I have no apologies for being controversial –Primate Ayodele

• We can get abducted Oyo kids out if govt wants them back

Leader of the INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, Primate Elijah Ayodele, has said that it does not bother him that people perceive him as a controversial personality. In his view, life would be dull without controversies.

Doubling down on his conviction that controversy adds desirable spice to life and even serves as a driving force, he asserted, “If you are not controversial you cannot succeed.”

In this interview with Vera Wisdom-Bassey, he explains in more detail.

Your prophecies and predictions are quite controversial. Many people condemn some of your prophecies, but condemnations don’t seem to bother you, as you keep making more controversial prophecies and statements. Do you just enjoy being controversial?

I enjoy hearing that I am a controversial man. Is life not controversial? If it is not controversial, why is it dynamic, why is it not stagnant? If you are not a controversial person, you cannot move forward. I accept it because God himself is controversial. If he is not He will not bless this person, make this other person not to be blessed; he will not give child to this person and not that other person.

If He is not controversial, the world will not be rotating. Today is Saturday here in Nigeria, while some people are 24 hours behind us. They are still experiencing Friday, and some people are going to their Sunday. If you call me a controversial person, that is your opinion. It is not God’s opinion. I accept it because if you are not controversial, you cannot succeed.  Successful people are controversial people.

The common belief among many is that you hardly see good things. Many see you as a prophet of doom, who only sees bad news. Why is that so? So people keep saying, does God never show you things of hope and joy?

That is a normal thing. Calling one a prophet of doom is their opinion. What they see as a prophecy of doom is not doom from God. For example, if the Lord said, ‘Vera, don’t go to Primate’s place,’ you ignore it and go, whatever you see, you bear the consequences. If God said give what you have to somebody and you do not do it, or God said pray not to be sick, it is up to you to prevent or not to prevent. Who am I to ask you any questions? If the people say, I am a prophet of doom, so be it.

Again, if you are told to pray so that you can have a child, is that not a prophecy of joy? Or if God told you, “On Sunday, do thanksgiving to me, I, the Lord God Almighty, will bless you, but you ignore it, then you suffer for it. If God said to give someone all that you have, and He will make way for you, you will refuse because you will doubt yourself, because you don’t believe in the word of prophecy. So, whether it is a prophecy of joy or not, it all depends on the way you interpret it. God is not a God of doom, He warns you against impending danger, so you will be careful. Every prophecy is to guide you, to keep you on your feet and be focused. But if you are on the right path, you will know what to do.

You have also been criticised for focusing mainly on politics and politicians, such as instances involving former Minister of Power Adelabu and former Kano State governor, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso. Why the focus on politics?

Our prophecies do not focus on politics alone. They are about relevant matters in the nations. If you don’t speak to the authorities, nobody will hear you, but somebody will hear someone talking to the authorities. Let me ask you, all that we discussed today, did we focus on politics only? We talked about sports and entertainment, among others.

But most people outside view you as being vocal on politics…

They are entitled to their views as a matter of fact. The truth of the matter is that I talk about Vera Wisdom-Bassey or Iya Oniboli in Apapa. But who knows her? If I invite you to a press conference and then talk about one electrician at Jibowu, you will say I wasted your time, because your newspaper will not publish it. If I don’t mention a notable person in the society, you will not come again. But if I mention an important personality, everybody will be interested. That is what makes news.

What keeps you coming to this place is because I am controversial and a political prophet. Every prophet in the Bible was a political prophet and all Nigerian pastors are political prophets. The Bible recorded several instances, where a prophet would be told. ‘Go and tell the King, thus says the Lord Almighty. Why does the Bible not say, ‘Go and meet that farmer and tell him to do this or do that?

Why is it that several Nigerian prophets, who purportedly see things, hardly see the most important events, like the US/Israel versus Iran war or kidnapping of Oyo School children and teachers?

The United States has lost the war. Regarding the abducted children, we will get them back if the government wants us to get them back. We will not if the government does not want us to.

What is in Oyo? Nothing is in Oyo; it is pure politics and humiliation.

How do we avert fulfilment of bad prophecies?

Three things are involved in averting the fulfilment of prophecies. First, sing praises to the Lord God and acknowledge your activities before God. It matters. God does not want prophecies to come to pass.

I pray against some of my prophecies, beseeching God that I don’t want this or that bad prophecy to come to pass, but some people are happy when bad prophecies come to pass. I am not happy.

Secondly, you can help the needy to avert negative prophecies. Thirdly, you can wait on the Lord to avert the prophecy, by seeking guidance from God on what you can do to avert it. The Lord can send that prophecy to you, to see what will happen. Therefore, you should not bother.

Is there any hope for Nigeria?

There is hope for Nigeria, if Nigeria gets good leaders, and if our leaders do the right things.  Nigeria will be hopeless if the leaders do not have what it takes to lead the people. If you have hardship and poverty in the country, then the situation will be hopeless for Nigeria – just like what the First Lady, Mrs Remi Tinubu said and everybody misquoted her. She talked about a micro-scale business that anybody can start. We also do that here – we give them small amounts of money to start a business by frying akara, plantain, yam and potato. But Nigerians misinterpreted what she said.

In many parts of Lagos, you will see garbage everywhere. Does that make good leadership? When you travel to Benin Republic and see how the place is, you think that you are in Europe. Is their country more blessed with resources than we are? The answer is no; they are disciplined. Nigerians are emotional. When you talk, people will say you want to blackmail them emotionally. Emotion does not make a leader.

You have been consistently associated with philanthropic works, which have touched and impacted the lives of indigent people. How did it start?

First I want to say that doing philanthropy is an expression of a personal wish that is in a person’s mind, to do good as God puts it, is in the person’s mind and based on one’s experience. My philanthropic works started right from when the church was established.  God told us that we are going to help people. If you don’t have good relations, you won’t be able to do it. We are doing it because of our good volition to salvage people from poverty. So, we go out of our way to do it.