By Adewale Olabode
Prophets are highly revered personalities because of their spiritual prowess to foretell what would happen at a particular point in the future. Their divine inspiration, interpretation and revelation of events to come are considered sacred because of the potent propensity for undiluted manifestation. However, when prophesies repeatedly fail the test of divinity to come into reality, such outbursts can be best described as foul cries or ‘mercantile prophecy’.
Primate Ayodele is a man of controversies often entangled in the webs of failed prophesies. And this dated to a very long time.
The leader of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, Primate Elijah Ayodele, as a high ranking religious leader, have always shrouded his personality in obscurity. Primate Ayodele and his endless prophetic contradictions have a long history.
In January 2013, the spiritual leader predicted that God showed him that former president Goodluck Jonathan would continue to rule till 2019. But the prophesy never get to see the light of the day.
“The 2015 elections will hold but will be peaceful in some areas and not in other areas. As it is, from what I see at the moment, PDP will win, amidst serious criticism.
“Kaduna is going to be very bloody. PDP may take Kaduna, but it’s going to be by narrow margin. Yobe, Gombe, Benue, Delta, Akwa Ibom, all those states will be won by PDP,” he said.
On the contrary, after the election, Kaduna was calm and not bloody. APC’s candidate, Nasiru el-Rufai, won the governorship election, beating PDP’s Ramalan Yero. Also, the PDP missed clinching Yobe and Benue governorship seats as the primate had predicted. Former President Goodluck Jonathan was evenly defeated that he made a phone call to congratulate President Buhari even before the final results were announced.
Similarly, the self-acclaimed prophet, predicted that the former INEC chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, would let Nigerians down during the 2015 election.
“I predicted that (former Independent National Electoral Commission chairman, Prof Maurice) Iwu will be removed and it came to pass. Let me tell you categorically that (Prof Attahiru) Jega does not have a solution to election rigging in Nigeria. Jega will disappoint Nigerians’
“Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega will be confused during the polls. There will be several gimmicks to cajole the INEC to rig the election. Prayers must be offered so that the commission will not lose some of its staff to accident or attack before and during the election. E-voting will not work. There will be ballot box snatching and stuffing during the election.”
However, the direct opposite happened as Prof. Attahiru Jega performed exceptionally well and conducted one of the most credible elections in the history of the country.
There was a time that Primate Ayodele prophesied that Boko Haram terrorists will bomb South-west.
“I see flames from bombings in several parts of the country, including the South-West and more abduction of school pupils. Efforts should be intensified by security operatives to forestall that. Boko Haram will come up with different strategies to attack the nation,” he said.
Thankfully, the Islamist extremists are yet to penetrate any attack in South-west, Nigeria.
Again, in February 2023, the INRI leader predicted that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, would emerge as the next president of Nigeria.
In a statement by his media aide, Oluwatosin Osho, Ayodele even warned Atiku against neglecting all God-given policies if he doesn’t want to see the wrath of God.
His words; “Among these three candidates, Atiku has been given an assignment from God to fix the nation within four years. If God gives Atiku victory in this election, he is to use only four years for this special assignment.
“If he wins and refuses to do the will of God for the people, he will see the wrath of God.
“He will not complete his term because God’s anger will be placed on him. His assignment is to form an all-inclusive government, take care of security within six months, restructure before his term ends, reduce petroleum prices, fix the education sector, and revive the economy.”
However, the then presidential flag-bearer of All Progressive Congress, Bola Tinubu, won the election with over 3 million votes against Atiku Abubakar.
Quite similarly, Primate Ayodele predicted that late Senator Ifeanyi Ubah has high chances to win the 2021 Anambra State governorship election.
Speaking on Ubah’s chances in his predictions on the hotly contested election, Primate Ayodele said that “victory is surrounding him.”
However, Ubah was resoundingly defeated by Governor Chukwuma Soludo, then governorship candidate of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).
Primate Ayodele and his Unending Troubles
Many high ranking Nigerians have severally disputed Primate Ayodele over his controversial prophesies.
In 2021, the presidential spokesman of former President Muhammedu Buhari, Femi Adesina, took a swipe at the man of God over a prophecy that Nigeria would disintegrate by 2040 and that there’s nothing anybody could do about it.
Adesina, in his article titled, ‘Some Prophets See Nothing’, however, advised Mr. Ayodele to abandon his prophecy ministry and focus on preaching the good news.
The former presidential aide got this to say about him: “He does great things in terms of welfare for his flock. He empowers them with cash and materials they can use to set up themselves gainfully. I was impressed with that. But the prophetic aspect?…the Book, that Good Book, tells us how we know a false prophet from a genuine one. The false says something, and it does not come to pass. And he continues to strut and fret his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more. His tales are full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.
“But for Primate Ayodele, let him focus on touching lives through preaching the gospel, and empowering of many people. It has great gains now and in eternity.”
Similarly, former Senator representing Kaduna Central, Shehu Sani, chided the leader of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church over his 2021 Africa Cup of Nations prediction against Nigeria.
Ayodele had predicted that the Super Eagles, will not win the AFCON, which kicks off in Cameroon on January 9, 2022.
