By Ejalonibu Samuel

Prophecies are not predictions; Predictions are not prophecies though they both have to do with foretelling or forecasting events to come. They are closely related but are not the same as some feel they are.

Anyone can make a prediction but not everyone can prophesy except a prophet ordained by God. Predictions may come to pass and they may not come to pass. Predictions are made based on the situation on ground and there is no guarantee that it will be correct at the end of the day. Prophecies on the other hand are sure to be fulfilled because they are God’s divine revelations, they are shared when there is no situation that looks like the prophecies; this is why a prophecy sometimes comes to pass 10 years after it was shared.

Predictions are majorly direct statements; a prediction will only tell you what will happen while prophecies will tell you what will happen, when it will happen, why it will happen, how it will happen and what to do to prevent it in case it’s negative.

Prophecies and predictions sound related but the difference between the two subjects is too wide for them to be used interchangeably or compared.

Predictions are very rampant in sporting activities especially football because there are many stakeholders who earn a living by foretelling the outcome of football matches, we have punters that try their luck to predict winners and losers of football games; if their predictions come to pass, they make money and if otherwise, they lose money. However, there was uproar over the weekend when the video of a certain Nigerian man of God, Primate Ayodele speaking about the outcome of Manchester City VS Bournemouth, Liverpool VS Luton town went viral. In the video, Primate Ayodele mentioned the amount of goals that will be conceded in the matches.

Although, the prophet is known for always talking about every sector including education, government, corporate bodies, religion, traditional rulers, sports, etc. He has done that for over 25 years but this particular video took people by surprise and many wondered if Primate Ayodele who is known for prophecies has deviated into making predictions.

Going down the memory lane, it would be recalled that Primate Ayodele went viral also during the last season when he spoke about the fate of Chelsea FC. In a video that was published by thousands of media platforms, the prophet stated that Chelsea FC is finished and that no amount of players will be able to save the club except the club goes back to the former owner, Roman Abramovich and seek his blessings. Let’s note that he highlighted the problems and gave solutions to Chelsea FC.

During the last Champions League which Real Madrid won, Primate Ayodele shared in a video before the tournament got to the round of 16 that the winner will be between four teams namely Manchester City, AC Milan, Real Madrid, and Bayern Munich.

Before the Semi-finals which were played between Real Madrid VS Manchester City and AC Milan VS Inter Milan, Primate Ayodele shared that whoever wins between the former will win the cup. He continued by revealing how both clubs can take advantage of some minutes in the match.

“Honestly, anyone who wins between Manchester City and Real Madrid will win the cup. If you ask me who will win between them, I will say Madrid has all it takes in the first half, 56 minutes, 78 minutes, and 85 minutes. Madrid has all it takes to win but if they take Man City for granted in the first leg, it will be a serious thing.’’

In the end, Manchester City won the cup. We should also note that Primate Ayodele didn’t just say who will win the cup, he mentioned clubs that have chances and three of them got to the Semi-final. He mentioned how clubs can take advantage of specific time to win, he revealed how the winner will emerge without any ambiguity.

In the same vein, during the last world cup which Argentina won, Primate Ayodele revealed at the beginning some players that won’t shine at the world cup. Among them was Cristiano Ronaldo and we all know what happened to Portugal at the world cup. Following the same pattern when he spoke about the winner of the cup, Primate Ayodele stated that victory is for Argentina and further explained that Messi has between 30-70 minutes to act well. Argentina won the match against France despite the latter having an edge over the former due to the sophisticated players available.

We should also note that he didn’t just say Argentina will win, he spoke about how they will win. The mention of some players that won’t shine at the world cup is also something very unusual in football predictions.

There are several other instances where Primate Ayodele has spoken extensively about football matches, football players, football clubs and apart from football, he speaks about other sports including boxing, basketball, wrestling, to mention but a few.

It is quite marvelous that these revelations come to pass exactly the way Primate Ayodele says them. The world cup, Champions league, Chelsea FC that were cited above are proof that the words of the prophet concerning football don’t go without coming to pass.

Therefore, based on the explanation of what prophecies and predictions are, we would be totally on point to categorically say that Primate Ayodele’s football revelations are 100% prophecies, not predictions.

However, the arguments on whether or not it is right for a man of God to prophesy about sports will be discussed in subsequent articles.

Till then, I remain Ejalonibu Samuel and I write from Lagos