No Problem in Dialoguing with Biafra Agitators
Primate Elijah Babatunde Primate Elijah Babatunde of the Inri Evangelical Spiritual Church, Lagos, has gazed into the crystal ball and predicted some possible happenings in the nation’s body polity and the economy in the New Year. Raheem Akingbolu reports
For President Muhammadu Buhari and his team to solve the various socio-economic challenges facing Nigeria in 2016, the administration must focus more on governance rather than directing all its efforts towards fighting corruption. The founder of Inri Evangelical Spiritual Church, Lagos, Primate Elijah Babatunde Ayodele, who said this, while giving his 2016 predictions, added that Nigerians should not expect President Muhammadu Buhari to achieve much in the anti-corruption war because he would discover in 2016 that many of his closest allies are more corrupt than he thought.
The fiery man of God also called on government not to hold any meeting with the dreaded Boko Haram members in 2016, stressing that such attempt would only compound the issue. He however urged the government to dialogue with the agitators of the Biafra.
According to him: “God told me to warn President Buhari and members of his cabinet to distance themselves from the suggestion in some quarters that government should have round-table talks with Boko Haram members. Such a move will only compound the issue and give the set more power. To win the war against Boko Haram, government should not depend only on the police and soldiers but draft in members of the Nigerian Air Force, who God revealed to me would finally win the war against the insurgency. People in the South-west and South-south must be careful because terrorists will infiltrate these areas. The terrorists will still carry out more suicide bomb attacks in Plateau and Abuja. Finally on this, Buhari and his team must not deal with the US over the Boko Haram issue in 2016, it will be suicidal.”
Speaking further, he said: “To solve the problem associated with the increasing clamour for Biafra, God has directed me to tell the government to meet the agitators as soon as we enter 2016 and iron things out. The outcome of the meeting will be positive as the promoters of the move and the government will be able to find some common ground.”
On Buhari’s anti-corruption war, the pastor said the whole effort would backfire in 2016 because close friends of President Buhari would be indicted and this would tie his hands such that he would not make progress in that direction. He admitted that the president has good intentions and ready to rescue the nation but that corruption and sabotage on the part of some political heavy weights within and outside his party would weaken his effort.
He said: “The corruption Buhari is fighting may consume his administration if he is not careful. It will get to a stage where he would personally withdraw because of the big fishes his net would catch. In 2016, some cabal within his government will be affected and in an attempt to blackmail Buhari, he will be asked to look beyond the Jonathan administration and touch on issues like the Halliburton case and this would boomerang against him because of the people concerned. At the end, in the process of fighting corruption, some people who are close to Buhari will be indicted and this will demoralise him.”
The man of God also warned Buhari to be diplomatic in his attempt to probe former president Jonathan. According to him, “In probing Jonathan in 2016, Buhari will end up shooting himself in the foot as this will create havoc that will frustrate his government.”
He however relayed good news that the rail system would bounce back this year but urged Nigerians to pray against derailment and other forms of accident in the sector.
His words: “In 2016, there will be improvement in our rail station but then we must pray against rail derail. There will be corruption in the railway corporation that will lead to sack of many of the employees. Our hope for economic transformation in 2016 may be a mirage after all as many factors would stall it. There will be food shortages, from tomatoes to rice and many food crops. We have to be very watchful because I see austerity measures in 2016.”
Speaking further, the pastor predicted that the Governor of the Central Bank would be removed. “The CBN Governor will be removed, some deputy governors in the bank will be redeployed and I see fire consuming some government parastatals, including the apex bank. And as a result of the crisis that will hit the nation’s economy, some commercial banks will have problem, specifically, First bank, Zenith, Skye Bank and Eco Bank,” he said.
The seer also spoke on politics, saying the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) must be careful to avoid a total collapse. To succeed in 2016, he called on the leadership of the party to find a way of reaching out to the founding fathers of the party and persuade them to return to the fold. He also predicted victory for the party in the Ondo election if they could field a good candidate. In Bayelsa, the prophet said political enemies will disorganise the incumbent governor to frustrate his second term ambition. He however stated: “If Governor Dickson seeks the face of God and works very hard, he will win a second term. But if he relaxes, the APC candidate will shock him.” Primate Ayodele also predicted a huge crack in the All Progressives Congress in 2016 and that the ongoing constitutional and electoral crisis in Kogi State would escalate this year beyond the current stage.
He stated further that Nigerians and the people of Kogi should not sleep with both eyes closed as there would be political turbulence in the state this year. Even after Yahaya Bello must have been sworn in, there would be a lot of distractions that would make him unable to concentrate on governance. He urged Nigerian leaders to note that his predictions were mainly prophetic and that with fervent prayers, dangers could be averted in 2016.