In a tweet via his verified Twitter handle, Sani said the Ayodele only predicted that Nigeria would not win, but failed to state who the winners would be.
He said, “My Brother Primate Ayodele prophesied that Super Eagles will not win AFCON but refused to prophesy which country will win.”
In addition, former deputy governors in Abia, Ebonyi, Kano, Sokoto and Taraba States rejected a prophecy released by the Spiritual head of INRI Evangelistic Spiritual Church.
The self-acclaimed prophet had in the prophecy said that the four deputy governors would have issues with their principals (governors) before the end of their tenure.
But in a swift reaction, Deputy Governor of Ebonyi State, Dr Kelechi Igwe, who spoke on behalf of other deputy governors, faulted the cleric on his prediction and accused him of concocting prophecies that had no foundation in reality.
“Ordinarily, we would have ignored this so called prophecy but doing so could create the impression that we believe him or that that he should be taken seriously.
“We make bold to state that this prophecy like the ones before it are fallacies meant to create tension, rancour and unnecessary friction in the polity.
“We vehemently reject this so called prophesy which in our own estimation is nothing but a figment of the imagination of the man who released it.
“We all have had and still have very good working relationship with our bosses in our various states and do not see any reason for the predicted crisis.
“We urge the government and the good people in our various states to ignore Primate Elijah Ayodele for he knows not what he is saying or doing.
“Primate Ayodele could not have heard from God because he has been in the business of releasing false prophecies at every turn in the politics of Nigeria and the world.”
When he descended on Imo State Governor, Senator Hope Uzodinma, asking the governor not to waste money and time running for a second term as he would be roundly defeated, that also did not materialise.
One Ikenna Samuelson, a human rights activist, in a write-up, dismissed Ayodele as a businessman.
He said, “From his 2022 Prophesies on Imo State Affairs, one can rightly see that Elijah Ayodele is just a hustler.
“In the first place, a true Prophet of Almighty God does not prophesy through a Media Aide. A true Prophet speaks as he is directed by the spirit of God. Also, a true Prophet Of Almighty God makes accurate prophesies on issues of concern.
Again, Nigerians dragged Prophet Elijah Ayodele after Liverpool drew against Luton Town.
Primate Elijah Ayodele came under heavy fire after his prophecy about the Premier League fixture between Liverpool and Luton turned out to be false.
Primate Ayodele versus NNPCL ‘prophetic outburst’
In his latest outing on Saturday, August 10, 2024, the social media was awash with a prophesy from Primate Ayodele, calling on president Bola Tinubu to sack the group managing director of the Nigeria National Petroleum Commission Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, to avoid mother-of-all protest in his administration.
In a less than two minutes video clip obtained from Twitter, the Prophet said: “One of the major important things Tinubu should do if he wants to see the prayers of Nigerians. He should sack the GMD of the NNPC. If it is possible, he should be sacked before the end of this month otherwise another big protest is coming . This protest can sack Tinubu and can make Tinubu’s government ungovernable. If he doesn’t do this urgently, Tinubu would put himself into hot pot. Sack the NNPC. There are a lot of rots in the NNPC. Protest not yet over. I’m seeing another protest that would seize the economy for 120 hours.”
Primates outburst on NNPCL; another awaiting failed prophesy?
Yes, this may not be far from true considering landmark achievements made by the NNPCL under Mele Kyari.
Since July 8, 2019, when Mele Kyari officially took over as the 19th group managing director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPCL), the company has made significant improvement on transparency as well as gas development.
The Kyari-led management has sustained the corporation’s Monthly Financial & Operations Reports (MFOR) in line with the TAPE vision. NNPCL remains the only national oil company that publishes its financial and operations reports monthly globally.
The GMD also led the corporation to enlist with the Global Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI) as an EITI supporting company which places NNPC in the group of over 65 extractive companies, state-owned enterprises committed to observing transparency and accountability standards defined by EITI.
Another key achievement of the NNPC under the leadership of Mallam Kyari on transparency terrain is the successful completion of a controversy-free recruitment exercise for 1,000 young graduate trainees to rejuvenate the corporation’s talent mix.
With over thirty (30) years of experience in the Oil and Gas Industry, Mr. Kyari made significant contributions to the success of NNPC and Nigeria. Under his distinguished leadership, the Company recorded huge profit after tax and the trend has continued under his supervision.
He optimally secured Federation entitlements from production and fiscal arrangements while also managing the Direct Sale of crude oil and Direct Purchase of petroleum products (DSDP) arrangement to ensure National Energy Security. Kyari has been instrumental in championing transparency and accountability, promoting the passage of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021 and driving the transition of NNPC to NNPC Limited.
Primate Ayodele may have taken sides in the ongoing misunderstanding in the nation’s hydrocarbon community. Using his platform to rally support for the oil cabal, he sends message to the President, who was not visible in his vission in 2023. Fortunately President Tinubu knows Primate Ayodele better than Kyari.
Olabode, a public affairs analyst, writes from Abuja.
NOTE: The article above is an opinion and does not reflect the thought of The AUTHORITY Newspaper and its owners.
