Contextualising Bishop Abioye’s Yearning for Nigeria’s Prophet Elijah

As if kowtowing to netizens’ pressure to exert their moral authority in excoriating the harrowing insecurity crises ravaging the country, respected Christian clerics are beginning to speak up, proposing what they believe can secure the lives, limbs, and livelihoods of Nigerians. Among the latest to intervene is Bishop David Abioye of the Conquerors Global Assembly.

He was so bold and forthright in his submission that many would argue that he threw himself and other fathers of faith under the bus. This was in saying that “prophets are scarce” in the country and praying the Lord to send voices “who will say it not by guesswork but by precision”. It supposes then that all those who have been parading themselves as God’s mouthpieces are not the genuine article. For the former Winners' No. 2 man to have gone as far as demystifying the Nigerian clergy, he must be serious with what he's talking about.

Here’s what he said: “The greatest trouble we are facing today is because prophets are very scarce; all the national issues we are having today, we need only one prophet. When Ahab was on the throne, only one prophet stopped him. He so stopped him that Ahab said the troubler of Israel has come. He was troubling all the troublers.

“I prayed all through the day: Lord, send voices who will say it not by guesswork but by precision... who will locate the bandits in the bush and send Holy Ghost terror upon them. One Moses held pharaoh on his neck and gave him a sleepless night. The answer to that is knowing God. Daniel said the people who know their God shall do exploits; they don’t beg for exploits, they do exploits!”

Those who didn’t grasp the import of the man of God's assertion wasted no time in dismissing or deriding the postulation. One critic wrote on Facebook, “Nigeria does not need a prophet from anywhere. Modern day Israel did not wait for a prophet to defend itself from Iran or Hezbollah. They invested in intelligence, technology, strategy and the Iron Dome. They built systems, not prophecies.”

Bishop Abioye seemed to be suggesting that this reincarnated Elijah should collaborate with the government of the day. But a careful listening to what he said indicated that the expected prophet would work independently to achieve results. This can be deduced from the line "...who will locate the bandits in the bush and send Holy Ghost terror upon them", not announcing the bandits’ hideouts.

It would indeed be naive and a misreading of the situation to propose that this prophet from God passes his revelation to the relevant authorities for action. This is because it has repeatedly been said that it is not as if the authorities are short of intelligence; lack of political will is alleged to be what has made the ragtag militia that have been terrorising Nigerians seem invincible.

A former minister of defence, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, said this much on Tuesday. He was categorical that the country’s challenge is not a lack of resources but an insufficient resolve to decisively confront insecurity. In his words: “As someone who has served this country at various levels, including as Governor of Kano State and Minister of Defence, where we confronted and significantly reduced security challenges through decisive leadership and community engagement, I remain convinced that insecurity is not insurmountable.”

If some say the Kano politician is only mining political capital as the running mate to Peter Obi in next year’s presidential election, how about another ex-defence minister, Gen TY Danjuma (rtd), who, as of the preceding government, asserted that “The armed forces are not neutral. They collude with the armed bandits. They kill people, kill Nigerians. They facilitate their movements, they cover them.” He would later reiterate at a public function in Takum, Taraba State, last year that “The warning I gave some years ago is still as valid today as it was then. Nigerians must rise and defend themselves.” Dialling back a bit more, President Goodluck Jonathan shocked the nation with his disclosure during the 2012 edition of the annual Armed Forces Remembrance Day church service that sympathisers and members of the Boko Haram sect had infiltrated his government.

One can now understand why Pastor Matthew Ashimolowo mentioned that the President can only do so much because Nigeria runs on a broken system. The KICC Pastor said in a video currently making the rounds online that, “The system is broken. You can’t fix the presidency, the leadership, and leave the system. In my opinion, we have a good head, but the head is not enough. So, leadership and system failure (can’t work together).” As such, it is not the question of a prophet telling the government where the bandits and terrorists are. Rather, it’s about whether the foot soldiers and their commanders will take the man of God and his words seriously.

Even if the president is favourably disposed to such counsel, there are Nigerians who would shush the prophet. Some may even pillory the prophecy as an overreach. This was the case last week when a prominent politician countered Pastor Enoch Adeboye over his recommendation that Nigeria’s security chiefs should be given a 90-day ultimatum to eliminate terrorists or resign. The RCCG general overseer was emphatically told that a timeline-based order is not his to give but falls strictly within the purview of Tinubu as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.

Now, this POV shouldn’t dissuade patriots from supporting the fight against insecurity in any way they can. Nigerians must remain vigilant and report suspicious activities that could help prevent attacks and aid ongoing operations. Citizens must heed the president's tweet on Monday, where he said: “The fight against terror is not only a military operation. It is a national duty. Citizens must support our security forces by providing timely, useful information.” Warts and all, this isn’t too much to ask of conscientious citizens who don't have the wherewithal nor the supernatural powers of a true prophet to banish bandits from the land.

In the main, given that prophecies and security intelligence are worlds apart, there’s no need to bother about how an Elijah or Moses of our time will proceed with the revelation of the solution to what ails Nigeria. The prophetic is a comprehensive package that comes with the user manual. This divine guide or instruction is exclusive to the prophet, while the outcome is for people, including the authorities, to relish – that's to paraphrase Psalm 103:7!

VIS Ugochukwu is a sage, storyteller and branding strategist who welcomes feedback via [email protected]