SatGuru Maharaj Ji is the spiritual leader of One Love Family. In this interview with Newsbreak’s Oluwafemi Ashaolu, SatGuru Maharaj Ji, who describes himself as the Living Perfect Master and world’s teacher, talks about banditry, 2023 Presidential election, corruption, COVID-19 conspiracy and others.
You were born Mohammed Ibrahim Ajiroba. How did you come about the name SatGuru Maharaj Ji?
I was born Mohammed Saheed Ajirobatan Akanji Ibrahim.
Because of mismanagement here and there in Nigeria, you know people always say if you don’t travel abroad and leave this country, life cannot be okay. So I left the shores of Nigeria in 1975. In 1979, I heard them talk about SatGuru Maharaj Ji and the power of the divine light of God in him. I went there and I was surprised because they didn’t say Jesus, Mohammed, Budha I rebuke you.
But the name is Maharaj Ji Maharaj Ji, only the Europeans, the oyinbos, gathered at the place. So on 31st December 1979, I gained knowledge and was converted. I went there and I was nominated, slated for knowledge. January 1, 1980, I was given knowledge and they said hey, you are the next Maharaj Ji. Even that day, I trekked there, I didn’t have money for transportation.
Some people have said you are not a Nigerian because of the name that you bear. What state are you from?
I am from the pacesetter state, the state that had first television station in Africa, first radio, first stadium, first what again? You see, it is a surprise that it is from there. You want me to mention the name? Ibadan, Oyo State.
You commended Sunday Igboho for his effort to rid the South-West of killer herdsmen. Some people in the region criticised him. You also described him as ‘Omojomolo’. What do you mean by that?
You see, a Yoruba proverb says ‘a river that forgets its source will dry up’. It’s very un-African to see your people being killed every day. Imagine somebody walking into my home, eat the crops like the case of what happened in Ibarapa. This doctor came back, brought money, set up a farm that employed thousands of people, only to find cattle going there to destroy it. And he went to complain, ‘this is what is going on, help me out’.
They detained him again and later asked for ransom. They paid the ransom, only to find out that he had been murdered. And it’s not only there; it’s happening in the East, Benue and some parts of the North. And so, something has to happen and that is the role Sunday Igboho played by saying that ‘if this is what you’re doing here, we are bounded by the constitution not religion’.
The religion of Nigeria is freedom of worship, freedom of expression, you can live anywhere but you cannot be doing this kind of thing here and he left. It was the people who said ‘we must not be quiet’. So whatever the Ooni of Ife was saying about Sunday Igboho was that one law, once you see such a thing, report to the government and that was what Sunday Igboho did.
He has proven beyond reasonable doubt that he’s a true Nigerian. In fact, what he did was a follow up to what the President said, that anywhere you see anybody behaving like an armed robber, kidnapper, report he or she and, that was what Sunday Igboho did. He wasn’t involved in fighting anybody. Even when they shot him, he was able to dodge it. And when they said they wanted to see him, he visited the Commissioner of Police and he explained.
So why I called him ‘Omojomolo’, he is Ajagunlana (someone who fights war to create a way). He is like me and you. He could have been killed. He is Ajagunlana. He said this is not the time to be putting on Agbada. You know what I mean, like sitting on a plate of pounded yam and people are killed every minute. Sunday Igboho, well done!
I’m using this opportunity to re commend that the Ooni of Ife should give him a chieftaincy title.
There is still tension in Shasha area of Ibadan. What do you think can be done to stop the farmer-herder clashes in the South-West?
There is nothing wrong with what is happening in the South-west. What is wrong is, we have abandoned our responsibilities as the pacesetter state, because as far as I’m concerned, there are Oluwos, Apenas and babalawos who can prepare concoctions and put them down. No cow or herdsmen would cross. My great grandfather never lost a war. He doesn’t even use gun, he used incantations. They have it and that is what they should start doing now. So that the Hausa man, who is a herder, illiterate, uneducated, is going along thinking that whatever the Quran says is true; that you are kafiri (unbeliever). Kafiri is not a human being and they should be destroyed. It shouldn’t be.
