![Dr Muhammad Ali Pate, CEO of Gavi Alliance. [PHOTO CREDIT: Twitter handle of Atiku Abubakar]](https://i0.wp.com/media.premiumtimesng.com/wp-content/files/2023/02/Dr-Muhammad-Ali-Pate.jpeg?fit=1080%2C720&ssl=1)
Anytime evil reigns in a land, God’s judgment is poured on it. There is no human remedy for a quick-fix of Nigeria other than for the church, which should be the light of the country, to return to sanity and righteousness. Without righteousness, no positive confession will fix Nigeria. Without righteousness, no prayers and fasting will fix the country. Righteousness is not perfection, but a commitment towards doing the right things.
According to Milan Hubl, “The first step in liquidating a people is to erase its memory, destroy its books, its culture, and its history. Before long, the nation will begin to forget what it is and what it was.”
|
|
As Nigeria grapples with the perennial conundrum that often precedes the transition of government from one administration to another, one can only imagine how many cycles of transitions are needed to fix Nigeria. The Biblical proverbial statement, “can a Leopard change its skin,” seems to clearly portray the current vicious cycle of backwardness, as the next administration is always worse than the previous one, no matter how much people loathe the previous administration.
It is not about the political parties, but the values that underlie Nigeria as a system and, hence, all the associated components of Nigeria. I am not the only person speaking to this issue. Others have spoken and are still speaking. It, however, appears like the firing of remediation strategies from multiple discourse cylinders is needed to open the eyes of Nigerians from the perennial bewitchment, so to speak, that has veiled their faces, making it difficult for them to shift focus from political parties, religious institutions, and other enabling platforms and systems that have, for the last six decades, plunged them into intellectual unconsciousness.
|
|
|
|---|
Nations fail when dealers replace leaders. Today’s Nigerian leaders are predominantly dealers; sellers of ideologies and traders of opportunities. These dealers have one thing in common – they weaponise the people’s problems to profit themselves and their corrupt legacies. Nothing triggers the collapse of a value system like poverty, because a hungry man is an angry man who is capable of doing anything and everything to overcome poverty. Poverty shuts down the ability to discern between truth and nonsense. As Richard Terrell puts it, “When you create a critical mass of people who cannot discern between truth and nonsense, you will have a society ready to fall for any leader.”
History once told us of how the former Soviet government under Joseph Stalin, strategically weaponised famine and hunger in Ukraine to force the Ukrainian people under Stalin’s control. Several attempts were made by the Ukrainians to de-Stalinise their nation, but to no avail. The weaponisation of problems such as poverty and ignorance has often attracted the interests of totalitarian dealers. Stain used it. Hitler used it. Musolini of Italy used it. The Apartheid dealers in South Africa used it. The list is endless. Sadly, the people rarely see the source of their poverty as their leaders. In fact, Hitler once humorously said, “how fortunate are governments that the people they lead don’t think.” Nothing can be truer.
Thus, Nigeria is where it is today because evil and wickedness have eaten deep into the fabrics of the church and the society at large, leaders have become dealers, absolute truth has metamorphosed into relative truth, ideologies have died among politicians – if it ever existed, and, above all, righteousness has taken a flight. Conclusively, Nigeria is a captured State, awaiting saviours. You and I are these saviours.
There is no short cut to remedying Nigeria. The people hold the ace. Neither America nor the United Nations, the imperialists who are equal and parasitic beneficiaries of the failure of this nation, will help or, at least, want to help.
Thus, Nigeria is at a perennial crossroad of darkness, because at all levels, within and outside the church, righteousness has taken a flight out of the country. The church, which should be the light of the world, has shifted position. Rather than being the light of the world, the world is now the light of the church. It is now so bad that many among the church leaders in Nigeria have forsaken their first love totally, and are now wining and dining with mammon, while a lot of pastors, including some of our church leaders, are actually involved in unbelievable shades and dimensions of occultic and demonic practices, rituals and sacrifices, that millions of Nigerian Christians have failed to accept as reality.
Thus, Nigeria is where it is today because evil and wickedness have eaten deep into the fabrics of the church and the society at large, leaders have become dealers, absolute truth has metamorphosed into relative truth, ideologies have died among politicians – if it ever existed, and, above all, righteousness has taken a flight. Conclusively, Nigeria is a captured State, awaiting saviours. You and I are these saviours.
In July 2020, I woke up from a frightening night vision about Nigeria. I saw a stretch of neighbourhood looking desolate. It was a scene reminiscent of the war-ravaged city of Mogadishu. Shops and businesses were emptied; roads were waterlogged, refuse-littered, dirty, smelly, stinking, and messy. Some roads leading to major streets were flooded with human blood. Buildings were patchy, rickety, and ram-shackled, in the full glare of the surviving people, all of whom were standing aloof on streets in panic mood.
There was neither food nor drink to buy as I combed building after building, and shop after shop. It was a terrible sight. I woke up with an unprecedented amount of trepidation. Now it’s 2025, exactly five years after this revelation. Has it come to pass? Maybe partially in some cities, and in some states in Nigeria. However, the literal manifestation of this bad dream, bad as it is, isn’t as terrible and lethal as its spiritual manifestation. Spiritually, Nigeria and righteousness have parted ways. The war-torn image that was shown to me in the dream would also speak to the total collapse of moral values among our so-called leaders, epitomised in the smelly, rotten, stinking lifestyles of politicians, religious leaders, youths, adults, business people, and many Nigerians at all levels.
Righteousness is for politicians to stop rigging elections. Righteousness is for judges to stop compromising judgements, selling justice to the rich and giving judgements to the poor. Righteousness is for politicians to stop looting and stealing public funds. Righteousness is for the pastors and church leaders who are in various occultic societies to exit those societies and start standing for truth.
Anytime evil reigns in a land, God’s judgment is poured on it. There is no human remedy for a quick-fix of Nigeria other than for the church, which should be the light of the country, to return to sanity and righteousness. Without righteousness, no positive confession will fix Nigeria. Without righteousness, no prayers and fasting will fix the country. Righteousness is not perfection, but a commitment towards doing the right things.
Righteousness is for politicians to stop rigging elections. Righteousness is for judges to stop compromising judgements, selling justice to the rich and giving judgements to the poor. Righteousness is for politicians to stop looting and stealing public funds. Righteousness is for the pastors and church leaders who are in various occultic societies to exit those societies and start standing for truth.
Righteousness is for pastors to stop fraternising with corrupt politicians for pecuniary gains and benefits, and to start standing in their places of honour, dignity, and consecration. Righteousness is for every Nigerians to start embracing and promoting the values of love, justice, equity, fairness, faithfulness, and truth. Finally, righteousness is for well-meaning Nigerians to shun nepotism and lies to unite behind either of these three options: break Nigeria into ethnic lines, into regions, or keep it the way it is, and elect a leader who will serve the people, dump the looters, alongside their Western collaborators.
When we are committed and are ready to stand for righteousness, we would be then ready to build a great nation.
“Righteousness (moral and spiritual integrity and virtuous character) exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.” (Proverbs 14:34 AMP)
Ayo Akerele is the senior pastor of Rhema Assembly and the founder of the Voice of the Watchmen Ministries in Ontario, Canada. He can be reached through [email protected]
Discover more from Premium Times Nigeria
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
