Primate Elijah Ayodele of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church has made a name in different sectors of Nigeria and football seems to be one of the most remarkable areas of concentration in his ministry. He has been seen with presidents of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Ahmed Gusau several times, He has been honoured by the supporters’ club and most importantly, he has always shared prophetic directions with the Nigerian football team privately and publicly.
Before any significant tournament, either the AFCON or World cup, Primate Ayodele would share publicly the fate of the Super Eagles team although sometimes, it doesn’t favour Nigeria and many describe him as unpatriotic. A typical example was the AFCON 2022 when Primate Ayodele said at a press conference that the Super Eagles would not go far in the tournament, many described him as unpatriotic but his prophecy ended up coming to pass. Likewise, before the last AFCON, Primate Ayodele publicly told the NFF president that the team would get to the final and it happened.
Similarly, when the NFF started shopping for a new coach after the sack of Jose Peseiro, Primate Ayodele advised the team to look for a foreign coach because a local coach would not give the Super Eagles a good chance at any competition. He warned them severally against settling for a home-based coach if they want to make Nigerians proud at any competition but for reasons known to the NFF, Finidi George was appointed as the Eagles’ coach.
Immediately Finidi was appointed as the coach, Primate Ayodele publicly said during a video interview which went viral that Finidi George will not make the Super Eagles’ fly. He stated that his administration would put Nigeria’s football in trouble and that the nation’s football will be in coma.
These were his words
‘’With Finidi George, Nigeria cannot thrive as expected, he will put us in a lot of trouble and our football will be in shambles. Finidi George doesn’t have the capacity, Amunike is a bit better than him. Finidi George will put our football house in Coma’’
One month after Primate Ayodele shared this prophecy, Super Eagles have played some significant matches and their performance has been below average. Just yesterday, the Benin Republic defeated Nigeria for the first time in the world cup qualifiers. As it stands, the chances of the Super Eagles to qualify for the world cup has grown slimmer with the loss. The team is currently sitting in 5th position on the Group table for the World Cup qualifiers.
Is Primate Ayodele’s prophecy coming to pass already?