Prophets with Lying Spirit? Nigerian Prophets, Prophecies, and an Endangered Democracy
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Abstract
This paper is a theoretical empirical study derived from what
has become a recurring decimal each time Nigeria is preparing
for general elections. Our experience over the years has
shown that electioneering processes in Nigeria comes with
different prophesies about the eventual outcomes of the
elections by prophets claiming to know the mind of God or
having exclusive insights on the candidates whom God has
chosen. Most of these prophecies are contradictory to some
others, sometimes, implying that there are different gods
responsible for revealing the prophecies to the prophets.
These prophecies embolden the different aspirants that they
are the chosen ones and hence boosts their expectations of
victory at the polls, sometimes without carrying out the usual
electioneering process of campaigning, having manifestoes
and trying to win the electorates legitimately. Of further
concern to us is that the belief in the prophecies trickle down
to the electorates by influencing their choices. When their
candidate eventually fails to win, then the elections are seen
to have been tampered with and declared unfair. Most often,
this leads to rioting, violence and attendant vandalisation of properties and loss of lives. The candidate who fails to win
election goes to court and a process of unnecessary prolonged
litigation ensues. Thus, virtually every elections end in
contestation in court thereby making a mockery of election
and the electioneering process. This tendency is what this
paper interrogates, especially as it touches on endangering
democracy in Nigeria.
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