PRIMATE Theophilus Olabayo, 67, founder of
Evangelical Church of Yahweh with
headquarters in Mende, Maryland, Lagos, had
remained one of Nigeria’s respected prophets
whose prophesies had shaken the high and
mighty in the country. In this interview, the
cleric says there would be a spiritual
revolution that will rock the nation to its
foundation and at the end of it, a new nation
will emerge. Excerpts:
What really happened that you went off the
radar for several years?
I have been talking. A prophet doesn’t just say
things. It’s when God asks me to speak that I
speak. Many atimes, I warn our leaders but
they don’t have listening ears. I was the only
one who said President Umaru Yar’Adua had a
terminal disease and when the condition got
worse, the wife called some of us to Abuja to
ask of the chances of her husband. I said the
husband would die and Jonathan would
become president. I warned President
Goodluck Jonathan that people would make the
country ungovernable for him, but people said
I was a prophet of doom. Is it not happening
now? Let me quickly say this here that worse
than Boko Haram is about to happen.
It’s no secret that you had some health
challenges which may have been responsible
for your absence for some time. What is the
nature of your ailment?
I did not lay off. Elijah was sick and he was
still doing God’s work. I had an attack. A
spiritual attack but I am still hale and hearty.
Spirit cannot die. The spirit of God cannot die
in you. The body may be weak, it doesn’t
matter. But the spirit cannot die. God will
continue to speak through you.
Is it true that you had stroke, Sir?
It’s not a big deal that someone has stroke but
I am okay. While on a trip to Kaduna, God had
revealed to me that I would have stroke and
would be away for some time. So I looked for
someone who knew about stroke; one of my
pastors.
Primate Olabayo
How did it happen and what was your first
reaction?
I was going for a revival in Kaduna and God
told me to go with somebody who knows about
stroke. The man had to follow me to Kaduna.
When I got to Kaduna, they told me one of my
townsmen was sick and when I got to his place,
God said I should not do anything though he
was suffering. I got a room for him, paid his
bills and left after praying for him. As I was
returning to the church in Kaduna, I had the
attack.
And did you have any medical treatment?
Definitely!
Why do you think it’s a spiritual attack?
I know because God told me about it. I know it
could be exhaustion because I pray and fast a
lot.
There was this rumour among the people that
one of the reasons your church went down was
because you were caught in adultery with
somebody else’s wife. Is it true sir?
God will forgive you. Where? That is why
Nigeria cannot move forward. How do you
expect me; I preach the Word of God, I preach
against adultery, then I’ll be caught in such an
act! Impossible! Anybody can lie against you.
At your age sir, are you thinking of passing
over the baton to someone else soon?
I am a prophet and it is not hereditary. God
can choose anybody. When it’s time for me,
God will tell me to lay hands on the person.
God has not told me yet, I’m still a young
man. There are so many people that are
coming up, not only one person. Among them,
God will raise up leaders. We have young
pastors coming up in the church who have the
gift of the Word of God, the Bible. Not only
vision, people believe that it’s when you just
speak in tongues alone or see vision. No! There
are different types of gifts.
There are churches as soon as the founders
pass away you don’t hear much from those
churches…
It can’t happen here because it’s God that
called me. When it is time, God will raise up
another leader among us.
What do you foresee for Nigeria?
We are sitting at the keg of gunpowder. We are
looking at total darkness in the nation. We
need to pray very well because these political
people are not doing the right things. Nothing
is working; the worst corruption is in Nigeria.
There has never been corruption as worse as
this. The name of Nigeria is now corruption
and some of the journalists are not helping
matters. People are being bribed. But there’s
going to be a revolution. The poor will
overtake the rich. You’ve not seen anything.
You’ve not seen Boko Haram. Worse Boko
Haram is about to happen and we have to pray
against religious war that may last seven years.
Let Jonathan drop his ambition for 2015. Let
him work and allow his work speak for itself.
