Time to Caution Primate Ayodele on Fake, Divisive Prophesies

There are moments in a country’s life when words become more dangerous than weapons. Nigeria is living through one of those moments. I listened—carefully, painfully—to Primate Ayodele’s recent viral statement alleging that “the Igbos are the problem of Nigeria,” and I felt compelled to respond, not just as a citizen, but as someone who has spent years observing the delicate balance that holds our nation together. His words did not land as prophecy. They landed as a threat to the unity we have struggled to preserve.

Nigeria is a nation held together by threads of history, faith, and the stubborn courage of its people. These threads are fragile—not because Nigerians are unwilling to coexist, but because careless rhetoric keeps testing the tensile strength of our unity. When a religious leader, a man many consider a guide, points to an entire ethnic group and labels them “the problem,” he is not speaking the language of healing; he is speaking the language of division. Such declarations echo across communities, deepen mistrust, and stir up the worst instincts in people already grappling with hardship.

Primate Ayodele’s history of failed predictions makes this even more troubling. Nigerians have not forgotten the ease with which he dismissed the potential of Victor Osimhen, as though destiny bowed to his microphone. Today the world watches Osimhen break barriers, score goals, silence critics, and inspire a new generation of athletes. Reality has a way of humbling loud predictions, yet somehow the volume of Ayodele’s pronouncements only grows. One wonders if the aim is still prophecy—or publicity.

But this issue is bigger than one man’s accuracy or lack thereof. It is about the impact of his words on a country still healing from ethnic wounds. The Igbo people have been part of the nation’s backbone for decades: builders of industries, drivers of commerce, innovators across sectors, citizens who pick up broken pieces and rebuild—even when the nation does not give them enough in return. To reduce them to “the problem” is not only unfair; it is reckless.

The 1999 Constitution safeguards freedom of expression, but it also recognizes that this freedom is not a license to endanger national cohesion. It allows restrictions when speech threatens public order or the rights and dignity of others. Why? Because the framers of the Constitution understood a truth that seems lost on some leaders today: words can destabilize a nation far faster than bullets.

Nigeria has no space left for voices that sow hatred under the guise of divine insight. What we need are voices that mend, guide, and uplift. Voices that remind us of our shared destiny. Voices that choose truth over theatrics. A prophet should be a beacon—not a spark in a room filled with dry straw.

Primate Ayodele must reassess the tone and intent of his messages. He must understand that in a country as delicate as ours, the wrong sentence can trigger consequences far beyond what a “prophetic declaration” might intend. The responsibility of influence is heavy; it is not to be exercised carelessly.