Not every rich man is a r!tu@list, and not every rich woman sleeps with men. Some people have worked hard for years before their efforts finally paid off- actress/evangelist Tonto Dikeh tells her congregants

Tonto Dikeh has challenged the negative assumptions often attached to financial success, arguing that wealth does not automatically mean a person is involved in money rituals or sexual relationships for financial gain. The actress made the remarks while addressing members of her newly established ministry, New Wine Prophetic Tabernacle (NWPT), urging people to reconsider how they judge individuals based on their financial status.

Speaking during the ministration, Dikeh questioned the tendency to associate wealthy men with ritual practices simply because they own expensive cars or enjoy an affluent lifestyle. She equally rejected the assumption that wealthy women must have acquired their money through relationships with influential or financially powerful men.

“Not every rich man is a ritualist, and not every rich woman sleeps with men. Some people have worked hard for years before their efforts finally paid off,” she said.

Dikeh explained that some individuals achieve financial success after discovering and developing their natural abilities. She encouraged her congregation to identify their talents, sharpen their gifts and recognise their potential to create wealth rather than assume that prosperity is exclusively connected to religious affiliation.

“There’s so much power in you to produce wealth. Some of us are wealth. We just don’t have wealth. We are the wealth,” she told her listeners.

The actress also challenged the idea that God belongs exclusively to religious believers, arguing that divine grace is not restricted to Christians. She maintained that both believers and unbelievers can experience opportunities and success.

Dikeh's comments touch on a familiar Nigerian social perception: the suspicion that extraordinary wealth must have an extraordinary or questionable explanation.

In a society where stories of internet fraud, money rituals and financial exploitation regularly dominate public conversations, some people have developed a tendency to question how individuals acquire their wealth, particularly when they experience sudden financial success.

Women with expensive lifestyles can also face a different form of scrutiny, with assumptions about transactional relationships sometimes overshadowing their professional achievements, businesses or independent sources of income.

However, Dikeh's argument introduces another perspective: financial success can also be the outcome of years of preparation, talent development, business decisions, persistence and opportunities that are not always visible to outsiders.

Her message also shifts the conversation from simply admiring another person's wealth to examining what individuals are doing with their own abilities.

Being wealthy is not evidence of criminality, just as being religious is not proof of financial integrity.Are we recognising and developing the abilities that could help us build our own prosperity?