Most of his political alleys especially from his
Niger Delta are deceiving him and are talking
carelessly. They will be consumed one after
another. They are already beating war drums if
he fails to return in 2015; let them keep quiet.
They are not helping matters. Very soon they’ll
start bombing.
The chairman of PDP is going to face another
problem because there’s going to be crisis and
if care is not taken, he is going to be removed.
They are going to scatter them and cause
confusion between him and the president.
Most of these governors that are being sacked
are going to join hands together to form
another party. A new party will emerge which
will be more powerful than PDP. Not APC! Gov.
Rotimi Amaechi’s current challenges will create
more problems in this country.
What’s the way out of all of these? How can we
prevent this doom from coming to pass in
Nigeria?
The problem with Nigeria is leadership. We are
so corrupt and wicked. We manipulate things
and we don’t allow God to work. They don’t
believe in God. They go about looking for
protection; some of them think they are
untouchable. They don’t believe there’s God.
One day they are going to give account. God is
going to intervene in the affairs of Nigeria very
soon and a brand new nation will emerge from
the ashes of a revolution. The president is
being caged by some few people. When you are
saying the truth, they arrest you. Some of his
close people are enemies and he doesn’t know.
If he’s not careful, they are going to run him
down.
There are things to be done spiritually. I don’t
need to discuss all these with the Press
because our leaders don’t have listening ears.
We need to come together and work for this
nation because we have children. We don’t
want our children to suffer. Because if there’s
war in Nigeria today, Ghana cannot
accommodate the number of refugees. They
are holding notional meetings. If they want to
do something, somebody will talk today; they
will give him millions of naira to keep quiet.
They are not saying anything, they are only
exchanging money and that is what is
destroying this country. Our refineries are not
working; the roads are bad, armed robbers
have taken over; there’s no work, now they
want to sack people. The man is making more
mistakes everyday. Every step he takes, he’s
making wrong decisions. Many of his advisers
are selfish and wicked people. They are just
accumulating wealth. And they are old. They
don’t give up. They are acquiring properties.
Some say Nigeria might not survive beyond
2015. Do you agree?
I went to America of recent and I prophesied
and it happened. Let me tell you, it’s not
America that will dictate for us. God is saying
that we should avoid war; religious war.
Sir, is there anything the Church or anybody
can do to avert a violent revolution?
As I am prophesying now, some church leaders
and prayer contractors will take it to them to
get money, to get oil blocks and buy
aeroplanes for themselves. That will not solve
the problem.
Despite the health cha-llenges, you still talk
like this. When are you ever going to get tired?
I can’t be tired. They have tried me. I was the
only one condemning Sani Abacha. One day
they sent one brig-adier to me, I was in my
house. As he came, I said something is in your
stomach, he said yes, Sir. They said you should
come and arrest me, he said yes Sir. I said but
you have a daughter, he said yes sir. That day,
my phone just stopped working I know it was
their handiwork. When he came, God revealed
to me and I told him you are going to land into
problem, your oga will die.
Before Abacha died, one Austin came to me.
He said he has a friend of Abubakar, I said he’s
going to be next president and Abacha would
die, and it happened. There’s nobody that God
cannot catch. If 100 pastors and mallams are
praying for them, they can’t survive. God is
about to move if they don’t change and repent
because they have put us under bondage for
long. These pastors, let them change. They will
say we are Pentecostals, that doesn’t mean you
cannot speak truth. There was a time it was
only me and Idahosa that were speaking during
Babangida’s era. Most of these pastors that
were condemning prophec-ies, are now
prophesing. Where did they see it? Jealousy
and envy are the things killing them.
What is your own assessment of late Pa
Obadare?
He’s a man of God. He’s one of the chosen
men of God, a soul winner, has the fear of
God. That’s one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
He was a blind man and was quoting the Bible.
A good preacher of God. He’s one of the best
in the Body of Christ that we miss.
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