The only religion of the creator is Love. At the time of I dependence, Igbo and Yoruba were so advanced and they accepted the Hausa man. Today, we see Hausa people who are businessmen, doctors and lawyers. They need to understand that to whom much is given, much is expected. Money that is meant for education should be used to train their children and fellow human being, otherwise, it is sheer madness for you to be eating here, drinking here and you want to kill people.
My appeal is that there should be a kind of funding. COVID-19 was serious, everybody is hungry, so that the laws can be followed. There is need for regular and constant dialogue among residents of every community.
And then anybody heading perhaps an Igbo group, Hausa group, should be named as chiefs. Not Eze or Seriki. We can’t have two Serikis in Lagos. Yes. They should be calling them chiefs, chiefs, chiefs is okay, but when you have Seriki in Lagos, how? There is Seriki in Ibadan but we don’t have two Olubadan. Seriki means king. Where? So I believe that is it. The army and police should be detribalised because we have heard of cases yet to be confirmed but I believe that newspapers are telling the truth, where some people in military uniforms were beating some people in Ibarapa for not allowing them to do whatever they wanted to do.
So this is what we are saying ‘we have been good and kind’. I’m almost 80 now. When I was a kid, they go about enjoying themselves. We don’t know what is going on. Some people are accusing them of following a statement credited to one of their former leaders that they have to rule from wherever to wherever. It cannot work. No! We are not ruling anybody, we sit together, talk together. Even the Europeans, they are passing on information, so that the world will be a better place for all of us.
Some people have said that under this administration, the ethnic difference among Nigerians is more pronounced than it has ever been. It has been argued that it is because of the lopsidedness in appointments by President Muhammadu Buhari. Do you also share that sentiment?
I don’t share that view to a certain extent. I believe that it is not healthy and logical. It is not safe to say all Super Eagles must be Igbo, Itsekiri, if they are and they can perform. It is because they are not performing. They are not doing well and I just want Mr President to take the spirit of Mugabe and Nkrumah together.
The President should come out. He is young, there are leaders older than him and are performing well. I believe that they are not performing well. The money for development, institutions are being diverted. I don’t know where but I believe that if we make a search of all their houses in the country, we’ll be able to get all the money they are hiding. So whatever it is, Mr President should realise that he is on the field now. Tomorrow we are going to blame him, or reward him if he is able to perform well. So Mr President must realise that the cry for Biafra is not because they want to go. An Igbo man will look at himself as somebody very strong and healthy, compared to his brothers in Europe and America and say what is going on?
Mr President should think well because otherwise, me I can’t vote for him again. I feel ashamed to stand by Oyinbo man, he will be asking me. That is what made President Trump say Nigeria is shithole because he looked at us here, we don’t even understand what is government, management. And look at our youths, very strong. Some leave school with First Class and the President will be sitting down. No, we will not agree.
In one of your press conferences, you alleged that COVID-19 was aimed at depopulating Africa. What do you mean by that?
Well, there are things to show that they had a meeting where a Foundation being headed by Bill Gates was saying that look, we have to depopulate the world. And I would say ‘you’re not God’. So that is it, they have tried it before with Aids. They tried it with Ebola. And same way today, we have killed COVID-19. The moment it started to spread from Wuhan in China, and we have told Nigerians, they should love each other. COVID-19 will go to places people are arguing and fighting. But above all, the highest fight is the hatred the oyinbos are having for black people. They should come down and accept. What is it? If I’m able to work well with my qualification and you will be chasing me here and there. Look at the way they are sponsoring coups all over Africa. That is their job.
They are stopping supply to create scarcity in the town. Then they say oh the government is not doing well. We do know this, because the ordinary black man is talking about money money, but money is not the only way. There must be strategy, critical planning to make sure you don’t give rooms for others to come and do whatever they like and disappear.
