Lockdown Havoc: God Is Angry With Wike-Anglican Pastor
8 min read
Venerable Favour Orluogwo of the Anglican Communion, a Justice of the Peace, recently sent a message of warning to the Rivers State governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike which he said he received as a revelation from God.
TNN went the extra mile to reach the Anglican pastor to explain his dream and pit it in proper perspective.
He spoke with EDITH CHUKU over the telephone.
Excerpts:
It is believed that you received a warning message from God to the governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike. Can you please confirm that?
Yes I did, yes, in the course of my night prayer.
When exactly did you receive this message?
It was yesterday(Thursday) about 2:30 in the early hours of the morning.
What was the message, God’s warning to Governor Wike?
God said, ‘I appointed you Nyesom Wike, governor against all odds and vehement opposition of your sworn enemies. In all your battles, I fought for you. And you honoured me by putting me first and declaring Rivers State mine. For honouring me, I honoured you as best governor and gave you a second chance. Concerning the COVID-19 management, you have not done well. You left me out of a problem I should have solved for you and followed the counsel of men, who in their confusion preferred guess work. How can you take a step that affected the gathering of my people for my worship as a solution? Pharaoh, Nebuchadnezzar, Haman and Herod hindered my people from worshipping me and I dealt with them. Do not be another victim. So, allow my people to freely gather to worship me as I commanded them in Heb 10:25. Wise rulers draw closer to Me in the days of calamity. Follow the examples of David, Hezekiah, the children of Israel in Egypt. Only those who call upon Me receive deliverance and help. See 2Chron.7:14, Jere. 33:2,3,6. Note My promise of healing, health and abundance of peace and truth in verse 6. Nyesom Wike, lead my people in humble worship in Government House Chapel every week to call upon my name and see what I will do in this state you handed over to me. The cries of widows, orphans and the poor masses about market closure have reached my ears. Give them at least two days of the week to trade; for there lies their sustenance and joy. Nyesom, Nyesom my servant, your enemies want to shame you and bring you to an open disgrace by arousing the anger of the people against you. Don’t behave like King Rehoboam who rejected wise counsel and caused the people to revolt against him. See 2Chron.10:6-16. You have been warned for your good and the good of My State, Rivers. My son Nyesom, be mindful that it can never be by your power or might, but by my Spirit, says the Most High God” Zech4:6.’
The governor’s order of total lockdown which also affected the churches is to ensure complete compliance to the social distancing. You know that the virus only spreads when people move and meet other people closely. So, how is this displeasing?
Well, I think that there is a mix-up there. First of all, he granted that the churches, the attendance should be 50 and that there should be distance of some feet and the churches have been obeying it. Even he himself went round and confirmed that the churches are obeying this rule and there was no problem. As a matter of truth let me tell you, why he did impose this lock down according to him again was that the area he visited outside the church were not observing the distancing, they were selling and all of that, but certainly the fault according to him, did not arise from the church members disobeying the social distancing instruction. They did not.
During the Easter celebration, the governor had said churches hold your normal fellowship, and then we gathered that some pastors said no. Is that not to say that some ministers are in support of the lockdown, maybe sharing in the governor’s view that it is a threat, as the virus might spread?
You see, there is a funny thing about human beings. Sometimes one might take a position based on emotions, or maybe selfish ulterior motive. Otherwise churches are made to congregate, that is what the Bible says in Hebrews 10 : 25, that we should not forsake the gathering of ourselves together, don’t forsake it, as the manner of some is. When the governor said look, during Easter, you can now go ahead based on the 50 capacity number, those who now felt nooo, because it is in such gathering of the brethren, in supplication, tears, calling on the Most High God in all earnest that answers will come, solution will be revealed, why won’t churches gather according to the governor’s order of 50, 50, we need to seek God, that is where our help lies.
You are saying that God is angry with governor Wike for the decisions he has taken so far?
Yes, primarily for two reasons.
What are these reasons?
One is that, even the lockdown that affects the churches now from his own point of view was as far as I’m concerned uncalled for because churches did not default in his instruction of 50 in a service, maintaining the distancing order, so, for including the churches and also making them not to congregate at all is a problem and secondly, such a matter cannot be resolved by human beings. God is not happy that he has sidelined God on this very matter, that’s it, arising from the vision of God I got.
Invariably, if the governor leads the people in worship, prayer in Government House, solution to the current situation will come?
Yes, why I am so persuaded that there will be a solution is because, if you look at the Bible, look at the instance of Daniel, when Ahazarus the king had a terrible problem, he said of killing all the soothsayers and magicians who couldn’t solve the problem. Daniel said look, give me and my prayer team some days, we will give you answer and they did, and again you look at Hezekiah, when Hezekiel was attacked by one King Sennacherib, you know, the Bible tells us that he cried unto God, Hezekiah cried unto God and God solved that problem, look at Jehoshaphat, four great nations were at war against him, he was so helpless, he went to God, Jehoshaphat went to God, now I ask, has God changed, has He, God changed, is there anything God cannot do, is the pandemic at hand bigger than God? so, I am saying and let the world hear me loud, that if governor Wike will dare go to God and put in the effort he is putting physically, we will see a solution. He is draining a lot of his energy physically, let him to go God, and I’m saying it, God is my witness that there will be a very resounding solution.
Have you tried to reach to the governor?
Well, not on COVID-19, before now I sent e-mails to the governor but with all the protocols I passed, registering it as they asked me to, I didn’t receive answers and so now, I don’t have any means. I used to have his number but now I don’t have any means reaching out to him. I don’t.
Let’s say the message has got to him, what exactly do you expect Governor Wike to do at this time?
Two things and they were in the revelations of God given to me. Number one is that, let him still allow the churches to congregate and then plead with them to seriously plead with God to intervene. Well he’s been talking about God coming in, to me, not so much vehemently. And then number two, he should cite an example that’s what other leaders like I mentioned Hezekiah and others did, he has the government house chapel, that’s why that chapel is there at the seat of power. He should call upon God himself, gather some ministers to help him call upon God, and number three, I will tell you that poor people have cried. Their cries have gone to God. Widows are weeping; it is not as if they are making a lot of money, the issue is that they have some kind of joy going out to sell. So my suggestion to him therefore is that let people wear the mask, let them observe social distancing strictly, even in the market, you know, and there won’t be any need to close them at least two days, two days a week as imbedded in that message.
Have you had this kind of dream before?
No, certainly not for governor Wike. But I will tell you that I usually have such dreams and the way I usually have them, actually this was not a dream, I was doing my praise and worship. I didn’t think about Wike at all, I just didn’t think about him, just worshipping God in the dead of the night, you know giving him praise, I usually do that every night for two hours, that has been my habit. So, this message came for 30 minutes, it was just rolling down in my spirit; it used to happen once in a while, when there is a critical matter, especially that concerns leaders. I have had that for one leader like that and for other very, very sensitive matters without me thinking, bothering myself about it in course of ministering to God in prayers, particularly in the hours of the night.
Were you ever worried about the situation of things in the state before you had this message, maybe rising from the increasing cases of the virus in the state? Were you ever sleepless, worried about the situation in the state as regards the pandemic, before you had the revelation?
Well, if I say no, I will not be telling the entire truth. The point is that I will tell you something most sincerely. Number 1, I have sat myself down and examined this Coronavirus and I think that it’s an attack of the devil, which has confused a lot of people all over the world, so I have been examining it, I have been praying about it that God should give revelation, details about this abnormal virus and so on, so generally speaking, since it happened, obviously, I have been praying and I have a prayer team too.