Pastors especially in Nigeria are known to make prophecies about countries and people as a new year emerges
Without a doubt, it has now become a norm for prophets, pastors and other clerics to make bold assertions tagged prophecies at the end of a year or beginning of a new one regarding events that have yet to unfold.
Expectedly, the year 2023 was not short of such prophecies.
Nigerians are known to be very religious people. A report by Council on Foreign Relations noted that religion is central to the lives of most Nigerians, whether they self-identify as Christian or Muslim.
Particularly for the Christian citizens, many look forward to these prophecies which are customarily focused on politics, economy, natural disasters and general optimistic predictions about the future of religious adherents.
However, many of these prophecies made are not usually fulfilled, several pastors have been criticised by Nigerian netizens over their inability to foresee disasters awaiting them in the coming year.
The year 2023 was beclouded with a lot of uncertainty, ailments, deaths and hardship for many people.
Many Nigerian pastors made some prophecies in the early months of 2023 revealing what they claimed “God told them” will happen.
DAILY GIST highlights some of the failed 2023 prophecies.
1. Winner of 2023 Presidential Poll: ‘His name is in the bible’ – Pastor Chris Oyakhilome
Ahead of the 2023 presidential election, the General Overseer of Christ Embassy Church, Pastor Chris Oyakhilome revealed that an angel spoke to him about the leading candidates.
Oyakhilome who spoke at the Loveworld praise-athon on Friday said the name of Nigeria’s next president is in the Bible.
The cleric said the first candidate is under the influence of a devil.
”The Lord gave him a name. The name is Jackal. He is influenced by a demon. This demon is mocking Nigeria. But he’s been cut off.
He further stated that if the second candidate wins, he will sell the country, ” In the spirit, the second candidate, if you let him get into office, you will have no country. You would have sold your country.”
He, however, added that the third candidate is scared of winning.
”The third candidate, there’s fear of winning. He is afraid to win. But the lord will give him wings to fly! HIS NAME IS IN THE BIBLE. Hope you’ve gotten your PVC?” he asked.
PROPHECY CHECK
Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC) won the 2023 Nigeria’s presidential election. He has been sworn-in and the current President of the country.
2. ‘I would become Ifa priest if Tinubu is elected president’ – Prophet Olagoroye
Prophet Faleyimu Olagoroye, founder of Mountain of Miracles and Blessing Ministries, located in Badagry, Lagos state declared and vowed that the presidential candidate of All Progressive Congress, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu cannot emerge the winner of the coming presidential election.
This was made known by the Ondo-born prophet during a personal interview with The Niche reporter.
In his words, if Tinubu is elected Nigeria’s president come February 25, he would become Ifa priest.
PROPHECY CHECK
Bola Tinubu, a candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) won the 2023 Nigeria’s presidential poll. As at time of reportage, Prophet Faleyimu Olagoroye has not become Ifa priest.
3. ‘2023 elections won’t hold’ – Prophet Olusegun Adebayo
Prophet Olusegun Adebayo, senior pastor of the Christ Apostolic World End-Time Rival Ministry (CAWERM), prophesied that the 2023 elections will not take place.
According to Adebayo, I’m the first prophet to predict that there won’t be elections in 2023.
The preacher claimed there would be no election in 2023 in the five minutes and 38 seconds-long YouTube video. Go ahead and record it.
“I firmly believe what God has told me. There will be many dramas to watch. Along with the person who created clergy and the one who wore a cap to church. Not Ganduje, is he? He visited a church. Honor the Lord. There will be many dramas to watch. You’ll witness disgrace. What a shame. You can’t get away from it. It cannot be survived by either PDP or APC. You can’t get away from it from top to bottom. Sword is getting closer”, says the cleric in Yoruba language
PROPHECY CHECK
The electoral body, INEC organised the 2023 elections. There were no cancelations or military takeover.
4. ‘Peter Obi’s victory at Supreme Court’ – Prophet Isaiah Wealth
Lagos-based cleric, Prophet Isaiah Wealth has prophesied that Peter Obi will become president of Nigeria.
Prophet Wealth during one of his church services, said if Obi, the Labour Party candidate, presents “proper evidence” at the Supreme Court, he will be declared the actual winner of the 2023 presidential poll.
Obi will win break trend and win’ The cleric, who is the lead preacher at Isaiah Wealth Ministries, also stated that President Bola Tinubu came third in the election while Atiku Abubakar and Obi came second and first respectively.
His words: “I saw it clearly, as I was praying in the spirit, He (God) said, ‘say to Peter Obi, I have set before you an open door which no man can shut’. It stands till now. It is not going to change.
