My dear Prophet, I’m very certain this letter must come to you as a big surprise. But that is the nature of this column. It is in the character of Pendulum to swing in the direction least anticipated. Today, it has chosen to navigate itself towards you, my dear man of God.
For avoidance of doubt, please, permit me to quickly explain a point so that mischief-makers may not attribute spurious motives to this epistle. I’m not a member of your congregation. I have never been. You and I have never discussed religion or worship. I have never approached you for special prayers or miracles. But I have been a great fan of yours nonetheless, for very exceptional reasons. I shall explain in a jiffy why I admire you warts and all.
No human being is perfect, and I’m sure that includes you, despite being a man of God. I’ve read and heard torrents of good and bad tales about you. But didn’t I read and hear a deluge of fairy-tales about our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, your overall Master? It is normal for human beings to concoct true and imaginary tales about newsmakers. You have been a subject and victim of such incredible rumour-mongering over the decades that I have known you. Some have alleged that you are not a genuine disciple of God. They’ve alleged that you are fetish and use native jazz to heal miracle-seekers. Some have even called your miracles mere optical illusions. That you are nothing short of a magician but these myriad of detractors have never diminished your popularity globally.
I have continued to marvel at your awesome powers as demonstrated to the Unclad eyes on television, and two or more conclusions have emerged. If you use juju or whatever power to heal people, then it is positive healing. We all turn to doctors, pharmacists, surgeons and others in the days of medical challenges. The drugs we take emanate from herbs, local or foreign. The Indians and the Chinese in particular have been much wiser than us by developing their medicine to international standards. I have tried acupuncture in my adventurous days in Dubai and London. There is nothing wrong if God has given you special access to the secrets of herbs and roots. What makes it even more remarkable and extraordinary is that you escalate and amplify every miracle of yours with loud shouts of the name of Jesus. You’ve never called the names of other Gods or even witches and wizards on the pulpit. There are always local and international visitors to your synagogue of God. None has ever reported that he or she stumbled on an esoteric shrine perchance.
In fact, you have been a major source of foreign exchange earnings for Nigeria. It is difficult to imagine how many religious tourists pour into your church daily from different parts of the world. I’ve travelled extensively in Africa and beyond. There is hardly a flight I’ve flown on, especially in Africa, that I’ve not encountered your sworn and ardent followers. They love you endlessly and swear by your name. Many of them are distinguished personalities, well-educated and intelligent and not ignoramuses as many may wish to suggest. Presidents have attested to your miracles. I will mention one very good example that I am familiar with.
Long before the 2008 presidential election that ushered in President John Evans Atta-Mills in Ghana, you had called me one early morning to ask my opinion and projection ahead of the election. I remember telling you that Nana Akufo-Addo was tipped and favoured to win. Your response was that I was wrong and that God was going to perform a miracle for Professor Atta-Mills. True, the ways of God are not the ways of man. You went all out in your support for Atta-Mills, like you always do for people and causes you champion, and he actually won the election.
I was pleasantly surprised when you called me one early Sunday morning to invite me to the Synagogue. You said you remember how you had called me to support the aspiration of Atta-Mills and the useful tips I gave. Now that the m
