The German Philosopher and Economist Karl Max has said that “religion is the opium of the people.” Truly religion has huge influence on emotions and makes people behave like bigots.
Also Harold Lasswell, the American Political Scientist postulated in his “Propaganda Technique” book the Hypodermic Needle Theory of mass communication also referred to as the “Magic Bullet” that media messages are made to be injected into audience and consumers of mass communication materials directly into their brains and it is so pervasive that it makes the consumers of mass communication content to behave in a certain manner.
The Austrian-American Sociologist Paul Lazarsfeld also postulated in his “Selective Perception Theory” that audience interpret media content based on their belief and the audience will like to chose from the gamut of mass media content that is align with their principles.
These theories and postulations come into play especially during electioneering campaign season, when the politicians heavily use the mass media to communicate their manifestos to the electorate.
Democratic governance is a scientific enterprise. Election is an essential feature of democracy, used as one of the scientific instruments to get people elected into government.
Voting is sine qua non of elections. Qualified citizens are allowed by law to register to vote in an election and the results of the elections are declared by a competent Electoral Commission mandated by the Constitution to declare results.
A disturbing phenomenon in our body politics is the creeping religious fanaticism that is giving rise to so called Men of God arrogating to themselves, the “powers” to declare who, in their views, will win an elections. The call themselves Bishop this; Prophet that!
Even before the electioneering campaign season is opened, these self-acclaimed prophets are at it again; they have started prophesising the results of the 2020 December elections. Some have even prophesied the percentage and margin of votes their favourite candidate will win.
If by design or fate the results of a given election coincide with what they claim to be their prophesy, they get swollen headed and say “I told you so.” They even want to be given red carpet treatment at the inauguration ceremony.
Some of these charlatans claim to have the “supreme powers” to foresee the death of important personalities in the country.
And when such so called “prophecies” did not occur; they arrogantly claimed it was their prayers that overturned it.
True men of God are men of humility and prayerful. They hardly rant and whine on radio and media platforms. Such people are reserved; they go into seclusion praying and asking for God’s blessings for the country.
It is significant to note that every human being is a man of God. Religion makes us to believe that we are created in the image of God.
These “saints” with their prophetic powers try to foist themselves on their gullible followers, through their power of oratory.
They become like opium as postulated by Karl Max, and they are given oxygen by some section of the media that inject the hypodermic needle or the “magic bullet” into their followers to believe in the prophecy as fiat, and swallow it as the selective perception theorist postulates!
Clearly, these “prophets” are fast losing their credibility and it will not be long that their followers will get to know who really they are.
It is early days yet, and they have started prophesising differently, whom they believe will win the December general elections, especially the presidential.
This is an ample demonstration that they are day dreamers, and perhaps suffering from hallucination.
The question is, why are they not in unanimity in their declaration since the results will have one person emerging as the winner of the presidential elections?
Furthermore, there is no drawn game in presidential elections. Run off is not as a result of drawn game!
Even political scientists and sociologist have been very careful in making public about their research findings, after observing a phenomenon over period of time to make predictions, because of the unpredictability of human beings. It is on the basis of this that they normal give a margin of error.
This is at variance with some of our Men of God who do not have margin of error and are emphatic about their predictions.
Democracy, for that matter elections, are serious business and not for the charlatans. Suffice it to say that these prophets should not put the cart before the horse. They should give us a break and allow science to unfold!
Let the electorates follow the electoral process by registering, casting their votes on the election day and more significantly, the self-acclaimed prophets must allow the Electoral Commission to exercise its constitutional right to declare the results of elections!
Voting is a serious business and it is not a cast by spirits; it is human beings who go to cast their votes for their preferred candidates.
By Salifu Abdul-Rahaman
