The dawn of every year comes with huge expectations from adherents of different faiths majority of who go extra miles to seek in advance what the year has in store for them. This practice which is more pronounced among the Christian faithful as accentuated by the special end of the year programmes organized by various Christian denominations is seen by many believers as a forum to receive revelations about the year from God.
The dawn of the outgoing year, perhaps generated more intense anticipation of such revelations, than that of the succeeding years for two major reasons. The year 2015 being a year of general elections was welcome by many with heightened anxiety which came particularly from the fierce political rivalry between the two leading political parties in the country, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP and the All Progressives Congress, APC.
Added to this is the apocalyptic prediction of Nigeria’s possible break-up in the outgoing year.
Interestingly, these two major sources of concern for Nigeria attracted the significant attention of most men of God as seen in their predictions. Shockingly however, a number of such prophecies hit the rocks contrary to what was predicted.
For instance, overwhelming majority of the men of God predicted the 2015 presidential election in favour of the then President Goodluck Jonathan and candidate of the then ruling PDP over his APC opponent, Muhammadu Buhari . But the outcome of the election, however, put a lie to their predictions as the flagbearer of the APC won the election and had since been sworn as the president of the country.
With the exception of Rev. Fr Ejike Mbaka of the Catholic Adoration Ministry, Enugu, who gave it to the APC candidate, others including notable Christian leaders such as Pastor Matthew Ashimolowo of Kingsway International Christian Centre (KICC); Prophet Joshua Iginla of Champions Royal Assembly; Prophet Michael Olubode of the Celestial Church of Christ, Lagos; Primate Theophilus Oluwasaanu Olabayo, founder, Evangelical Church of Yahweh gave it to the PDP candidate Goodluck Jonathan. Other prominent men of God like Pastor E.O Adeboye of Redeemed Christian Church of God, Dr D.K Olukoya Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries, Prophet T.B Joshua of Synagogue Church of All Nations and Bishop Oyedepo of the Winners Chapel refrained from making categorical predictions about the 2015 general elections.
Besides the general election, the case of the abducted Chibok girls also generated considerable interest among Nigerians. The anxiety over the fate of the abducted school girls was raised with the prophecy of Pastor Tunde Bakare of the Latter Rain Assembly. The man of God had predicted the return of the girls thus: “The Chibok girls will be returned this year; some people will say ‘they are just using religion to deceive themselves. How will the girls be rescued?’ You will see. I didn’t say it, it is what God said and I believe it.” However, with less than a week to the end of the year it is yet to be seen if the girls will be freed by their captors.
The possibility of the return of the deadly Ebola virus to Nigeria as foretold by a few pastors also generated intense fear among Nigerians. While Pastor Adeboye foretold the final death of the deadly virus in the world in the outgoing year, a few other Christian clerics including Primate Elijah Ayodele Babatunde of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, Prophet Joshua Iginla of Champions Royal Assembly predicted the return of the disease to Nigeria after the country was declared Ebola-free in 2014.
Although there were few instances of Ebola scare in Nigeria in the outgoing year, no confirmed case has so far been recorded contrary to widespread predictions about the return of the deadly virus to Nigeria.
And on the possibility of conquering the virus in the year globally, according to the General Overseer of the church, the recent cases in Liberia that was certified free from the Ebola virus about two months earlier and WHO’s December 29 date inability of health authorities to contain the disease in Sierra Leone and Guinea in the last one month, it seems, is proving a litmus test as far as the prediction is concerned. As it stands, the world is still anxiously awaiting the World Health Organisation’s WHO pronouncing a final end to the scourge.
Apostle Joshua Suleiman of Omega Fire Ministry, Delta State, perhaps was speaking about the late Abubakar Audu of Kogi State when he claimed to have seen a man winning governorship election but never allowed to rule. Audu, candidate of the APC in last month’s governorship election in Kogi was coasting home to victory when report filtered in about his demise.
The man of God equally rightly predicted the reelection of Ogun State governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosu and Tambuwal leading Sokoto State but his prophecy on Governor Rochas Okorocha moving to PDP and El-Rufai losing his governorship ambition in Kaduna missed the mark by miles. Prophet Williams Onuoha of Galilee Christians and prophet Anthony Nwoko were unanimous in their prediction of Igbo President succeeding former President Goodluck Jonathan. While the former categorically predicted the emergence of Imo State governor, Rochas Okorocha as Jonathan’s successor, the later simply foretold a Nigerian president of Igbo origin.
“I can see Nigeria’s glory in the Southeast, an Igbo president,” Prophet Nwoko had predicted. Plane crash was yet another recurrent prediction about the year. But barring few cases of emergency landings and near crashes, the nation’s aviation industry has so far been turbulent-free, contrary to prophecies by Prophet Iginla, Primate Ayodele and Apostle Suleiman, who predicted air mishap except intense prayers were offered to avert air disaster.