You said the next President should come from the APC and should be a Southerner. Some persons have been tipping Bola Tinubu, the national leader of the party. What do you think?
There is nothing wrong with it. If you join the APC today, I will recommend you. You see, why I’m saying so is that for the past 20 years, I’ve been begging for a government that will come to help the black race, particularly in Nigeria. And we’ve begin to see that it’s not like we don’t have the materials or the resources. But anyone who wants to do well, they will just finish him or push him here and there. Who are the people doing this? They say it’s a spiritual affair. And that is why I’m saying we should use Maharaj Ji to groom all of them one by one. And that was what we did to bring in Goodluck Jonathan, but when he got there, he messed up. Why? I didn’t know he had an agreement with them to spend only one term.
The moment I was told and it was confirmed that he promised one term, that was why I relaxed. Not only that, while he was there, I couldn’t pinpoint what he did for the whole South-south. He gave a percentage, a quota to women, it’s never done anywhere. If you want to go into gender equality, go to school. We can’t put a blind man or woman as President or governor. Why did he give quota to women? See his weakness? So with the coming in of Buhari, all of us supported him. And the man who actually financed him, I will say it was Tinubu. If Nigerians want to put him there, no problem, or any other person. But I know that El-Rufai can never be President. Why? Because he is involved in Boko Haram. I heard him and saw it. He paid people who killed for them to cool down. What about those who have been victims? Haaaa. You are giving money to killers!
And they went further to say cows are more sacred than human beings. I said No! And with his utterances, El-Rufai has not explained how much he diverted as former Federal Capital Territory minister. He has not been able to tell us. There is accusation by the Zango Kataf people in Southern Kaduna that he is the one who is perpetrating all the crisis there. And not only that, there is a man in the newspapers now, one Gumi, they are part of it. Gumi’s father went on radio to say that no southerner can be President. I told him you? There will be a President from the South, with or without you. Where did it go? Not only that, their telephone numbers were found in the mobile phone of that boy who entered the aircraft to bomb some Americans, a university graduate whose father is a retired bank chairman.
So you see that they are involved. And the Gumi boy is saying we should pay the bandits. We should pay them. I’m begging the men of the press to follow this up, since you are the fourth realm of the power, so that we can let them know that we are watching them. You cannot believe that up till today, people are saying that El-Rufai, Gumi and others are involved in the toll gate killing because of the confusion, the statements that are very contradictory. Me I cannot do anything but to see it spiritually and confirm it. So we are in a situation that we have to face them and bring in a leader that we can trust. And if you look among them, you can’t trust Fayemi, El-Rufai and Alhaji Gusau. You can see Buhari sitting down and realise he needs to bring in somebody. I can’t be President, but I can recommend.
You are one of the people who have been advocating a corruption-free Nigeria. The President has nominated a 40-year-old man as the new EFCC Chairman. If you were the President, what mandate would you give to him?
I’ll put him on trial immediately like I put Magu. I’ll put him on trial, public trial, for people to come out. This is not the time a black man must wait. I don’t know what President Buhari is doing. He is very slow. I’ll put him on trial. Anybody who knows anything about Bawa should come out. That is it. They will give him a knockout if he is not doing well, then bring in somebody else. I would have loved Wole Soyinka to be EFCC Chairman. I would have loved him to.
In some of your responses, you seem to favour the APC. Are you pro-APC?
I’m not a card holder, but I’ve always been advising governments until this moment. Go and check my record. I’ve been advising them that they need to be free from tribal, ethnic and religious sentiments. They should put all these things aside. Let us act. So if you say because I said people should join APC, that is the government in power now. We must assist them to win, assist them to do the best they can. We must assist them to provide whatever they promise to deliver during the electioneering campaign. That is just what I’m doing. Of course, if I’m called to serve, I will. Why not, I’m already serving. Sultan must be receiving something from the government, all church owners are receiving. They will go there and pray for you. When the thing goes bad, they will come and pray. They don’t know what they are doing, they don’t have the light. And so, as for me, I’m here and I will not stop until they realise the need that what you can do is important than your prayer. You don’t need to pray, they say ‘what you sow is what you reap’. In the book of Galatians in Chapter 6 there, it says you reap what you sow, what role will prayer play? No! You don’t need prayer, just work hard, you will get what you want.
