By Lukmon Akintola
It is indeed fair to declare a state of emergency for the Nigerian economy.
With the Naira almost in a state of free fall and the economy sector policymakers at a loss as to what to do to manage the situation, it makes a lot of sense to conclude that Nigerians have never had it so bad.
The situation is also not helped by an all-time high inflation rate in almost twenty years. Also, the alarming exchange rates have seen most business sectors, especially the manufacturing industry gradually grinding to a halt.
Daily manufacturing companies either announce their exit from Nigeria or reorganize their organisation into an import-only firm. Such is the state of the manufacturing Industry presently in Nigeria.
As of Friday, December 8, the Naira depreciated from N1099.05 to a Dollar from N843.07/$1 the previous day. The fluctuating exchange rate has seen the prices of consumables once considered staples going up, with some shooting up over 100 per cent.
However, all of these are not happening in isolation, as Primate Babatunde Elijah Ayodele, spiritual leader of Inri Evangelical Spiritual Church, Oke Afa, Lagos had warned about it.
If there was ever a time anyone assumed that Primate Ayodele was a fake prophet whose trade in craft dwells mainly on speculations, this is the time to be purged of such thoughts.
As far as the accuracy of prophecy is concerned in Nigeria, and indeed Africa, without doubt, Primate Ayodele is a force to be reckoned with. With almost 30,000 all-time fulfilled prophecies, the man has made his mark as a seer, take it or leave it.
Prophecies in the latest edition of his Warnings To The Nations 2023/2024 and Beyound edition have been coming to pass daily with many concerned marveling at the steadfastness of the man of God when it comes to seeing.
However, it is the prophecies made about the economic aftermath of the 2023 presidential election that are in perspective in this article.
On Saturday, July 1, 2023, Primate Ayodele while speaking at a world press conference told a cross-section of journalists that the Nigerian economy would not look any better soon.
“I’m not seeing much about the economy, it will not be stable till 2026,” Primate Ayodele said. The above statement was made in response to a question on the state of the Nigerian economy vis avis the announcement of a palliative proposed by the Federal government as a result of the suffering and pains occasioned by the removal of subsidy from Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) popular as petrol.
The palliative and the impact on the people came to the fore months back when the federal government through the Ogun State government gave out less than a quarter bag of rice to residents of an estate in the state.
One of the most noticeable reactions was that of the chairman of Shokeye Estate in Ogun State, as he wasted no time in calling Governor Dapo Abiodun to come and collect his rice for onward return to his boss, President Tinubu.
Expressing his shock at the palliative, he said, ‘’I am confused. I don’t know how to share this for 147 households in Shokeye Estate. If you guys, the government, I am talking to Dapo Abiodun now, if you people know you cannot do something, don’t do it. We are not hungry, we are not beggars, so we do not need your rice as palliative. This is not even one bag. This is not up to one-eight of a bag of rice.
“I will return your rice so you can give it back to Gov Dapo Abiodun so they can give it back to his boss Tinubu who sent him. We are not hungry people and God will not make us hungry. If you want to give us palliative, don’t insult us. This is an insult. Shokeye estate refuses to be insulted,” he concluded.
Meanwhile, before then, Primate Ayodele had warmed about an impending suffering for Nigerians.
In one of his interviews, preceding the 2023 presidential election, Primate Ayodele said that what the country is going through presently would be nothing compared to what would come if Tinubu is elected President. Also, he noted that Nigerians would buy diesel for N1000 per liter and petrol for N300 per liter.
Typical of the prophecies made by the man of God, his prophecy of an increase in the price of petrol is spot-on, even if the rise is now twice what was revealed to him by God.
Tinubu has barely been Nigeria’s president for half a year, but Nigerians have been thrown into what appears to be endless suffering, with an astronomical increase in the cost of living in areas such as food, transport, and accommodation thus further widening the gulf between the rich and the poor.
The suffering and economic impasse that Primate Ayodele foretold was recently confirmed in a statement by Timi Frank, a former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Frank who lamented the state of the economy under President Tinubu said Nigerians have faced the worst forms of economic hardships and hunger in the last six months of Tinubu’s administration than any other time in the history of the nation.
According to him, while the much talked about investment drive by Tinubu has not materialized, the few existing investors in the country like Proctor and Gamble, Shoprite Jumia Foods, etc, are leaving in droves.
Frank said: “This is going to be the first Christmas to be celebrated by Nigerians under Tinubu’s administration but it’s going to be the worst and a nightmare for Nigerians because they cannot even afford foodstuffs and drinks to celebrate the Yuletide.
“Naira scarcity is biting harder. Nigerians now buy Naira before they can use Naira. They cannot afford a bag of rice under his government because the cost is way above the N30,000 minimum wage.
“Salaries are not being paid. Now the new minimum wage. Wage award not paid. No cash transfer to vulnerable Nigerians after taking a World Bank facility to that effect.
“Whatever they have saved has been eroded by inflationary pressures which now stand at over 28 percent and the high cost of petroleum products following the abrupt removal of fuel subsidy by Tinubu in May. World Bank also just confirmed that 99.9% of vulnerable Nigerians are yet to receive FG cash transfer.”
Timi Frank said critical sectors of the economy are headed by Tinubu’s men and the country is not working because all sectors under his administration have been deliberately compromised and corrupted.
He said: “As a result of a highly compromised judicial system under Tinubu, investors do not have confidence in getting justice if any agreements they enter into is breached or disputed.
“Also, investors have lost confidence in the National Assembly, which is saddled with making laws especially to aid the ease of doing business among others, but practically, it is known to be one of the most corrupt arms of the present government.
“So right now, the future of Nigeria lies in the hands of Nigerians. Like every other nation, when a government has failed, the only option is for the people to protest and call for a restoration of sanity.
“Therefore, the only thing that can bring back sanity is for Nigerians to wake up and join the upcoming peaceful protests in January which we are planning and mobilizing Nigerians for to rescue the country. ”
Amidst all of these, one is forced to ask if Primate Ayodele was not correct in his prophecy about the hardship to come in the country. Also, with the seer hitting the bull’s eyes, the question of when President Tinubu will reach out to him for advice on the way forward becomes imminent.
Lukmon Akintola is an independent journalist, base in Lagos
