The Primate of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, Babatunde Elijah Ayodele, last week spoke with BusinessDay on the current cost-of-living crisis, where he also touched on the inseparable connection between the Church and politics; pointing out that no country can exist without God’s directives. Excerpts by SEYI JOHN SALAU:
What is your view on the current socio-economic issues in the country?
Well, if you say we should start talking about issues we are not going to leave here. Everybody that is here are issues. I can tell you from the spiritual perspective that there are issues in the bible and there are issues in Nigeria, and we will continue to have issues. Tinubu will continue to have issues – Nigeria having Tinubu as a president is a total issue that Nigeria will face for four years. Tinubu will turn Nigeria to one party system; there won’t be freedom of speech, we don’t have Senate, we don’t have House of Representatives. Anybody that wants to talk, they will silence him – there won’t be freedom; even you as a journalist there won’t be freedom, there won’t be freedom of religion. Quote me as I said: “Mi o ti e ni kenikeni ma bu mi rara beni keni keni ba di bo fun egbe oni igbale won ma wo inu ibu lo”. I said if Nigerians vote for Tinubu they will enter their waterloo. Listen to me, Atiku and Obi caused this problem – do you understand while people started shouting emilokan? I said they should go and check the meaning of emilokan. Emilokan is spiritual, it’s not just a word and I’m happy when he said the last time he went to Ijebu that he invoked the realm of spiritualism – emilokan is spiritual; go and check the internet. Tinubu in that seat is spiritual, the judgment coming is spiritual; anything they want to do is spiritual. So, to conquer Tinubu you have to first of all go to God to report him. Anything I’m telling you I stand by it I’m not saying I’m changing anything or tomorrow. Write it the way I say it; I’m not changing anything except God says change: so I said in tribunal that tribunal will be harmed spiritually, financially, technically, economically, and materially. What is court, what is judge, what is tribunal; are they not human? Would they allow people’s voices to be heard? The truth of the matter is nobody won this election, not Atiku, not Obi, not Tinubu; but the spiritual manifestation of what we call emilokan is what we are experiencing now and I tell you, Tinubu is not God’s purpose but God’s plan.
What do you mean by that statement?
Don’t let us talk about this one because if we start your own paper will not be able to carry it; let’s just leave it on the surface of what I just said. I said that the tribunal judge is supposed to say let’s go for a rerun and not another election. Are judges not human? I’ve not seen that judge except God’s intervention; Akitulate are not involved, they are too cold. Nigeria will be shaking at this moment if it was done against Tinubu. There’s power that is above power in the spirit realm – there are powers; there’s nothing you say in the physical world that won’t manifest in the spirit realm. There’s spiritualism in that emilokan – it is a spiritual gimmick that is more powerful than politics on its own. If the judge wanted to do it right, they would have said let’s go for a rerun.
Let’s look at his policies since he assumed office; Nigerians are suffering…
I said that if you vote for APC, we have not seen anything; we are going to see hard, harder, hardest.
Read also: The Church in Nigeria is united despite the adverse winds blowing against it
Some publications quoted you as saying Atiku will win the 2023 presidential election….
Obidents are functioning properly on the internet; PDP is not functioning; they will use my words to suit their purpose because they believe that anything I say they will now be twisting my words. I didn’t even say that anybody will win – what I said was that Nigeria will not vote for God’s choice. Atiku is God’s choice; they won’t vote for him. What I’m saying is that I said look if they allow Tinubu to win, Nigeria will pay for it. If corruption does not function, there are lots of technocrats that surround Tinubu, but are they looking for him to succeed? I repeat, Muslim-Muslim tickets are not from God. I said it is not from God and that is where APC will fail. I love Tinubu but I’ll stand on the truth; the basis of the truth is what I’ll say. Call me anything I don’t care about, only who I care about is God, not human. I’m not saying it for you to give me money – any politician that said this man has come to me to collect money let him come out or I have said oga please help me let him come out right. I don’t beg the government; we need money but I don’t want any money that you’ll use to influence the words of God that’s all. Nigerians have not seen anything o; we have not. They are talking about food: I said there’ll be food scarcity which I’ve said since last year. There’ll be economic hardship, cost of living, standard of living – it will affect everything. Everything will just jack off, there will be total confusion and wrath in this government and corruption will fight corruption in this government. People who voted and supported Tinubu will not be appreciated because what they expected is not what they are going to see. Bringing an external force to join them in that party like people coming from PDP to join them. The same party will begin to fight themselves. We are in a government of revenge: you do me I do you. We are in the government of I chop you chop; you rub my back I rub your back. If PDP is not careful, only God will take power from Tinubu. He’ll spend eight years and then nothing will happen except PDP and Labour strategises and do what is needed, otherwise suffering is what we’ll experience.
