2027: WHY GOD WILL NOT CHOOSE A PRESIDENT FOR NIGERIA

By Felix I.C. Igiebor, Journalist, Author and Cleric

“God did not choose Obasanjo in 1999 and did not choose Umaru Musa Yar’adua after him in 2007. God did not choose Goodluck Ebele Jonathan after Yar’adua’s death and certainly did not choose Gen. Muhammadu Buhari who came into power after him. And as sure as daylight, God did not choose the current President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. I can also say with full confidence that God will still not choose Nigeria’s president in 2027.“

Contrary to the teachings and admonitions of modern day Christian church leaders, that God Almighty can and does involve Himself in politics and chooses Presidents and other political and bureaucratic office holders for “His people,” a notion that has prompted believers in every nation and in every election circle to pray very fervently for God to intervene and choose their political leaders for them, with the strong belief that their “God-chosen” leaders will lead them and their countries out of the political and economic quagmire, which previous leaders must have plunged them over the years, I want to state very clearly here that God cannot, does not and will never choose leaders for any nation today (Nigeria inclusive), no matter what, for reasons I will elaborate on in this article. For starters, with all the prayers that Nigerians from all walks of life and religious persuasions, (including top Nigerian religious clerics) have prayed and have been praying, even with prophecies regarding who the next president will be before each election from 1999 till date, everyone can agree on the fact that things have only deteriorated very badly ever since under each and every emergent president, instead of improving. And that is with very little or no hope in sight looking at the future.

Looking further at our country’s political space, I can emphatically state, with all certainty, that God has never at any time chosen any President or military Head of State for Nigeria since independence. Every leader Nigeria has ever had (as far as I know) has risen as a result of either the choice of a few people in positions of power or the choice of the majority through human manipulations. God did not choose Obasanjo in 1999 and did not choose Umaru Musa Yar’adua after him in 2007. God did not choose Goodluck Ebele Jonathan after Yar’adua’s death and certainly did not choose Gen. Muhammadu Buhari who came into power after him. And as sure as daylight, God did not choose the current President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. I can also say with full confidence that God will still not choose Nigeria’s president in 2027.

The reason why Nigerians believe God can always be involved in our electioneering processes is mainly due of our share religiosity. Most of us think and believe that God Almighty can come into a subject that has to do with our human intelligent choices if we pray long enough. But the truth is; God doesn’t just come into the affairs of men, no matter the amount of prayers, without very cogent reasons. This is because He gave us the freewill to make our choices as intelligent creatures. As it is written: “Produce your cause, saith the LORD; bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob.” (Isaiah 41:21) Yes, we can all make our intelligent choices and ensure they stand, if we are all truly very serious about electing the right persons into positions of political power.

Please note that the general conclusion amongst Christian leaders about God making a choice for us, intelligent humans, is mostly based on passages like that of the Bible book of Daniel chapter 4 verse 17, which says: “This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones; to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever He will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.” From the quoted verse above,( coupled with passages like Romans 13:1 – 7 in the bible’s New Testament) where believers are enjoined to submit themselves to those in leadership authority over their nations, Christian preachers hold the view that God is the one who personally appoints rulers over nations. But the fact is; God only wanted to show Nebuchadnezzar – an autocratic dictatorial ruler, that he (Nebuchadnezzar) was a mere mortal and therefore does not have the final say over the affairs of men on earth. God dealt with Nebuchadnezzar that way because of His people Israel, who were in the Chaldean king’s domain. His was a special case that cannot be equated or generalized with that of other nations and therefore cannot be taken as a precedence for how God deals with nations today.

Now, if God chooses a President or ruler for men in an election or chooses a wife for a man or in the other way round, chooses a husband for a woman (for example), how will He (God) judge those rulers or their subjects for whatever evil the rulers commit, or how will He judge a husband or wife for the evils the choices He made for them may commit, since He (God) already usurped their freewill to choose for them? How will He hold them accountable for whatever the outcome of His own choice for them may be? If God chooses a President for a nation, will the people of that nation not hold God responsible for whatever wrongs the president perpetrates in Office? Will they not blame God for the freewill actions of their president? And if God freezes the freewill of the said president He chooses and forces him/her to do His own Divine Will, will that president not be likened to a zombie or robot? Also, if He chooses a wife or husband for men, will those people He chose for not hold Him responsible for whatever negative actions, choices or decisions God’s choice for them makes? Man is created with very fine intelligence and is also a free moral agent who must make his choices intelligently and who must face the consequences of his decisions and actions afterwards.

Even though we have prayed endlessly before elections in Nigeria, for God to choose or appoint the right persons to occupy the Offices of President, Governors and other electable positions, Nigeria has always gotten presidents and other elected leaders who have treated them sub-humanly and who have buffeted them almost out of existence. We must remember that presidents, governors and other elected officials of government are also all free moral agents who will rule according to their freewill choices and decisions. They will also give account to God Almighty at the end of the day for their choices, decisions and actions. Using the 2024 presidential election in the United States of America as reference point, everyone can see that God did not unilaterally choose Donald J. Trump who won the election. The people trooped out massively to vote for him. He won both the Electoral College and the popular vote emphatically and got the people’s mandate. As for the 2027 general elections, Nigerians must not expect God to make a choice for them. They must be ready to use their God-given intelligence to make their freewill choices. Nigerians must stop deceiving themselves. God guide them in making the right decisions if they pray for guidance but will not make the decisions for them. They must go out and vote intelligently.

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