Prayer in exchange for productivity: Obi, Remi Tinubu, Ribadu, Wale Oke and PFN.
By Bolaji O. Akinyemi.
I have never met the President in all of my life, but the First Lady I have; though not closely, but close enough to have exchanged greetings and microphone when as a pastor in her church she took over the pulpit from me after my ministration. While I will not make an attempt to do the job others are hired to do for government with a good enough pay that can make them grin with smiles while the nation groans in B-Ache, aggravated by T-Pain, I will at least freely counsel the office of the First Lady and by extension, the President without leaving out Bishop Wale Oke and the PFN who for politics of 2nd term has chosen to lead all Pentecostal Christian in Nigeria to pray for hardship.
Like it is generally with thrones, this Presidency has been captured by scavenging sycophants. No one can better help us like a man whose success on his throne was measured by the conduct of his servant before him as they perform official duties of state, so elegant was their productivity that a visiting queen fell in love not just with their nation but their King and became a wife. Let me make it clear to the First Lady that I have no plan to spur Mr President into considering a new wife. But to call her attention to the need to give attention to the words of King Solomon and for her to recite the same in the ear of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
It was Solomon in Proverbs 29:12 (BBE), who said, “If a ruler gives attention to false words, all his servants are evil-doers”.
In what looks like an opportunity to catch in on Peter Obi’s jab on night vigil for night shift from which Obi has made a U-turn by clarifying his position on church vigils which was distorted by many on the social media.
Obi recent suggestion to convert ‘church vigils into night shifts’ has been misrepresented. For which he came under heavy criticism following his interview on the Honest Bunch podcast.
While emphasising that Nigeria suffers from poverty and is unproductive as a result of two factors – politics and religion, Obi argued that too much time is being spent attending church services from Mondays to Fridays.
His position sparked mixed reactions among Nigerians with many condemning it as an infringement on religious traditions.
Obi has said, “People claiming to receive credit alerts from prayer should be arrested”.
He demanded that rather than waste time on unending night vigils in our churches, turning church vigils into night shifts in industries should be our focus.
The headline given to the interview of course in a bid to activate controversy and generate trends has greatly overturned his intention and grossly distorted it to serve a mischievous end.
Ignoring the mischief of politics, I will content myself with what those around the throne of the first Lady should have seen of Obi’s speech which they failed to see for their greedy lucre.
In the late 60’s to late 70’s none of the Industrial layouts in Nigeria could boast of a single church, the land in the Industrial areas were at that time beyond the competition of churches. Productions were at optimal heights and all shifts, day and nights were fully running, the economy was booming and citizens were doing well. The gaps in factory employment were filled by holiday makers during vacation. I vividly remember, I did a part time job as an hospital cleaner between 1982 and 1983, unemployment was a strange word.
Soon as we entered the 80’s churches began to enlarge and the country began to shrink. In no time, empty factories and warehouses found patronage only from Churches and Ministries. This is our reality! The First Lady would have been advised to jump on the drift of the discourse appropriately!
As the saying goes, no free things in Freetown. I keep the code of exploits to myself. Those who saw the need to hire Christian prayer warriors are the same minds who saw the need for Quran reciters for 7 days, but nudged on the throne to arrange minors in court for treasonable felony. I wonder what the position of the NSA was on the arrest and arraignment of minors. Or should I ask what the advice of the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation was on the case file to the office of the DPP. I would not mind if all the minors arrested were taken to at least a vegetable farm. Their 90 days in detention would have added value to food security and help reduce hunger which is the existential reality of a country with approximately 36. 9 million hectares, as of 2021, making it the seventh largest arable land area in the world.
A PBAT TTM platform is a necessity to curtail the activities of people around the throne working against the purpose of the throne for their selfish reasons.
Whoever sold the idea of the National Prayer Forum, to the Presidency is both a crook and a scammer who has just created an avenue for chop chop for his cronies at both divides of faith; Islam and Christianity, leaving out the traditionalists as it has always been since the days of British and Arabian invasion of the Nigerian territories. What is in Christian and Muslim prayers that the existing interfaith platform cannot handle?
To imagine that the First Lady is now by implication of the arrangement the Chaplain of the Presidency as Pastor Mrs and the NSA the Chief Imam of the Villa Mosque is the depravity of a structure that should be seen freeing itself from the hold of religion on its national and individuals productivity than seeking for stronger chains to it’s unfortunate reality.
To imagine that Ribadu who should be given a timeline of 7 days to provide solution to our national insecurity or get fired has chosen to spend 7 days with 313 fortunate cronies in the National Mosque, praying when he should be in the front line of the battalion leading the way to our occupied forests to dislodge the bandits there is classical absurdity.
Give it to Nigeria when it comes to packaging ideas for money collection; can you beat the man found for the job; Chief Segun Balogun “Afolorunnikan”, he must have been head hunted for the appointment, Afolorunnikan, meaning, Just God alone, as the Director General of the National Prayer Forum (NPF), he announced the event in Abuja, emphasizing the importance of unity in overcoming Nigeria’s crises.
According to Afolorunnikan, (just God alone) this interfaith gathering signifies a collective response, with hopes of fostering resilience among citizens and inspiring leaders to find lasting solutions to the nation’s stability”.
