Ibadan popular preacher, Bishop Wale Oke, has said he anointed Chief Olusegun Obasanjo to become President in his Abeokuta, Ogun State home in 1999 on God’s instruction.
Oke, who is the Presiding Bishop of Sword of the Spirit Ministries, addressed reporters in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, on his 60th birthday.
The cleric recalled that God revealed that Obasanjo would be President after Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar (retd), adding that he (Oke) should anoint him for the position.
At that time, Oke recalled, Obasanjo had just been released from prison and had no idea about what was awaiting him.
The cleric said he asked pastors at his church in Ogun State if they had contacts with the former Head of State but none of them knew him directly.
He said by God’s arrangement, a cleric of another church in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, invited him to minister in his church, where he asked if he had a personal contact with Obasanjo.
The man, according to Oke, said Obasanjo’s wife, the late Stella, worshiped at his church.
On announcing to Obasanjo that he would be the next President, Oke said: “The man said: ‘No. What did I forget at the State House that I want to go back for?’ But he did not prevent me from anointing him, as directed by God.”
Oke said Gen. Ibrahim Babangida (retd) visited Obasanjo two weeks after he anointed him and dragged him into politics. “The rest is history today.” He said.
On his 60th birthday, Oke said he was not carried away by its fanfare but the impact he has made on other people’s lives.
He said: “I don’t want to count years. I prefer to count achievements. The impact God has used me to make in the lives of others and in my generation is more important.”
Oke urged President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration to diversify the economy and improve its communication with Nigerians to enable them realise that the current economic problem is global.
The cleric said government should show Nigerians that it did not cause the hardship, to prevent the people from getting the wrong impression.
He added that the Buhari administration should ask Nigerians to pray for the country “because God has solutions to all human problems”.
The birthday also coincided with the annual convention of the ministry, which stated yesterday.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Pastor Enoch Adeboye and Bishop David Oyedepo are among dignitaries expected at the convention and birthday ceremony.