What do you think will happen to Nigeria, given the tension in the country?
All we are telling the Hausas is that they should sit up, follow the constitution and don’t just act anyhow. Look at all the ministries, if you check them one by one, you will only see one Igbo man. If there is something, may be one per cent. Igbo man, Yoruba man, Itsekiri man who have held the positions before, you will find out that they produced something. The Hausas carry the money and we don’t know where they take them to. And they will free them. Who has been jailed? No body. Look at what is happening with Maina. Now they are telling him ‘go and say you are sick’. He wants to go on bail again, then he will disappear. When they don’t see him again, they will drop the case.
There was this man who came to be the leader of the National Assembly Integrity Crisis that was caught receiving $62,000 from Otedola. Where is his case today? Where is the case now? What I see is, just go to the north and let them give you a chieftaincy title, you are okay. But that will not work now. So we are asking fellow Nigerians, particularly Igbo and Yoruba, to be patient more, to ensure that they allow the constitution to work by always making sure they take advance steps to report matters when they hear of what is going on.
Technically, I don’t think we can be divided. It is only the leaders that have to act promptly. You know, I want to hear Buhari talk about herdsmen, those killing people. Not like Adesina talking or Garuba Shehu. No no! He is the President for all of us; Igbo, Yoruba and Hausa. Once he talks, oh! That was what happened to Donald Trump. When George Floyd was killed, instead of him to say we have lost a big fish in the ocean, please brothers and sisters calm down. He said oh, the American police are very good. Was that what he was supposed to say? So we can see that they lack the wisdom. So we must try to go closer. I’m trying to get closer. If you give me the President’s phone number, I will ring him this afternoon. I’ll tell him ‘Mr President this is Me Guru, I’m not pleased with what you are doing with all our beggings.’ We must talk. They just want to turn us upside down because we have spent a lot to make Nigeria what it is today.
And we can contain them. Oh yes! Millions of herdsmen, or anybody. We can contain them. We have the power now to stop them. So let us wake up and come together more. In our writings, we must promote unity and peaceful co-existence.
How would you rate President Muhammadu Buhari’s achievements?
I know that when you talk about security today, I’ll go down to 30 per cent. How would it feel going back home and finger out that my parents are dead and nobody says anything. Just look at the way Makinde reacted, all of them. They reacted immediately. Mr President, security, no no. For example, another area is why do you have to arrest me in a town that my particulars are this and that and it’s not complete. Where did this start from? From the wharf, from the border. If possible, the President should go to Benin Republic and say ‘my friend if there is any illegality from your side, we will take over Benin Republic?’ You have to come out, let them know where we stand. Imagine somebody is selling and all of a sudden, they go there and begin to beat him here and there. At the end of the day, except he knows Alhaji this, Alhaji that, otherwise, he is going to prison.
If he knows Alhaji Tampa, Alhaji Mekuturu, they will release him. They are the ones involved in this brigandage, looting, thuggery and all of that. An African is not used to that kind of life. Education, I’ll give him 20 per cent. How can Mr President of all Presidents of Nigeria, Nigeria that I have declared holy land, a home of God. If you look at Nigerians, you’ll see men and women staying outside to pass O’level. I don’t know because when I look at Mr President, may be his craving is the Almajiri kind of way. We are begging for the Maharaj Ji to touch his heart. We are begging Mr President to take immediate step. Pay ASUU what they are asking for, because it is going to fall back on the economy. Students who are supposed to spend four years in school will now take seven years or so.
Their mothers took money from the bank. To pay the money is difficult. Some now sell their houses, sell their wares to be able to give these children education. And when they come out again to get the job, there is no way. So the President must move fast in the area of education.