I can’t figure how, retiring productive duties of our leaders and citizens to prayer will translate to hope and resilience.
The prayer sessions, according to Afolorunnikan will take place over a week, with Muslims congregating at the National Mosque, where 313 participants will recite the Qur’an, totalling 2,191 recitations dedicated to national peace.
Concurrently, Christians without their numbers specified will gather at the National Ecumenical Centre, with prayer warriors from various denominations focusing on Nigeria’s ongoing adversities.
As part of the preparations, NPF leaders have engaged with the National Mosque, the Christian Association of Nigeria, and key traditional figures, including the Sultan of Sokoto, to ensure broad participation and support.
The allusion to key traditional figures is nothing but a deception of our traditionalists, as the Sultan of course who is the leader of Islam in the country was aptly mentioned.
Organizers hope the prayer sessions will inspire a renewed sense of purpose and stability as Nigeria moves towards 2025.
These needless expenses on 313 Quranic Reciters should be channelled towards the education of minors discharged by the executive order of Mr President to ensure they become knowledgeable enough to go and sin no more. The portion to be lavished on prayer warriors shouldn’t be what PFN should be scrambling for, that CAN should ensure goes to an Initiative to fund the education of last Christmas orphans of black Christmas on the Plateau.
That Bishop Wale Oke will take 40 days out of his less than 100 days in office as PFN President to pray for hardship when we should be working for “softship” is better imagined.
The 18th Biennial Conference of PFN scheduled for 11th to 14th February 2025 is titled; the Rebirth of a Great Nation. Prayer no doubt is a component of our faith life but greatness is more a function of potential, it’s understanding, mining and management.
PFN has a strong Advisory Council structure across all tiers. What is the take of the National Advisory Council on the declared forty days of prayer for hardship?
Are all our fathers and mothers whose pictures I have seen on the Programme flyers; in support of 40 days of kneeling down to pray against hardship. Listed on the flyer in no particularly order are Pastor E. A. Adeboye, Rev Dr Uma Ukpai, Bishop Margret Idahosa (OON), Bishop Mike Okonkwo, Pastor W.F Kumuyi, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor (OFR), Bishop Felix Omobude, Rev Dr Mercy Ezekiel, Rev Dr Elijah O. Abina. Are they all privy to this all important prayer against hardship?
Or was it a National Exco decision? The Exco having men like Archbishop John Praise Daniel, Dr Cosmas Ilechukwu, Rev Sam Aboyeji with Rev Victor Ogunkanmi and Prophet Isa EL-Buba as Chairman and Co-Chairmanof Central Working Committee. Will Bishop David Ibiyome and Dr Paul Eneche be silent at a time we are under the questions of the GenZ generation? Or is it Pastor Poju Oyemade who through his ‘The Platform’ has taught the generation behind ours that thinking, planning and hardwork are solutions to hardship.
In my counsel to the new Minister for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, whose responsibility it is to lessen the hardships of the poorest of the poor, prayer wasn’t my counsel. Rather, stated; politics is always the only reason left to be worried about when expertise meets with competence, capacity and exposure.
There is need to be worried if His Lordship Bishop David Oyedepo subscribes to this politicising of prayer against hardship.
I have been following the prayer platform of Living Faith for couples of years. Their prayers are focused on ministry productivity. I have not seen days of prayers declared for the Businesses of the Ministry.
When was the last time prayers were said for their Universities, yet Covenant University made the global list as the best University in Nigeria, Landmark wasn’t left out of the rating as one of the best in Nigeria. Will Bishop David Oyedepo as a member of the National Advisory Council be one of the people who will lead us to pray against hardship while supervising the biggest proof of ministry financial productivity in the construction of the ARK?
As Christians we are not confused on the place of prayer and the skill of business in running an organisation.
Act 6:3&4 (KJV) Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and WISDOM, whom we may appoint over this BUSINESS. But we will give ourselves CONTINUALLY to PRAYER, and to the MINISTRY of the WORD.
Prayer is for the ministry of the word of God. If other religions are confused, we are not. Effective management of business demands intrusive leading of the Holy Spirit and wisdom. Such men and women, the leader advise the congregation to, through a democratic search elect for ordination.
This mind set of prayer for hardship is not the way forward to the Rebirth of a great Nation. To follow Bishop Wale Oke’s theology on this beyond the 10th of February 2025 is to head for catastrophe. The new leadership of PFN must be made up of courageous men and women who must be able to tell the Government we have what it will take to end hardship in Nigeria. Leaders of our faith who can ask the Government, in what area can we be of help in Agriculture? If the college of Agriculture of Landmark University is producing food that is feeding Landmark and Covenant Universities students. Let our fathers and mothers provide advisory counsel to the Government.
They must make it clear on behalf of the Church that we will no longer be a party to prayer contracts at the expense of the taxes of the same people in hardship we are being invited to pray for. It is no longer business as usual!
Dr. Bolaji O. Akinyemi is an Apostle and Nation Builder. He’s also President Voice of His Word Ministries and Convener Apostolic Round Table. BoT Chairman, Project Victory Call Initiative, AKA PVC Naija. He is a strategic Communicator and the C.E.O, Masterbuilder Communications.
Email:bolajiakinyemi66@gmail.com
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