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Says They Also Use, Dump Pastors
Primate Elijah Ayodele, the leader of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, has cautioned Nigerians against putting their lives at risk because of politicians
Ayodele in a video shared on TikTok on Monday, urged Nigerians, especially the youths, to resist attempts by politicians to mobilise them for violent activities during elections.
The cleric said political supporters should not mistake partisan rivalry for personal enmity, arguing that politicians who appear to be bitter rivals may eventually reconcile.
“Nigerians especially, don’t die for politicians. Tinubu and Atiku, they are friends. You only fight and fight and fight and fight and kill yourself,” he said.
Ayodele warned that accepting money from politicians was not worth the potential consequences of getting involved in dangerous political activities, warning that supporters will be left to suffer the consequences of political violence.
“Don’t kill yourself. Election is coming soon. Don’t let them use you because of N1m or N500,000 they will give you. If you lose, they shoot your leg or they kidnap you or they do anything, it’s your headache,” he said.
Referring to the political rivalry between former Osun State governor Gboyega Oyetola and incumbent governor Ademola Adeleke, Ayodele said the two politicians could still maintain cordial relations despite the divisions among their supporters.
“You lost, your family lost. Adeleke, Oyetola, they will greet themselves. They will do padi padi thing,” he said.
The cleric also extended his warning to religious leaders, claiming that politicians could exploit pastors for political purposes and later abandon them.
“They will only use you and dump you. They will use people like us too, pastors, and they will dump us. That is not a problem,” Ayodele said.
He questioned whether politicians would expose their own children or relatives to the same risks they encourage their supporters to take.
“Can they send their children to war on any of their families? And yet they will not help you.”
Ayodele therefore urged young Nigerians involved in politics to be more cautious and avoid blindly defending political figures when doing so could endanger their lives.
“Stop fighting or die because of these politicians. Politicians, they are use and dump. They are ungrateful, they are ingrate,” he said.