Primate ELIJAH AYODELE: The Seer, And the Country That Listens

By Femi Oyewale

Ejigbo, Lagos — When Primate Babatunde Elijah Ayodele steps onto the pulpit of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church each week, he does more than preach: he convenes a national conversation. For decades, the clergy has issued blunt, often headline-grabbing prophecies about presidents, markets, and disasters — pronouncements that are dutifully copied, debated, and digested across Nigerian newsrooms, social media, and political corridors.

Primate Ayodele is best known for two things: the regular release of New Year’s and seasonal “warnings to the nation,” and a large, loyal following that amplifies those warnings into national discourse. He publishes annual prophecy booklets, holds prayer mountain conventions where journalists are invited, and maintains active social media channels that spread his messages quickly beyond his church gates. In July 2025, he launched a compendium of his prophecies titled “Warnings to the Nations,” an event covered by national outlets, which Ayodele used to restate concerns about security, governance, and international affairs.

Ayodele’s prophecies have touched on lightning-rod topics: election outcomes, the health or fate of public figures, infrastructure failures, and international crises. Nigerian and regional press have repeatedly published lists of his “fulfilled” predictions — from political upsets to tragic accidents — and his followers point to these as proof of his accuracy. Media roundups in recent years credited him with dozens of prophecies he argued had been realised in 2023 and 2024, and his annual prophetic rollouts continue to attract wide attention.

Impact beyond prediction: politics, policy, and public mood

The practical effect of Ayodele’s ministry is not limited to whether a prophecy comes to pass. In Nigeria’s politicised and religiously engaged public sphere, a prominent seer can:

• Move conversations in electoral seasons; politicians, commentators, and voters listen when he names likely winners or warns about risks to candidates, and his claims sometimes become part of campaign narratives.

• Shape popular expectations — warnings about economic hardship, insecurity, ty or public health influence how congregations and communities prepare and react.

• Exert soft pressure on leaders — high-profile admonitions directed at governors or ministers often prompt responses from the accused or their allies, creating a feedback loop between pulpit pronouncements and political actors.

Philanthropy and institution building

Ayodele’s public profile extends into philanthropy and church development. He runs INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church from Oke-Afa, Lagos, and his ministry periodically organises humanitarian outreach, scholarships, and hospital visits — activities he frames as evidence that prophetic ministry must be accompanied by concrete acts of charity. Church events such as extended “17-day appreciation” outreaches and scholarship programmes have been widely reported and help cement his appeal among congregants who value spiritual counsel paired with material support.

What makes him unique

Several features set Ayodele apart from other public religious figures in Nigeria:

1. Productivity and documentation. He releases extensive, numbered lists of prophecies and compiles them into booklets — a tactic that makes his predictions easy to track (and for supporters to tally as “fulfilled”).

2. A blend of national and international focus. His pronouncements frequently move beyond parochial concerns to name international actors and events, which broadens his media footprint.

3. Media-savvy presentation. From staged press events to active social accounts, Ayodele understands how to turn a prophecy into a viral story that will be picked up by blogs, newspapers, and TV.

The public verdict: faith, influence, and skepticism

To millions of Nigerians — and to his core following — Primate Ayodele remains a pastor-prophet whose warnings must be taken seriously. To others, he is a media personality whose relevance depends as much on spectacle and circulatory power as on supernatural insight. What is indisputable is his role in magnifying the religious dimension of national life: when he speaks, politicians, congregants, and newsrooms listen. That attention, in turn, helps determine which social and political questions become urgent in public debate.

Looking ahead

As Nigeria heads into another cycle of elections and economic challenges, Ayodele’s annual pronouncements will almost certainly return to the front pages. Whether they are read as sober warnings, political interventions, or performative theology, they will continue to shape conversations about destiny, leadership, and the kinds of risks a deeply religious nation believes it must prepare for.

BABATUNDE OLAOGUN STORMS LAUTECH; GIFTS DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION WORKABLE TOOLS

In a remarkable display of commitment to academic excellence and community development, Hon. Babatunde Olaogun, a distinguished alumnus of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), has gifted the Department of Business Administration with state-of-the-art workable tools such as stationery items which includes several reams of A4 papers, detachable whiteboards. permanent markers, temporary markers among others things.

Olaogun also added that as part of his commitment to ensuring that students of the department enjoys first class academic infrastructure, a contemporary projector facility would be delivered to the department in no distant time courtesy of his humble self to further enhance ease during presentation of seminar and projects.

The donation ceremony was graced by eminent personalities at the department, including Prof. (Mrs) Ojokuku, Prof. Adegoroye and Dr. (Mrs.) Akanbi who warmly received Mr. Olaogun. The trio of the reverred academics thanked Mr. Olaogun for his commitment to good causes and urged him to continue doing even more good for the university, Ogbomoso in particular, Oyo State and the entire nation at large.

In their goodwill message, Prof. Ojokuku and Prof. Adegoroye also counseled Mr. Olaogun to stay focused and not be swayed by naysayers who may seek to tarnish his reputation. They further encouraged him to carry along, students of Public Administration from LAUTECH, with a view to a availing them practical skills and knowledge essential for their success in their future endeavors.

The Department of Business Administration is thrilled to receive this donation and looks forward to leveraging these tools to improve academic outcomes and produce highly skilled graduates.