When we talk about the economy, the economy can be determined by the ordinary man on the street. How well is he, is he okay? And I know that unemployment is on the rise. And I therefore recommend to the government; let us use one oil well and with this one well, they should create something they call ‘Continued Education Fund’. I, as a school leaver, a graduate, within this period, if I want to go for further education, there will be provision. Those who cannot go can stay because when this stomach is filled up, there will be nothing like rioting. You will not find anyone being used by politicians for thuggery and that kind of thing. That is it. If they can do that, it’s very easy.
Even all these Almanjiri, they can do that to them, it will work. One oil well! In the absence of that, the President can call the whole world and say this is the situation in Nigeria. There is always exchange of knowledge. The world is becoming a global village. The President should come out. There are industries producing implements scientific objects, so many of them, they are ready to ship them. We cannot do trade by barter for them to carry oil our rubber for the next 30 years. It can be done, I don’t know and you can’t blame because he’s not with knowledge. So we’ll be sitting down and say I’m a Hausa man, Igbo man stop there. I’m a Fulani man Itsekiri stop there. And it cannot help. Two year or four years to come, we are going to say bye bye to him. What will he tell the world?
How would you describe your relationship with former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, Ibrahim Babangida and the late Sani Abacha?
Very very cordial. I was involved with all of them. Though South Africa is very strong industrially because of their ties to Europe, So they allowed them like what happened in Iran. They were very smart and very fast. So in this case, Obasanjo, Abacha and Babangida, I was involved with Babangida and Buhari, very close, until they separated. Abacha became President and I was very close to him. You know, the coming of the masters is attached to the freedom of the Atlantis; the blacks for that matter. And so, the Europeans will not be happy to lose the sales on Quran, Bible and all that. So you can’t know that they are also manipulating their ways each time a leader wants to come out to embrace Majaraj Ji fully. All of them, I’ve been with them and I’ve always been advising them. Sometimes I do tell them ‘that is a no- go area, I’ve done that. I respect them and love them. I made sure I said the truth, nothing but the truth to guide them.
But Babangida did not listen. He did not listen. And that was why he stepped aside. He would have ruled for more years. The coming in of Baba Shonekan was for a short time and when Abacha came until the plan to bring in Christians and pastors to pray for him. And he said Guru ‘say your own’. I was happy, I didn’t feel bad. And I tried in my own little way to warn him. Of course, he changed and that was why he decided to make a statement on June 6.
He told Nigerians he was going to make a statement on June 6. And I know he was going to ask that Maharaj Ji should be brought into the forum of the leaders that were becoming the future of Nigeria in the area of transferring power to the civilian. It was the on the eve of that day that they killed him.
And I felt so bad about it because I was able to influence him to know that Maharaj Ji’s coming is to help the whole black race. Stand firm and be able to compete and compare comparatively with the Europeans. So the coming in of Abdulsalam jettisoned all the things that had gone on. I carried everything to go closer to him but it didn’t work. Until Baba Obasanjo came. And Obasanjo, I love him. I’ll always love him. Why? He was the only leader who came up to say ‘Hey God is a Nigeria, I’m not being blasphemous. And that was it. What is God? Love, caring and protecting. And we’ve seen in Maharaj Ji as somebody extraordinarily different from all the men of God because I have the knowledge today. For the fact that I’m saying they should call me wherever they are, is something you cannot joke with. No European, no American, nobody on this earth said so and it’s happening. This must be the Holy Spirit in one. So I’ve been very close to them, I’ve never left them. Only that i find it very hard to go to them now.
In the Buhari situation, we are meditating 24 hours to make sure that nothing goes wrong. Even last month, people were saying the service chiefs were planning something against the government. They are retired. Now, they are being given ambassadorial appointments. It’s because of the fear of the unknown. Why should we be afraid if we are doing well? Let anything happen. It is the people that will determine what will happen, especially now that I’m here. No, no change of government will come in without Maharaj Ji’s approval.
You mentioned Sheikh Ahmad Gumi earlier. He has been advocating amnesty for bandits. What is your opinion?
