Satguru Maharaji is the Spiritual Head/Founder of One Love Family which is situated along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. In this interview with Dapo Salami, he speaks on some salient issues. Excerpts:

What is the solution to the myriads of problems confronting the nation?

We don’t have any problem. The problem we are having is that a Hausa man believes he must just come and carry everything away. He believes if he give an Ibo man a title of ‘Alhaji’ and give him money, he will keep quiet; and also that if he gives a Yoruba man a chairmanship position he will keep quiet and it cannot work like that. Meanwhile, the number of politicians, editors killed during the time when a Hausa man was in power was at a very high rate. So, the problem now is, there must be respect, sincerity, honesty and if we say spiritual, then we have to use the holy name Maharaj Ji. In physical terms, there must be state police. On the issue of derivation fund, whether they like it or not, it will not work out until they accept that you keep your resources and give us at least 30% to the federal government to take care of the police, immigration and maybe ambassadorial services, but they say 13% from my oil and they say my brother Jonathan cannot be president when he was elected and they now brought Boko Haram, God will surely intervene and that is why Maharaj Ji is here.

You have also said the solution to Boko Haram is in culture. What did you mean by this? When you say God, you must now ask yourself who is God? And what is God?

God is this formless thing. The energy you see that is always taking charge of the body. It’s like NEPA line, the energy is there but until a bulb is fixed, you cannot see the light? Let’s say we should pick somebody like Satguru Maharaj Ji; and he says let’s meet Alaafin, Ooni of Ife and Orangun of Ila and I now say when do we go?

Believe me, I give you 3months and they will get these Chibok girls. They should go through Ifa but people don’t respect them, they believe that they are ‘kafiri’ and that is why the north is paying dearly for it. They say we are ‘kafiri’ but we are leading the economy. The moment they call me I have my soldiers, they will go in and that is why Nigeria is not at war presently.

If you check the indices of war; North Korea is at war, Vietnam, Angola, Republic of Congo. All we need for them is to take us into account instead of going to bring pastors. What is Ayo Oritsejafor going to do then? Were they not going there to eat before they kidnapped them? They are now saying they wanted some Muslims in the confab, I want to say it here that they can make Muslims 99% and Christians 1%, still, they will repeat the confab again until we reach where Maharaj Ji wants us to be… to be free from foreign manipulation.

Africa was created through the Mayflower journey and they fought heavily. There was a time they were killing people in ‘wet e’ in the western states and the thing shifted to the East, now it has shifted to the North. They should sit up otherwise the North will have no place again as far as Nigeria is concerned. They are paying for their karma but Maharaj Ji is saying they should see the need to come back immediately. So, IBB, Abdulsalam, Sultan of Sokoto should stop manipulating the people in the name of herdsmen and establishing mosques. What can the mosques do? Nothing! Every Nigerian particularly the Yoruba man by the time he or she is 11 years old, traditionally they are aware that if they steal or lie they will be in trouble and if they betray them they are going to die.

We are begging the president to take traditionalist seriously. It’s not a worshipping kind of thing, don’t confuse us. Some people said Islam is a religion; Christianity is a religion and traditional worshippers. There is traditional worship, but it is a way of life. They live with vegetation. They are not reading books. Traditional worship is not a tradition.

Are you a scientist?

I am. I am the producer of all scientists in the world. Today, if you ask the American NASA; the scientific organization in Canada, I am the brain behind them. All of them, they have a place where Maharaj Ji is. They keep my altar there, if they lie, they will see trouble over there. I am the one who taught all of them. Even though at that time it was Maharaj Ji before me, it is me who has to be there because I am the one that controls the power that brings on the sun; the one that everybody needs everyday. Among my devotees, they have come up with different innovations. There was one Kole Paul who piloted an aeroplane during the time of IBB. They dodged it. Another of my devotee, Imuninu brought about 159 inventions and today they have taken him to America.

Do you see President Goodluck Jonathan coming back as Nigeria’s president in 2015?

