Pastor Mike Bamiloye, the founder of Mount Zion Films. Photo Credit: File
Gospel singer, Joshua Bamiloye has defended the faith-based film ministry founded by his father, Mike Bamiloye, insisting that Mount Zion Films does not demonise Yoruba culture or spirituality.
Joshua made the remarks in a post on X on Wednesday after the announcement that Agbara Nla, one of Mount Zion’s most popular films, will return to cinemas 34 years after its original release.
His response followed criticism by an X user, identified as Ìfẹ́ṣọlá (@kootujirian), who accused Mount Zion of portraying Yoruba spirituality as evil while promoting Christianity.
In the post, the user wrote, “Here we go again with the same stupid, tired propaganda. Mount Zion and others need to understand that the era of demonizing Yoruba culture and spirituality is over. People are educating themselves now, and these old narratives will no longer go unchallenged.”
The user added, “Respect your faith, but stop turning Yoruba culture into the villain of every story. For over three decades, films like this have profited from portraying Yoruba spirituality as evil while presenting foreign religious worldviews as inherently good.”
The post further read, “Mike Bamiloye built a successful career from this formula, moved his family abroad, and now returns to sell the same story again. The difference is that people are now asking questions, and many are no longer willing to accept these portrayals without scrutiny.”
Responding, Joshua wrote, “Here we go again, and yet you couldn’t get through one paragraph without misrepresenting what Mount Zion actually does.”
He rejected claims that the ministry attacks Yoruba culture, saying, “MZ doesn’t demonize Yoruba culture. It celebrates it; the colors, the language, the proverbs, the royalty.”
Using the character Abejoye as an example, he added, “Abejoye became a born-again Christian while still speaking deep Yoruba, bowing before his king, and dropping proverbs that’ll make your grandfather nod. Nobody took his culture. The Gospel just took the throne in his heart.”
Joshua also disagreed with the suggestion that Mount Zion’s films present Yoruba spirituality as inferior to foreign religions.
He said, “You framed this as ‘Yoruba spirituality vs foreign religion.’ We never did. We frame it as Light vs Darkness and Darkness has no nationality. We’ve called it out in boardrooms, cities, and yes, in the villages. Location doesn’t exempt it.”
Responding to claims that the ministry has built its success by portraying traditional religion negatively, Joshua argued that such films make up only a small portion of Mount Zion’s productions.
”‘Profiting from portrayals.’ MZ has 200+ films. Less than 30% are traditional settings. Your entire argument is built on a minority of the catalog, filtered through a lens of cultural grievance. That’s not analysis, that’s a feeling dressed up as a fact,” he wrote.
He urged critics to watch the ministry’s productions in full before passing judgment.
“People are asking questions? Good. Watch the films. The full ones. From start to finish. AGBARA NLA drops OCT 1. The name of Jesus is still above every other name, in 1993 and in 2026.”
