•Over Late T.B. JOSHUA’s Death
•Primate AYODELE Opens Up
Primate Ayodele Elijah, the founder of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, is by nature, an easy going man. He rarely joins issues with people. He hardly has time to engage in frivolities because he is constantly focused on his work as a prophet of God. But, presently, this renowned and celebrated man of God is extremely furious and is in a foul mood. He is totally displeased with the attitude some men of God and the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) have shown towards the death of the late televangelist, Prophet TB Joshua, founder of the Synagogue Church Of All Nations, who passed away on June 5, 2021. Primate Ayodele is unhappy with senior pastors like Pastor Adeboye, Bishop Oyedepo whom he believes as role models for many, should lay significant examples for others to emulate. City People’s Senior Editor, WALE LAWAL (08037209290) had a chat with the enigmatic prophet last week during which he opened up on his anger with the aforementioned men of God and most especially, with MURIC, the Islamic group which compared the president Mohammed Buhari with Jesus Christ. Enjoy excerpts from the interview.
Sir, many will recall that back in February 27th specifically, you asked us to pray hard against the death of a very senior General Overseer in this country, was there anybody you had in mind at the time?
Thank you very much. When the Lord spoke to me about it, I prayed, but I believe that this happened because it’s the way God wants it. But I’m not a friend of TB Joshua. I’ve never met him in my life, I don’t know anything about him. But his death shocked me. I just pray that God will give his family the fortitude to bear the loss. That’s all I will say about him.
What’s your reaction to CAN’s deliberate attitude to ignore his death and couldn’t send any condolence message to the family until several days after he died, do you think their action was justified?
If you’re mentioning CAN and PFN in this interview, you’re only making them feel important. CAN is one of the worthless organizations I have ever seen, likewise PFN. That’s another corrupt agency. They are a bunch of crooked people pretending to be righteous and meant to lead a group of people. But they don’t lead people like me. I don’t belong to CAN and over my dead body will I belong to CAN. Same with PFN, over my dead body will I belong to PFN. They are associations that are not biblical, they are satanic. And besides, I will not keep my mouth shut. It is very uncalled for. It’s a big shame that Baba Adeboye could not send a word of condolence to the family of TB Joshua. Many have forgotten that when Adeboye’s son died, TB Joshua sent Baba Adeboye condolence message. I don’t know what offence he committed, I don’t know what he did to Adeboye and Oyedepo that they couldn’t forgive him even in death. I won’t mention any other names except these two because these are the people we see as role models. Talk less of a Reggae pastor, a pastor who said God revealed to him that he was going to become the president of Nigeria and I single handedly tackled him in 2003 and it was proven that God did not speak to him. So, if I’m responding to a Reggae Pastor, it means I have nothing left in my sense of faculty. So, the Reggae pastor is only talking nonsense because nobody recognizes him again. How can a career pastor be saying such rubbish to another man of God, why didn’t you say that when he was alive? All of them are just timid human beings. Cowards. When the man was alive, they couldn’t say anything. And another thing is that, even if the man is a devil, he’s this or that, nobody can judge another human being. Only God will judge. All these senior pastors like Adeboye who behave like their demi gods, and these are the people that can’t say the truth even when they see the truth. Adeboye is a government agent pastor who cannot stand firm and say the truth. I don’t respect people like them. I only respect people who fear God. What on earth has this man done to people like Adeboye, Oyedepo, Okotie, CAN? Look, CAN is a useless body! I don’t even know who president directing them is. PFN is another terrible organization. That’s why I don’t understand what this unification of Aladura C&S is doing. I don’t know why they could not send a word of condolence and encouragement to the family, maybe its because it’s a woman that is controlling the unification and as far as I’m concerned they are not effective. All these different groups coming together to form a body of Christ are just doing so for their own selfish reasons. They are greedy. They are not focused. So, if we sit here and start talking about them, we’re only dignifying them because they have never offered society anything good. I’m not really disappointed because I know these PFN and CAN, they are all cultists! They are. I don’t have any father in the Lord o, but I have birthed a lot of spiritual sons. I don’t see anybody as a role model, whatever I know today, God taught me everything. My bible school is a divine one. All they do is interpret the bible to suit their own cause. Why are we talking about them here? TB Joshua is gone, let him rest in peace. I was the first pastor to send a condolence message to the family. When Adeboye’s son died, despite the fact that I don’t like the man’s doctrines and methods, I still sent a condolence message to him. I don’t want to join issues with any man of God. These men of God don’t help themselves, they’re only happy when one of them falls. That’s their joy. For me, I have mourned TB Joshua. I mourned him for seven days. I sent out a condolence message to the family. I don’t know much about the man, it’s what I know about him that I will say. The much I know about him is his humanitarian work, which we are also doing here in my church. I have never even driven past the front of his church before because I have no business in Ikotun, yet, I know I must mourn and respect the dead. I just wish the man well in his transition. I pray the Almighty forgives him all his sins and give him eternal rest in peace. But I will send a letter of condolence to the church. I have done the first necessary thing and if God says I should go over to see the family, I will. It is only God that can judge. All these Adeboye, Oyedepo, Okotie, CAN, they are all too small to judge people.