I want to vote Jonathan as our next president in 2015. He is better than Atiku, Buhari, IBB, Ciroma and any other. Some few days ago, they said the president commissioned made in Nigeria car – this is a car that they brought various parts and assembled it here, it’s not made in Nigeria. We want a situation where Maharaj Ji should be given the power to manage Ajaokuta Steel Mill. If they give me today, I tell you in 10 years’ time I will produce Nigerian cars.

There is no opposition now in the country; the Europeans are not happy with the government of Jonathan Goodluck just like they were not with Obasanjo. They want to control our resources, they don’t want any president that is trying to give incentives to the ordinary man on the street, and that is why they are fighting and so we are begging that new parties should be allowed to come up, parties that would oppose zoning system.

Why do they have to zone? It is a weak society that zones. Presidential and governorship positions should be positions people must vie for. When did Bukola Saraki come into politics that he should be insulting the president? What of Fani Kayode? When did he come into politics that he should insult the president? Where did Junaid Mohammed come from that he should be insulting the president? People who have no background and culture; people who don’t care; people who are organising the killings of our citizens and they are going to the paper to talk! It is better the masses take judgment on them by denying them. Anywhere they see Buhari, Bukola Saraki, IBB, they should hold them responsible. IBB was the one that devalued the naira in 1985 and see where he has landed us. Abdulsalam killed MKO Abiola, didn’t he (Abiola) win the election? He won! Are we going to sit down and watch? That is why Maharaj Ji has come to make sure that Jonathan goes there. And we are begging that Jonathan should come closer the more.

In July 2010, before Jonathan declared his interest to contest for the election, Maharaj Ji had already told him that the grace has touched him to be the president and when he was having problems with the northerners when he was the vice-president, Maharaj Ji went to court and on the day the court was supposed to sit for the case in court 4, Jonathan announced that Umaru Yar’Adua was dead. The grace has been touching right from the time he was the Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State when a devotee of Maharaj Ji went to meet him to tell him about Maharaj Ji that he would need a place for his Ashram. He gave them six plots of land and because of what he did then, the grace of Maharaj Ji touched him from Deputy Governor to Vice President, acting President and elected President and Maharaj Ji has been supporting him for what he did when he was a deputy governor. Maharaj Ji has been the one protecting him from the claws of bad people. Even his wife was flown abroad on medical ground, Maharaj Ji wrote a letter to President Jonathan assuring him that Dame Patience Jonathan would come back and it came to pass. But for him to be able to weather the storm and be elected, Maharaj Ji said he can only be elected under the condition that he must move closer to Maharaj Ji and he must be able to do something for Maharaj Ji’s village. It should not be a type of ‘Monkey dey work, Baboon dey chop’. Maharaj Ji’s village should be taken care of by him to show that he appreciates Maharaj Ji. He must be able to move closer to Maharaj ji. It is not Church or Mosque that is doing it for him but Maharaj Ji. It is not just giving the Churches, Mosques and others money and forgetting the source of power in his country and in the whole world. His source of power is Maharaj Ji village, the highest centre of power in the universe. He must be able to move closer to Maharaj Ji’s village and do something for the village, a source of power that is guiding him.

Sir, how do you feel about the award of ‘The Global Pillar for Yoruba Tradition and Culture’ given to you by the Ile-Asa Yoruba in Ile Ife, State of Osun recently?

Fantastic! I now realise that there are people who can see that there are individuals who are saying the truth. I couldn’t believe it when I received the honour. It has changed so many plans I have on ground because you cannot force somebody to love you, love is reciprocal.

Your award courtesy of Ile-Asa in Ile Ife during the celebration of Ifa day was symbolic. Are you planning to relate with Sango and Obatala worshippers too?

I have reached the deadline a long time ago, only that at the moment, they are the ones coming home to feed from the past grace and blessings that the Almighty has given me to deliver.

Infact, for years they have been running away from me because of the fake publicity sponsored by the Boko Haram leaders in the North. So, now they are breaking the barriers that Maharaj Ji is something to be held serious and I believe even in the north, they are going to come because it is clear that if the Mahdi comes, all this foundation would stop.