In the interview with Dare Odufowokan, Assistant Editor, the General Overseer of Messiah New Life Ministry Inc., Archbishop Joseph Ehindero, warned those antagonising the National Leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, to desist, saying the former Governor of Lagos State is the true leader of the Yoruba race today. The cleric bared his mind on some other national issues. Excerpts
WHAT is your reaction to the victory of President Muhammadu Buhari in the Presidential election?
Buhari’s victory is divinely ordained. His victory was revealed to me months before the election, and my prediction of Buhari’s victory was published in an interview I had with a national daily which came out on Tuesday 18th December 2018.
Before then, several ministers of God were predicting Atiku Abubakar’s victory but God clearly told me that Buhari will win, and my prediction was published in that interview.
In 2015,that was how God revealed to me that the then incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan would lose and my prediction equally came to pass as the main opposition leader then who is now the President, Muhammadu Buhari, will win the election. This is to show people that there are still genuine prophets in this country.
What I want Nigerians to clearly understand is this and it is that Buhari is on a divine mission to salvage Nigeria from the rot of the past. Buhari has a divine mission to fulfill for this nation, and I enjoin Nigerians to support his government.
I’m not a politician but a Minister of God and whatever I’m saying about Buhari is the revelation that God gave me concerning him. Buhari is an unusual politician, he is not self-centred and from his actions, especially his anti-corruption war, the man wants to restore sanity in this nation. Buhari wants to restore Nigeria’s lost glory.
What Nigerians must realise is that this nation has been in a mess before Buhari came in as president and now he has done a lot to bring Nigeria back on the path of greatness. It would have been a big tragedy if Buhari had lost to Atiku because Atiku is not the man God wants to use to redeem Nigeria.
What is your reaction to the court case against Buhari’s victory by Atiku and PDP?
Atiku is wasting his time. Buhari’s victory is secured. My advise to Atiku is that he should not waste his time. Nothing would come out of his efforts. What I expect him to do is to be sober, and reflective. He should do stock taking, and I’m sure if he does this, he will know that he has been very lucky. He should stop fighting Buhari. He should stop wasting his time and resources. God has a divine mission for Buhari for this period in Nigeria’s history. God wants Buhari to consolidate on his present achievements and Nigerians are enjoined to co-operate with his government.
Before the polls some prominent clerics predicted victory for Atiku Abubakar but …
(Cuts in) It is very sad and unfortunate that some highly regarded men of God were also involved as they predicted Atiku’s victory. What God revealed to me was that those eminent men of God who claimed that they saw Atiku being declared winner were not led by the spirit of God to make the pronouncements. They were led by the flesh. Some of these clerics have personal hatred for Buhari and this is wrong. They should not have allowed their emotions to lead them into taking wrong decisions. I’m also not happy that some Christian bodies appear to be taking sides and were openly in a subtle manner canvassing support for Atiku Abubakar. This is very wrong. This is a lesson to all Christian leaders and prophets that they should always allow the Holy Spirit to lead them and not the flesh. It is the same thing that happened to Afenifere leaders. They did not behave like elders by openly supporting Atiku before and during the elections.
Afenifere leaders have no justification for backing a particular candidate. As elders and leaders, they are supposed to play the role of fathers to all. They are supposed to be neutral. By being partisan and taking sides, they were not promoting the interests of Yoruba people.
This is why I like Tinubu and give him kudos. If not for him, the behaviour and actions of Afenfere leaders would have jeopardised Yoruba interests. I give kudos to Tinubu. By his actions, he has proved to be the true Yoruba leader. Enough is enough, Afenifere leaders should stay out of politics and behave like genuine leaders who are not partisan and self-centred.
Now that President Muhammadu Buhari has won re-election, what is your advise to him?
Buhari should hit the ground running. He should quickly form his cabinet, and set to work immediately. He should take Nigeria to the next level as he promised during his campaigns. First and foremost, he should sustain the on-going war against corruption. Corruption has permeated every facet of our lives, and this is why some Nigerians who are involved are not happy with Buhari’s war against corruption. Buhari should not spare looters. Every loot must be recovered, and looters must not go unpunished.
Then his administration must also sustain the on-going tempo in the area of infrastructure development like the construction of roads and rail lines that are on-going across the country. It is good that his administration is already shifting attention to the agricultural sector, an area that has been neglected by successive administrations in the country. For those Nigerians that are complaining, they need to exercise patience. Nigeria has been messed up before Buhari took over and he can’t transform the country overnight. Buhari is not a magician. I believe that if Nigerians co-operate with him, he will be able to take Nigeria to greater heights.
For those politicians that are newly elected and those that will be going for their second term, what’s your advise to them?
My advise to them is very simple: They should see politics as an avenue to serve people. They should not be self-serving or self-centred.
I also want to advise our politicians not to see politics as a do-or die affair. If you lose today, you may win the next time. Politics is like a game; so our politicians should develop the spirit of sportsmanship.
Our political leaders should not see public office as an avenue or short cut to ill-gotten wealth. In other climes, their leaders use public office to serve people; this is what our leaders should emulate. Many of our leaders have traveled outside the country and they’ve seen how leaders over there serve their people with love and passion; this is what I expect them to do also in Nigeria.