Sir, there is this joke from the Islamic group, MURIC, comparing President Buhari to Jesus Christ, how will you react to this?
That’s an expensive joke. I know President Buhari did not ask him to say what he said. MURIC is a devilish, demonic association. Even the leader is not a proper Yoruba, he’s the type they call ‘Omo Ale Yoruba.’ He’s a bastard Yoruba son. He doesn’t have enough education yet he calls himself a professor. He fears no God. Can he compare Mohammed with a man? It’s barbaric! He wants to cause a religious war. The government should caution him. If he says it again, I will deal with him personally. I will deal with him legally, spiritually, everything, I will deal with MURIC! And this is happening because we don’t have the right leadership in our Christian associations. Can you even compare Sultan with an ordinary person? Of course, they will react. MURIC has trespassed. It’s because we don’t have a government or a proper Christian body, he should be in jail by now. Apart from that, what about all these pastors condemning Joshua, why can’t they come together to say, ah, is it the Jesus we call that you’re ridiculing? Why can’t you react when somebody is insulting your father? I am saying it again, if MURIC repeats that statement I will deal with him. Legally, spiritually, I will deal with him if he repeats it again. I will take him to court and reduce him to nothing spiritually. Who is the ‘thing’ comparing a superior being to a president? Who’s that president? Is it not nonsensical? Me, I can’t take it. You can’t insult my God and expect me to keep quiet. I want MURIC to stop that rubbish. I don’t want to dwell too much on him because that thing is too small for me. That thing who doesn’t have the professorship he claims to have? That agent who collects money from the government to talk, now insulting Jesus? That small boy! Why can’t you use Buhari to compare with Mohammed, is Buhari not a Muslim? Tell him he must stop that nonsense otherwise he will be in serious trouble.
These are not the kind of people I should be responding to because MURIC is a body, another body should now respond to them. But I have to do this myself because CAN and the rest are not doing what they should be doing. They should be asking the government, where is Leah Sharibu? I don’t even know who CAN President is, can you imagine? I started fighting CAN from the days of Okogie down to Oritsejafor’s time, making things even worse. But I know they would pick somebody without conscience, somebody who’s not popular, somebody who doesn’t know what to say or how to say it, I guess. I believe government should scrap both CAN and PFN because they are neither helping the government nor helping the body of Christ that they were created for.
ON ELECTIONS COMING UP IN ANAMBRA AND EKITI
Okay, sir, let’s look at the political situation in Anambra critically, you have spoken about it before, but again, with the momentum picking up in the state, what are your thoughts?
Yes, for Anambra State, Soludo is scaling through in APGA, for YPP, Ifeanyi Uba will scale through. If PDP is serious about winning the elections, they should give it to Godwin Maduka and as for APC, their best bet is Chief George Moghalu. These are the parties that are right now prepared for the elections. If these candidates scale through their primaries, we will now look at the situation as regards the coming elections again. So, everyone, especially the security agencies will have to be on their toes because on the elections day, the situation will be very tough. There will be killings, shooting, stealing of ballot papers, the government needs to start giving the people some orientation on this so that the elections can go on smoothly. They will need to beef up security.
How about Ekiti and Osun elections, sir, what do you have to say about them?
We will talk about it for Ekiti and Osun elections, but that will be later because they’re still a little far from now. Let’s focus on this Anambra election for now before we can start talking about Ekiti and Osun.
I have said this before and I will say it again, we must pray that the National Assembly and House of Reps don’t lose some key members. The Speaker of the House of Reps will be put under serious pressure and his efforts will be challenged. Same for the Senate president will also be in a serious situation because the house will try to gang up against him. There will be rowdy sessions in both houses because they will attempt to pass into Law some unpopular policies that the opposition party will kick against. Meanwhile, the PDP should put their house in order because two governors are about to decamp. The Bukola Saraki reconciliation team is doing well, if only PDP can allow the team to do even better so they can be able to perform very well. As for the Buni reconciliation team, they should not hold their proposed convention coming up in a short while, if they do, their party will break and it will cost them dearly. I know that a one-time governor might be the chairman that APC will settle for.
Let’s talk about the rotational presidency, it may not really work at this time because it will not favour the Igbos.
Seriously, I pray this 2023 elections will not plunge us into crisis. I can see that INEC officials will be attacked in Anambra. The government will have to be fully prepared and put many things into consideration before going for the elections. There will still be a lot of cross carpeting and mark my words, the APC governors that have defected will not achieve the desired results with their defection to APC. APC will not win in Ebonyi, Cross River states, mark my words. These two governors will lose out completely. As for Lagos PDP, if Doherty remains the chairman, then there’s nothing for PDP in Lagos. Any PDP Councilor or Chairman should not waste their money on the coming elections in Lagos State because APC will clear everything.
