Pastor David Ibiyeomie, founder of Salvation Ministries in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, has recounted a decades-old incident in which he claims a prayer he made the night before a scheduled 50 Cent concert resulted in the American rapper cancelling his Port Harcourt appearance.
Speaking during a church service, Ibiyeomie said the rapper’s December 2004 concert date fell on the same evening his church had planned a crusade at the Port Harcourt Civic Centre. Concerned that the high-profile show would draw away his congregation, many of whom had already purchased concert tickets, the pastor said he stood before his church and declared that 50 Cent would not perform in the city the following day.
The rapper, whose legal name is Curtis James Jackson, had already performed in Lagos before the incident unfolded. Trouble broke out when Nigerian rapper Eedris Abdulkareem sat in seats reserved for 50 Cent and his group G-Unit on a chartered flight bound for Port Harcourt, triggering a confrontation that led the Americans to advise 50 Cent to abandon the Port Harcourt leg of the tour. He flew back to the United States without making the appearance.
Ibiyeomie told his congregation the cancellation was divine confirmation of his prayer. He said fans who had bought tickets for the concert ended up attending the crusade instead, which he described as one of the most successful his ministry had ever held at that venue.
The video of the pastor retelling the story has since circulated widely on social media.
