A thin line separates prophecy and prediction. Both declarations have to do with foretelling what will happen ahead of time. The difference between prophecy and prediction is that while the former is inspired by God or a deity, the latter is not. You can predict the outcome of an event with the benefit of hindsight or through analyses and other factors. Some predictions are products of guesswork, sentiments and outright wishes, yet they come to pass.
Anyone can predict but not everyone can prophesy. I was a prediction monger for close to a decade when I ran a sports column with The Nigeria Standard Newspapers of Jos from the late 70s until I bowed out in the mid 80s. During the period, all my predictions of the outcomes of sporting events at home and beyond never fell flat. They all came to pass. So accurate were my predictions that some followers of my column encouraged me to open a church where the gift could profit me beyond my imagination.
Let me give you two instances. At the Libya ’82 Africa Cup of Nations, I predicted that the Chipolopolo, as the Zambian national soccer team is called, would bundle the Green Eagles out of the tournament in the quarterfinals. The Nigerian team were the defending champions of the cup won in 1980 in Lagos. The accuracy of the prediction took the entire soccer circle by surprise to the extent that the Monday that followed the weekend of the match, a white couple dragged their friend, who was the newspapers’ managing director, Malam Samuila Makama, and who later became the chairman of the National Population Commission (NPA), to my office to see me.
A year or so later, the defunct Abiola Babes FC of Abeokuta were guests of the Mighty Jets of Jos in one of the Division One National League encounters. I laid out my page, predicting a 2 – 1 victory for the home side, and asked the page planner to pass the page while I left for the stadium to watch the match. My instruction was not carried out in the event of failure of the prediction. In fact, the production supervisor named Louis Odumodu sat on the page until the match was over before passing it. His jaw was on the floor as he handed over the page to the lithographer.
I had followed both the Mighty Jets and Abiola Babes long enough and based on their strength and other factors, I gave my verdict even before the kickoff. In the case of the Green Eagles and the Chipolopolo, my prediction was anchored on the antecedents of the two teams and their form at the time. Twelve or so years before the Libya joust, the Zambians took the Eagles to the cleaners in the qualifiers for the 1974 World Cup Finals held in West Germany. The Eagles were so thoroughly pummeled in Lusaka that at the end of the encounter, the players were asking one another the final scores!
In the build-up to the presidential and National Assembly polls which were eventually held on February 23, 2019, all sorts of prophecies flew across the land. While some prophesied victory for Buhari, several others foretold Atiku’s resounding victory. Yes, those who prophesied victory for the presidential candidate of the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), were larger in number. Besides prophesying, they turned their pulpits into soapboxes where they literally threw the ruling party’s candidate under the train! Some even went as far as decreeing that he would not live to participate in the exercise. They swore that their declarations were inspired by the God they served. Except clerics like the Redeemed Christian Church of God’s Pastor Enoch Adeboye of “let someone shout Alleluia” fame, whose pastor and spiritual son is the Vice President, Pastor William Kumuyi of the Deeper Life Bible Church and those sacerdotalists who belong to the regimented Roman Catholic system, virtually all the other high profile new generation men of God became atikulated and foretold Atiku Abubakar’s triumph. Such prophecies were not inspired by God. Rather, they were inspired by mammon. And when such prophecies fail to fulfill, like it happened recently, they would rave like lunatics and swear that the contrary was the will of God. Can any mortal subvert the will of God? It amounts to mocking God that is known to be an impartial Arbiter.
Pissed off by the cacophony of prophecies in the morning of the elections rescheduled to February 23, 2019, the Sultan of Sokoto and President of the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, Alhaji Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar III, warned religious leaders to desist from predicting the winners.
He said that given the way such rampant predictions were being dispensed, they might trigger a disaster, particularly if the proclaimed candidate did not win the election.
He advised that as spiritual leaders, “we need to be cautious about what we are saying to our followers in church buildings and mosques, taking into consideration that we shall stand at some point before Allah and account for our deeds.
“We ought to by no means permit ourselves for use by any political candidate. If you want to help any candidates, do it personally.
“Religious leaders should preach love for one another and do whatever they do with the fear of God.”
As Nigerians return to the polls today to elect their governors and members of the state houses of assembly, they will be doing so on the wings of prophecies by some clerics and marabouts who profess to hear from God or a higher power.
Many disappointments and heartbreaks will follow in the coming days. I can foresee those let down by prophecies descending on the so-called professed seers and asking for refunds of their cash. I can also predict that some of them would engage Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) to fight for the refund of their prophecy money in a competent court of law if the fake prophets become recalcitrant. I tell you!