Look, Boko Haram has been declared a terrorist organisation. We were told and we’ve read it that Buhari had to bring in about 4,000 men from West African states to assist him if Jonathan refuses. Now he has won, how do we take care of this thing? There were comments by Danjuma, baba Obasanjo, even by Nubu Ribadu and many others saying that look, what is remaining is for us to take care of them. To stop them or by taking them back? But for somebody we have seen killing, why should we give amnesty to them? That cannot he compared with the amnesty for militants in South-south. They didn’t kill, they only tampered with economic machines.
Oh yes! And today, we can see it. Some of them have graduated as doctors, lawyers, pilots and so on. Who are these people here now? Gumi needs to be arrested and be kept the way we are keeping El-Zakzaky. El-Zakzaky is a good man but his understanding is wrong. How would you say you will not respect the government of the day? There is God up there, but God cannot come down. There has to be a Governor, President and a constitution. If you are not ready to obey the constitution, then leave Nigeria. Who are these people? I don’t know what to call it. Where do they come from?
They should be arrested and be tamed. Till when they will show us who and who are in charge. But I know that El-Rufai will talk one day.
Do you see Nigeria breaking up If the government fails to restructure the country and address calls for cessations?
What we must do is all of us must hold Buhari. We have to Guru him. We have to call Maharaj Ji, Maharaj Ji. If Buhari doesn’t answer, Maharaj Ji give him blala (horse whip), he will listen. We just have to continue talking with him. Nobody wants Nigeria to break up. But where you have three children, this one is eating pounded yam, and this one they say go and wait outside. And the third one, go and wait outside. This is what is happening in Nigeria.
Agree, before everything works out fine, he should have seen that employing only Katsina people in EFCC or ICPC has not yielded positive results. He should change. He’s a human being. To err is human, to love is divine. So we are working towards a situation where the unity of Nigeria will be upheld. But not unity in chaos and hunger. Quote me anywhere, northern groups are carrying money out from all the departments, nobody is questioning them. They need to question them, they need to stop them. I’ve said it here, they are the ones carrying ammunition, arms, Yoruba man wants to carry ammunition for what?
We are happy people, we cooperate, allow people to coming in, feed them, they eat and drink. Only when the people mess up they they say ‘hey be careful’. And the moment Yoruba tells you to watchout, you know there is trouble. Buhari must listen now. I am the spiritual father, even though I’m not a Christian or Muslim. I’m a stakeholder in Nigeria, Africa and the world. We are begging, Africans are looking up to Nigeria. We are not going to talk because this mouth is not for saying something negative. I’ve never done it, I will never do it. What I’ll say is it will work and we should work towards it. We have created the room for him, what he should do is take all of us into account so that we can work together to make Nigeria better.
You made mention of replacing Allah, Jesus with Guru Maharaj Ji. Can you clarify that?
Smiles and gets up to dance. Me I can dance. I can eat Eba and I’m talking to the press. Laughs! I’m alive! If you receive knowledge, you can talk to me anywhere you are, I will answer the question. I will teach people how to make cars. There is this lady last year. She is not Yoruba. She lost her property, so her concentration became stronger. She came to the village and then there was knowledge session. She was called in to the knowledge session and she said she went into the school of aeronautics spiritually, she met the oyinbos and they said ‘get away get away you black woman’.
What is your age she said 61, they said no no, that is not for you. When I asked people to give their experiences, the woman started talking. It was then I asked everybody ‘what is the age to own an aircraft? They said any age. I said Mama, go back, this time, she went back and when the oyinbo man saw her, he started running away. There are a lot of people I have taught so many things. Look at me sitting here, that tells you that this body is different from that spirit. That is why they call me SatGuru The Maharaj Ji. Maharaj Ji is the name of the creator using The SatGuru. Like the Yoruba always say: God’s child is also a god because he has power. This is why Jesus said he who asks from the father in his name. I’m not God but my knowledge is God.
