Known
for his unconventional antics, Mr. Joshua shunned protocol by cancelling his
yearly ‘crossover service’, opting rather to address followers live on
Christian television network Emmanuel TV from an undisclosed location.
“There
will be large scale scarcity, shortage of food,” Mr. Joshua, who is the Pastor
of The Synagogue Church Of All Nations (SCOAN) based in Lagos, Nigeria, began.
“As
a state, country, continent, we have to go back to the farm to arrest, to
alleviate the forthcoming situation,” he emphasised in the ‘prophecy’ which was
later posted on the ministry’s official Facebook page.
“I
encourage the governments of all nations to invest in agriculture and to grant
loans to deserving citizens to augment this effort,” he went on.
Mr.
Joshua spoke scathingly about Africa, citing the continent’s inability to
manage its teeming resources as its major bane. “The continent of Africa – how
much have we disappointed God,” he soberly noted.
“Africa
is supposed to be the breadbasket of the world. We are supposed to produce a
large quantum of food for the world. This is our natural resource base. Food
should be our primary export to other continents, food in exchange for
technology,” he continued.
Moving
on to the political scene, the cleric called on African leaders to “quickly arrest
the political situation.”
He
stated that the frequency of terrorist attacks in the continent would increase.
“More African countries will be under siege by terrorists because of pros and
cons in choosing leaders. Mishandling of electoral processes will create a
conducive atmosphere for terrorists.”
Mr.
Joshua said people will stop investing in politics because of “limited
resources and challenges”, adding that this would pave the way for those with
genuine intentions to run for political office.
“When
you are genuinely called to do the job, you will do it because of your love for
it and not because of money,” he stated.
“This
year, do what you love. There’s money in love. Money in love brings peace and
tranquillity,” he further admonished.
Mr.
Joshua’s prediction closed with a prayer for Nigerian President Muhammadu
Buhari. “He has good intentions but a king’s intentions cannot be carried out
properly without the support of the subjects. He needs your support to lead us
out of the valley,” the cleric stated.
“The
president will do everything to reject revaluation of the naira – which is a
good idea from a good leader. But there will be overwhelming pressure which he
will not be able to resist. Nigerians, support and pray for your leader. THE FUTURE IS CRYING FOR HELP,” he
vividly described.
Despite
the worrisome nature of his predictions, Mr. Joshua termed 2016 ‘The Year Of
Reward’, stating that believers would be strengthened in the midst of their
struggles.
“Start
your year on your knees,” he advised, adding it was an ‘instruction from God’
for believers to begin and end their days in heartfelt prayer.
“What
you were destined to become, this is the year to become it because this is the
year of reward,” the cleric declared while on his knees in a location
surrounded by trees and water.
“The
voice of weeping, sorrow, setback and sickness shall be silenced, in the name
of Jesus Christ,” he said.
A
day earlier on Wednesday, December 30, 2015, Mr. Joshua posted a sermon about
the dangers of offence on YouTube, a topic he further addressed in the live
broadcast.
“Just
because you were mistreated, persecuted, lied against, cheated or wrongly
accused, as a believer, you do not have permission or the right to hold on to
offence,” he counselled.
“Two
wrongs do not make a right,” he declared, calling on people to ‘let go of
offence’.
“When
you retain an offence in your heart, you filter everything through it,” he
said, explaining that although offence was unavoidable, the response of people
to it was what really counted. Mr. Joshua counted several African leaders among
his followers, including the newly elected President of Tanzania, John
Magufuli, who has been unanimously lauded for the positive strides the East
African nation has taken since the start of his presidency.
