By Promise Adiele, PhD
A popular phrase in the prayers of some Christians is “fall down and die.” The phrase is repeated by these Christians during spiritual warfare against their enemies, real or imagined. They direct supernatural bullets and arrows to these enemies, wishing them not only to “fall down” but also to “die” on the spot. In their convictions, the death of these enemies would automatically signal the end of all their existential challenges. At the height of such prayers, when these Christians are immersed in spiritual ecstasy, they construct ‘fall down and die” as the final collapse of ancestral curses, human-inflicted misery, poverty, backwardness, and failures of all complexions.
Therefore, “fall down and die” for many Christians signposts something more profound: a vindictive occurrence that marks the beginning of their personal redemptive transformation. Thus, “fall down and die” can be conceptualized as a Christian prayer motif which parallels the physical and spiritual collapse of a perceived enemy. Let us at once recognize the semantic ambiguity inherent in “fall down and die”. The action of “fall” is already implied in “down”. Therefore, that phrase may be grammatically wrong, a kind of mindless tautology. But that is not our immediate concern here.
Many people are familiar with the expression “the downfall of a man is not the end of his life”. The foregoing expression does not take into account “die” as the inevitable corollary of the Christian “fall down”. Metaphorically, if a person experiences misfortune, with hard work and perseverance, he will certainly recover. Perhaps that is why some Christians add “die” to their version of “fall down”, to ensure that the perceived enemy does not recover to torment them again. When someone “falls down”, recovery is possible, but when the person “falls down and die”, recovery is impossible given the finality of death in the mix.
It is because of the reality of “die” attached to “fall down” that many Nigerians should pray for Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the president. Mr President’s “falling down” has become too frequent and one fears that the Christian “die” may follow it. As a Christian, I rebuke the spirit of death that may accompany the president’s frequent “falling down”. It is gratifying that on all occasions the Nigerian leader “fell down”, he stood up or had people to help him stand up. He did not die. Glory be to God. Our president will never “fall down and die” in Jesus name and the people say A-m-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-n.
Prayer is a spiritual activity. In the realm of the spirit, activities are always indeterminate. No one knows the definite procedure of spiritual processes, which are at best indirect. When many Nigerian Christians pray fervently that whatever is responsible for their poverty, misery and anguish should “fall down and die”, they inadvertently call upon the host of heaven to go into action and do two things in two folds. One – all the ecclesiastical and terrestrial powers responsible for their privation should “fall down”. Two, after “falling down”, these powers should ultimately “die”.
No doubt, the economic policies of the current Nigerian government have plunged millions of Nigerians into penury. Many Nigerians wallow in abject poverty and daily, these realities increase despite all the propaganda of economic recovery. President Ahmed Bola Tinubu is the head of the Nigerian government and the architect of all the economic policies responsible for the dire conditions of the people. Therefore, when millions of Christians pray that whatever is responsible for their suffering should “fall down and die”, they may unintentionally be directing their spiritual warfare towards the president even if their subconscious minds are focused on their fellow victims of economic hardship.
The above cognition has become necessary given the frequency with which President Ahmed Bola Tinubu “falls down”. To be sure, to slip up or miss a step is not a crime. Even young people miss their steps and fall. Many eminent persons, presidents, politicians, and even sports persons miss their steps and fall. That is not a problem. But the circumstances of the constant fall of President Tinubu have become a source of worry to Nigerians, it is not ordinary. His fall has all shades of spiritual inducement. It could symbolize a spatial emblem of social misalignment and inaccuracies which have distorted the cosmic order over Nigeria. Although age is a factor of unstable legs and unsteady gait, the president’s steps, body language and physical carriage do not inspire any form of confidence.
If the president walks sprightly and suddenly slips and falls, Nigerians will understand. But each time, his fall is followed by slow, unstable, tottering body movement. We are informed that Mr President is 74 years or so, but it is difficult to argue that the given age is real. We can genuinely exhaust the president’s constant falls as a physical activity, but some people are also free to interpret these falls from a spiritual perspective. For some Nigerians, President Tinubu is the enemy. Therefore, when they pray that their enemy should “fall down and die”, we are worried about the consequences of such spiritual ballistic missiles.
From my records, President Bola Tinubu has fallen three times in the last four years. On one occasion, he was just a politician, but hand-in-glove with the principalities that plagued Nigerians. That was in March 2021 in Kaduna. On that occasion, he crashed between two chairs on arrival at the 11th Arewa House Lecture. He was quickly helped to his feet by aides and guests and the event continued. In June 2024, as the president, he fell in Abuja during an official event to mark 25 years of democracy in Nigeria. Once again, he was helped to his feet by aides on standby as if they were expecting him to fall.
In January 2026, in faraway Turkey, President Tinubu tumbled and fell during an official parade. It was a show of shame how the Turkish president, Recep Erdogan, before the whole world, child-minded his Nigerian counterpart, who walked like a man recently discharged from an infirmary. In Turkey, Tinubu could not walk straight; he could not turn or acknowledge salutes. His Turkish host had to hold and assist him to turn left and right as the occasion demanded. The Nigerian president was Nigeria captured in human form – frail, unstable and feeble.
When Nigerians recall their poverty status, they point to the Tinubu government. When Nigerians recall the high cost of living pervading their land, they point to the Tinubu government. When Nigerians remember their daily poverty, they immediately remember the Tinubu government. Hospitals are dead. Infrastructure is dead. Inflation is hitting the skies, and billions of Nigerian funds are directed to vulgar past times, which do not have a direct positive effect on people’s lives. Therefore, many people believe that the government headed by Tinubu is their number one enemy. We can easily understand when Christians call upon the heavenly host to avenge whatever constitutes hardship in their lives. Enemies, seen and unseen, should “fall down and die”, and our president has been “falling down” to the embarrassment of the citizens.
We must at once take one of the three following actions. One, Nigerians must all go down on their knees and pray for the president. Every religion – Christians, Muslims, Traditional Religion, everyone must go on their knees and pray for the president. We must ask the Almighty God, Allah, Chineke, Oluwa, Sango and his accomplice Amadioha, including autochthonous essences, to all rise and protect the president from further “falls” before they are accompanied by the Christian prayer warfare mantra “die”. Our president must not fall again, whether within Nigeria or outside the country. But it would be difficult to summon all these spiritual powers to stop him from falling as long as he constitutes a hindrance to the lives of millions of people in his country through brutal economic policies.
Two, we must immediately ban the prayer submission “fall down and die” for our enemies, since it is obvious that the Nigerian government, headed by Bola Tinubu, is the number one enemy of the people. We must communicate this second option to all the Churches across Nigeria. Beyond communicating our decision to them, we must also enforce it by mounting armed soldiers and police personnel at these churches during their prayer times. But there is a problem with the second option – the people can pray “fall down and die” against their enemies in their various homes. Then it would become difficult to enforce the ban.
The third option is to collectively ask the president to change his identity as the number one enemy of the people by suspending the new tax laws and reversing all the government policies that have pushed Nigerians into poverty. In addition, the president must make restitution for social disharmony by immediately withdrawing from the 2027 presidential election. By so doing, he would free Nigerians from the destructive cosmic envelop which his economic policies have created. If things do not change, if the enemies of Nigeria do not “repent and be born again”, the “fall down and die” warfare could become a reality soon. We have witnessed many “fall down”, may “die” not follow soon because Nigerians are praying with a heavy heart full of sorrow.
Promise Adiele PhD is of Mountain Top University and can be reached through promee01@yahoo.com, X: @drpee4
