfully that even those who once admired her rebellion will one day ask, “What happened to you?”

That would be the real testimony.

That would bring glory to Christ.

And if that day comes, many others trapped in similar lifestyles may themselves begin seeking the Savior who transformed her.

Thank you for listening to On the Lord’s Side — Christian perspectives on news and current events on GospelBellsRadio.com. Whatever you do today, remain firmly on the Lord’s side.

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