NIGERIA @ 55: A NATION WITH NINE LIVES?
You can almost beat your chest that this nation will totter. You can say it with conviction; swearing under your breath that it will not see the dawn of another year. But time and time again you are disappointed. Your prophecies simply refuse to come to pass and the nation marches on.
This is Nigeria, the nation with nine lives. It is the nation where history repeats itself with reckless abandon. It is the nation of inanities, where holy things are vilified and the men of honour are scarce. It is the land of deep contradictions where hope resurrects at the dawn of a seeming confusion and commotion.
Right from the first few years that Nigeria got her independence from the colonial masters, it has had to grapple with political unrest and a seeming unending economic and social crisis. Yet, this land of close to 170 million people, the most populous black nation of the world is not ready to die.
Nigeria has defied the prediction of the US. It has defied the prediction of soothsayers. It has defied the postulations of analysts. It has even defied the assumption of its leader. Its leader has stolen from her and almost bled her to death, yet, with just a stroke of signature from an unseen hand, it bounces back to life and continues as if it never experienced such.
It is simply a mystery that Nigeria is 55. It is a mystery that with all the stealing, with all the wars that had taken place in the past, this country remains strong and promising.
The question that naturally comes to mind is: How come Nigeria is together till now against the predictions of pundits? Why have we not gone our different ways? Despite the seeming hardship and apparent lack of trust among ourselves, what is that binding force that pulls us together?
That we have been able to attain this age is not an accident. There is certainly an assignment that Nigeria is destined to carry out among the nations of the world. Some have said Nigeria lies in the trigger side on the map of Africa, thus indicating that it has a responsibility in this end time to pull a surprise on the world.
This simply goes to show that we have not seen anything yet. Nigeria will rise and fulfill destiny. The wealth of Nigeria as some have said is still evolving. But as the country celebrates another milestone, it is important for us a nation to take wise counsel especially those of us in the Christian community.
We must realize that the future of this country depends largely on us. Prophecy is one, fulfillment of the prophecy is another. Between what God said and its fulfillment, there is need for action. There is a responsibility on our part to see that this nation which is evidently in the end time plan of God will not fail. This is the time for our leaders in the church to come together. It is cheering news that Pastor Williams Kumuyi of the Deeper Life Church has initiated a unity move in the church. For the past one month, Kumuyi’s Deeper Life in collaboration with the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria and the Christian Association of Nigeria has been holding evangelical crusades around the country bringing the body of Christ under one platform. This is quite heartening and indeed a step that other leading church leaders ought to take. This is the time for synergy of the church. This is the time we need to come together and work towards the survival of Nigeria.
It is also important that the Christians must begin to live to their billing. The days of living double lives are gone. There is need for us to now walk the talk. God is waiting on us. The unbelievers are waiting for us. It is time for us to shine the light.
It is not an accident that today we have Christians manning strategic positions in the political hierarchy of Nigeria. If they fail, we fail. So we have a responsibility to pray for them and to support them. It should not be about us. It should not be about our empire. It should be about Nigeria and the common good.
As we celebrate another anniversary there is a need for deep reflection on our nationhood. There is a need for us to realize that we can’t afford the kind of crises that is being experienced in the middle east of the world. It is certainly too late for us to go our different ways. If we have stayed this long, we should consolidate on the gains of the past years and forge a synergy that will take us to our Canaan. Nigeria will fulfill her destiny. Long live Nigeria.