“The Lord said the door is open, walk through it. There must be no loss of courage. You fight the battle with courage.” He continued: “I went to ask The Lord, will this man ever be president? He said “Yes”. It is written: This is the ruler of thy people. “The Lord said, if they go to court with proper evidence, they’ll win this case.
“Don’t say it has never happened in a presidential election. This can be the first. “I don’t guess; I have seen it, it is clear. “The result you see, first, second, third is actually third, second, first; it was reversed.
PROPHECY CHECK
On 26th of October, 2023, Nigeria’s Supreme Court confirmed President Bola Tinubu as the winner of February’s presidential election, dismissing challenges brought by his political opposition, who cited flaws in the voting system and said Tinubu lacked qualifications.
5. ‘Tinubu will step down for Peter Obi’- Evangelist Naomi George
Evangelist Naomi George has said Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) during the 2023 general elections, would soon be declared the president of Nigeria.
The cleric said every prophecy has its time and season of manifestation.
According to the preacher, “the time is near for this prophecy to be fulfilled.”
She wrote on her known Facebook page on Thursday, September 7. “Soon and very soon, Obi will be declared the President of Nigeria.
“Tinubu will step down for Obi to take over. But it’s unfortunate that I am not seeing a new Nigeria (‘A New Nigeria’ is one of the campaign slogans of Obi, a former governor of Anambra state). All I see is backwardness, pains, and sorrow, The word of God can never change.”
PROPHECY CHECK
Bola Ahmed Tinubu, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) is still the President of Nigeria.
6. ‘There will be interim government from May’ – Prophet Chidi
The convener of the Holy National Covenant of Divine Intervention in Nigeria’s Affairs, Prophet Godfrey Chidi, prophesied that there would be an interim government from May 29, 2023.
He also stated that he foresaw a bleak future for 2023.
PROPHECY CHECK
Nigeria is not under an interim government. Bola Tinubu is still the democratically elected President of Nigeria.
7. ‘Security agencies will arrest Tinubu’ – Pastor Feyi Daniels
The founder of ‘I Reign Christian Ministry’, Feyi Daniels, prophesied that Bola Tinubu would win the 2023 presidential elections.
However, the cleric noted that Tinubu would not be sworn in on May 29, 2023; instead, he would be arrested by security agencies, as reported by The Punch.
The cleric in a video posted on his YouTube channel on February 19, 2023, said: “About to be sworn-in, that day, everybody that said he (Tinubu) is the next president will be rejoicing and they will be saying, I told you, prophets that don’t see far will start telling you that, didn’t I tell you that?
“Tinubu is the next president? At that event, it looks like a very open ground, like a stadium-like centre, while at that event, military men will come in and they will arrest Tinubu.”
PROPHECY CHECK
Bola Ahmed Tinubu was duly sworn-in as President of Nigeria. He has been in office for seven months.
8. ‘World would be relatively more peaceful in 2023’ – Pastor Enoch Adeboye
The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye in his 2023 prophecies said that the world would be “relatively more peaceful”.
The clergy added that the weather pattern would be ”more eratic”, but it would be nice wherever God’s children were.
Regarding individual prophecies, the RCCG general overseer during his proclamation, said people’s biggest challenges of 2022 would lead to their biggest testimonies in 2023.
”In 2023, the Lord will speak peace to some troubled homes,” he said. ”In 2023, for quite a few people, there would be restoration of lost glories.”
In what he proclaimed his favorite prophecy for 2023, Mr Adeboye said ”Many trouble makers will lose the ability to make trouble this year.”
He further stated that “Few balloons will be deflated this year. There will be a bit of wealth transfer.
“Generally, 2023 is a year of many opportunities; wonderful.”
PROPHECY CHECK
The Russia-Ukraine conflict, which began on February 24, 2022, continued into 2023 and is still ongoing. On both sides, there have been rash deaths and significant property losses.
The Israel-hamas war started as the world struggles with the Russia-Ukraine war and tries to handle its ramifications and impacts on people.
According to reports, on October 7, 2023, at roughly 6:30 a.m. IDT (UTC +3), Hamas declared the commencement of “Operation Al-Asqa Flood,” claiming to have fired over 5,000 missiles into Israel in less than 20 minutes from the Gaza Strip.
As a result, there were fatalities and property damage. Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, declared war on Hamas, and it has been raging for weeks, taking the lives of many people, including women, children, and property.
The globe oversaw the Russia-Ukraine conflict as of 2022. Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Palestine are the two wars that the globe is currently handling at the time of reporting.
The world is not as calm as Pastor Adeboye prophesied. These wars have resulted in more deaths and property destruction.
In addition to domestic conflicts, non-state actors have killed people and abducted others in Nigeria, the country of Pastor Adeboye’s birth, and statistics like two wars at once have demonstrated that the world is not relatively peaceful.
