By Lukmon Akintola
The spiritual revelation regarding the chances of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC), winning the 2023 presidential election has been consistent.
As far as Primate Babatunde Elijah Ayodele is concerned, “Tinubu would be betrayed and disgraced by his associates. Perchance he becomes the president of Nigeria, Nigerians would experience more suffering than currently being endured.”
While the revelation by Primate Ayodele who is known for his prophetic accuracy is damning, that Tinubu has continued to attract a lot of followers as his campaign train moves from one state to another is puzzling.
Though Tinubu’s campaign has been marred by some inconsistencies such as misplaced attributions like when the former governor of Lagos State almost climaxed his speech with an appreciation of the opposition party rather than his ruling APC, one fact that can’t be taken from Tinubu is his seeming cult supporters.
The mammoth crowd that greeted the campaign train in Kano was also witnessed in Bayelsa State, where Tinubu’s supporters defied a heavy downpour to show their support for his ambition. Indeed, it was the same situation in Niger, Nasarawa and Delta States, and several other states that have been visited in recent times.
The outcome of the Lagos campaign was expected. It was not different, as Tinubu took over the nooks and crannies of the state, attracting people like bees to honey, albeit with the contribution of his son Seyi Tinubu and Musiliu Akinsanya popular as MC Alumni. On the said day, Lagos was in a lockdown, it was a sea of people showing support for the former member of National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), aiming to become the next president of Nigeria, to say the least, and for want of a better choice of adjective.
Amidst all of these, one is forced to ask if these supporters are ignorant of the warnings from Primate Ayodele or are it that they just don’t care.
Yet there have been questions about the possibility that Nigerians are just plain hungry and would sell their soul to anybody just for some little change. Whatever the case might be, one glaring question that Tinubu’s followers and associates have refused to ask is what quality of leadership can he offer in his current state.
Like the current president, Muhammadu Buhari when he newly assumed office, there has been speculation about Tinubu’s health with his campaign and publicity team confirming that he is as fit as a fiddle, even going to the extent of sheepishly releasing videos and photos of the Jagaban of Borgu on a treadmill, with a bold announcement “I am healthy and READY to serve Nigerians from Day One.”
However, the idea of sleeping during meetings, forgetting the full meaning of PVC, APC and most recently symbolizing his supporters as drunkards are not signs of a stunning presidential candidate with something outstanding to offer, definitely not a candidate that can turn Nigeria around amidst its current chaos.
Tinubu’s poor showing at Chatham House, where he seemingly deflected questions, delegating them to his associates has also not painted him in a positive light or as a man who understands the full weight of what he is getting into. Posers regarding why he chose to delegate his responsibility to his associates have been asked with very little sense made from the answers gotten.
The situation for Nigerians is also not helped by a recent statement by Primate Ayodele where he warned against electing the wrong person as the country’s next president in 2023.
According to the statement released by his media aide, Osho Oluwatosin, if Nigerians vote for the wrong candidate among the three frontrunners, they will buy imported rice for N80,000 and local rice for between N30,000 and N40,000.
Furthermore, Primate Ayodele explained that things will worsen, and Nigerians cannot afford to vote for a candidate without first seeking God’s guidance, urging Nigerians to go on their knees and ask God for the best choice because consulting with humans will only lead to failure.
‘’Nigerians will buy imported rice for N80,000 if we vote for the wrong candidate, local rice will be 30,000, Diesel will sell for N1,500 per liter. One of the three candidates is wrong for Nigeria, we need to be on alert.
‘’Nigerians must go on their knees to pray to God for the best choice for Nigeria in 2023. It is not by noise. We need a divine person that God will choose for us, human consultation will fail us in 2023. Human consultation will only lead us to worse situations, we need divine intervention. The best for us may not be the best for God, Let God have his way in 2023,” the statement concluded.
Come 2023, when the presidential election eventually holds, Nigerians will only hope that they are not haunted by the prophecy of Primate Ayodele regarding the consequences of electing the wrong person as the country’s next president.
