POLITICIANS ALSO USE AND DUMP PASTORS — PRIMATE AYODELE

The leader of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, Primate Elijah Ayodele, has warned Nigerians, particularly young people, against fighting or risking their lives for politicians during elections.

Ayodele gave the warning in a video shared on TikTok on Monday, urging Nigerians not to allow political actors to manipulate them into violence or sacrifice their lives for political interests.

The cleric said politicians across different political parties could remain friends despite the intense rivalry among their supporters.

He warned Nigerians against accepting money from politicians in exchange for participating in violence, stressing that supporters could be left to deal with the consequences if they were injured, kidnapped or killed.

Ayodele said, “Don’t kill yourself. Election is coming soon. Don’t let them use you because of N1m or N500,000 they will give you.”

He also urged supporters not to allow political differences to turn them against one another, saying politicians would eventually reconcile after elections.

According to him, supporters could fight each other during elections while political opponents such as Ademola Adeleke and Rauf Aregbesola could later reconcile.

The cleric described politicians as “use and dump” actors, accusing them of abandoning people who support them once their political objectives have been achieved.

Ayodele extended the warning to religious leaders, saying politicians also use pastors for political purposes and later abandon them.

He questioned whether politicians would expose their own children or family members to the same dangers they encourage supporters to face.

The cleric urged young Nigerians interested in politics to be cautious and avoid blindly praising or defending politicians at the expense of their lives.

He also advised Nigerians not to become casualties of political contests, noting that politicians often prioritise members of their own networks when distributing opportunities.