Mr. Olaogun’s gesture is a shining example of the university’s alumni community’s commitment to supporting and nurturing the next generation of leaders.

Oyo 2027: The imperative of Gbenga Adegbola’s Governorship.

By Comrade Oladimeji Odeyemi.

The clock is ticking in the All Progressives Congress (APC), Oyo State chapter, towards the 2027 governorship elections, and the various gladiators in the party are not leaving any stone unturned to ensure their interests see the light of day. But the most significant interest in the equation is the teeming masses of Oyo State, who are itching for hope, progress, and stability in their beloved state.

Expectedly, the APC has a long list of both contenders and pretenders for the party’s ticket to succeed Engineer Seyi Makinde, who will serve out his constitutional two terms of eight years by 2027.

With the long collection, it is pretty easy to take for granted the concepts of proficiency, vision, intelligence, tenacity, passion, diligence, teamwork, among other leadership traits.

But these attributes and more, conceptualise what true leadership is all about in any formal system, especially for a country like Nigeria, and more importantly, our dear Oyo State, which is on a tenterhook. As such, whoever will take over from 2027 as the State Governor must be wired with these qualities for any appreciable progress to be seen and felt in the State.

The probing question will now be How do we identify such a leader? The simple answer is that the measure by which such a leader can be identified is largely through their antecedents, both in private and public responsibilities.

This is where Dr Gbenga Adegbola, a retired Colonel of the Nigerian Army, comes to focus as a perfect fit for the template of both the APC and the Oyo State masses.

Adegbola has been zeroed in on by political pundits as the most sellable and most prepared aspirant within the ranks of the APC in Oyo State.

Besides meeting the benchmark of outstanding service as a retired Colonel of the Nigerian Army, many also averred that he stands as a fitting bridge between the old and younger generation and that at fifty-six years of age, he can birth the much-talked generational shift in the political leadership of Oyo State.

Regarded as a home-grown leader who has a breathtaking background as an astute Military strategist, an industrialist, a philanthropist, and now a politician and an achiever in public service. Adegbola, a pan-Nigerian administrator, has convincing records showing his capacities and past achievements in fixing the spiraling youth unemployment through his business investments, support to the educational system, fight against insecurity, promoting the economy, uniting ethnic groups and regions, among others.

Since pitching a tent with partisan politics, Adegbola has been supporting his party, the APC, both at the state and national levels. With his experience and exposure as a Personnel of the Nigerian Army before his retirement, his supporters and the masses of Oyo State believe it is time for him to run for the highest office in Oyo State.

As a core party man, Adegbola has put his heart and passion into the affairs of the APC, and much more importantly, the government of President Bola Tinubu, where he has been one of the chief marketers of President Bola Tinubu’s socio-economic policies both in Oyo State and the entire Southwest region.

Adegbola’s Security Architecture for Oyo State will be second to none, as Oyo State, during his government (God willing), will become a Security Model in the country: kidnapping, armed robbery, violent crimes, land grabbing, and cult-related activities will be reduced to less than one percent.

Under his watch, Oyo State will establish and set up an integrated Security Network, with a Central Command, Control, Communication, Computer and Intelligent (C4I) system, a 24hours Camera System that’ll watch over Ibadan and all other major cities in the state and other various innovative security strategies that he’ll put to bear on the state.

Agriculture, Education, Industrialisation, affordable health care, urbanization, and provisions of major amenities for our people in Oyo State will be at the forefront of Dr Gbenga Adegbola’s vision and mission for Oyo State.

Dr Gbenga Adegbola hales from Saki in the Oke Ogun zone of Oyo State, was born on September 29, 1969. He was granted a direct regular commission into the Nigerian Army and posted to the Nigerian Army Finance Corps after his training at the prestigious Nigerian Defense Academy, Kaduna, Kaduna State, as a member of the DSSC 12 on 21st November 2001.

Dr Gbenga Adegbola has attended several courses since his commissioning. These included the Young Officers Course (Finance), Cashier Course, Account Inspectors Course, etc.

Dr Gbenga Adegbola attended the Polytechnic Ibadan, from there he proceeded to the Ladoke Akintola University, Ogbomosho, Oyo State, where he bagged a Master’s in Public Administration. In his quest for more knowledge, Dr Gbenga Adegbola proceeded to the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University in Bauchi State for both his Post Graduate Diploma in Management and Accounting. Dr Adegbola is also an alumnus of the College of Accounting, Jos, Plateau State, where he bagged the Post Graduate Diploma. Dr Adegbola also holds a Master of Arts in Security and Strategic Administration (MASSA) from the Nigerian Defense Academy, Kaduna, and also a Doctorate Degree in Security and Management from Freedom University, United States of America.

Dr Gbenga Adegbola is happily married and the union is blessed with Children.

Clearly, Gbenga Adegbola is literally a colossus in the race to succeed Governor Seyi Makinde. He has the pedigree, network, resilience, and capacity to win against the opposition and also reinvent the fortunes of the APC in Oyo State. If anyone can lift the needle for APC in the 2027 governorship elections in Oyo State, then it is Dr Gbenga Adegbola.

Comrade Oladimeji Odeyemi, an entrepreneur, a security consultant, and an opinion molder in Oyo State, sent this article from Ibadan, Oyo State.