The leadership of the church has been quiet since Tinubu came to power; what do you think could be responsible for this?
CAN have been quiet, PFN have been quiet; I Babatunde Elijah Ayodele, I’ll never be quiet. My work is prophetic and my church is a prophetic church. I won’t be quiet; I’ll say it the way God says it. You said CA, PFN have been quiet – my church doesn’t belong to churches under PFN. CAN support anything that comes up; I support what God supports; I belong where God belongs… I’ll do whatever God says I should do – they may not be able to do what God says they should do because of their role. They have not been sincere to Nigeria. Is the CAN president active? No way, they are not active. This is not the way to go in Christendom; they are fighting themselves because they are not united. They cannot speak in one voice because money has destroyed them. Partiality has destroyed CAN; CAN is not a body of Christ. It’s a selfish body – tell me how many CAN members have they empowered? How many CAN churches have they empowered. Me I’ve empowered nothing less than 20 churches – they are not under my church; helping left and right. I’ve empowered youth, both Christians and Muslim not less than 10 thousand in Nigeria; today that’s a fact and I have not finished. So, tell me, CAN cannot stand wherever I stand in terms of empowerment. They may have their contact; me I don’t have contact the only contact I have is God. No government can call me anyhow to come and see him. I won’t go, I won’t; I’m not a friend of anybody, I’m only a friend to God.
How can we change this?
The only way is to have a radical CAN president; somebody that is very vocal. Somebody that is very energetic; God’s choice. Somebody that’s very focused, somebody that has a vision, somebody that God has ordained to lead Christendom; God’s choice not men’s choice. Not this CAN president or chairman; they are subordinates of government agencies and they are empty barrels. People like us will never listen to us; who always says the truth, our words always come through.
Some have said pastors should rather leave politics and face church alone; what is your view on this?
Church and politics are the same; without the directive of God there’s no nation that can stand. A country without vision will collapse; a nation without prophetic word of God will collapse. I am telling you because every pastor is a political pastor. In the bible, God sent prophet to the people of Israelites to different places and if you want to categorize them you’ll say they are political pastors because they have been sent to deliver the message. It does not bother me if you abuse me; you only add more feathers to my wings. If you call me any name, it’s for me to glorify God. The more you abuse me the more I’m being focused. I appreciate all the critics because my critics are part of my moment in life.
That means you’re not bothered about the controversies…
What is controversy? When I tell you, you want to twist it to your own taste. We have thousands of prophets, but there are some outstanding ones that’s why if you come to Oke-Afa, (Ikeja is there, Victoria Island, Abuja is there) He did not send me there. I made Oke-Afa to be popular; there are many who did not know Oke-Afa but my prophecy has made people understand that there’s one particular church in Oke-Afa. So, if my words do not cause issues there’s no controversy and that means I’m not sent by God. That’s what we call the originality of the power – that’s what we call the word of God. People will continue to feel the impact of what you say; if people do not feel the impact, they will not respond. You can’t turn a deaf ear to my word; you must respond. If my words do not cause controversy, if my words do not cause issues; is not a word. If my words do not bring you to respond then my words are not making any sense. My prophecy makes sense not only in Nigeria but all over the world. I am the first prophet in Nigeria (it may look like I am proud or rude or bragging, I don’t care) that compiled a book for a full prophecy of 10 thousand. I’m the first prophet in the whole world who compiled a book of prophecy under 5000 between 2020-2023 between 1994-2020; if there are any prophet who have done that let them bring the book and show it to the world.
Where do you get your inspiration from?
I don’t have a father in the lord. I don’t have a mother in the lord. I’m helping people and am also interested in directives of God. If God did not speak to me, why must I talk? Why? Since 1994 look at this what year is this 1996 – 1997; did you see how small the book is the first one, we started in 1994.
