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From Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan
The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), with 65million adult population in Nigeria, and Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State have made a call to Nigerians, especially the Christian Community, to intercede for President Bola Tinubu, governors and other people in positions of authority to govern with the fear of God and succeed in fixing the socio-economic and political challenges besetting the progress of the country.
This comes as leaders of PFN, across the 36 states in Nigeria and Abuja converged in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, for a three-day National Executive Retreat 2023 of the Fellowship, with the theme: ‘Going from Strength to Strength’, held at Waniq Event Centre, Jericho, Ibadan, on Tuesday night.
The National President of PFN, Bishop Wale Oke, who is the President of Sword of the Spirit Ministries, and Governor Makinde, who is the Vice Chairman, Nigeria Governors’ Forum, who spoke at the official opening ceremony of the retreat, said if Christians do not pray for people in the position of authority, they have deviated from the teaching of Jesus Christ.
They noted that the time has come for rebuilding and healing the country after the outcomes of the 2023 general elections, adding that healing and rebuilding of the nation must start from the church. According to them, it is a healed church that can healed the nation. They stated further that it has been discovered that the Christian Community came out of the elections divided and bruised, and there is need for church to come together, be united and join hands with the people in position of authority towards rebuilding the nation.
Makinde, who referenced a book about the biblical Nehemiah and the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s wall as a metaphor for the rebuilding of Nigeria, suggested a single term of five or six years for leaders, rather than two terms of four years each, and emphasised the need for the body of Christ to have a collective vision for Nigeria. He highlighted the importance of praying for and supporting those in positions of authority.
His words: “For each time I think about rebuilding that wall, I also think about the rebuilding of our nation and the role that the body of Christ has to play in that process. The Bible asks Christians to pray for their leaders. As Christians, we can carry out the work that God has assigned to us more effectively when we have political stability where we reside. If this environment is filled with chaos, with insecurity, instead of us to rebuild our nation, if all we are trying to do is scatter the bricks… then we are not doing what God has asked us to do as Christians.
“I am a supporter of a single term stricture. As a matter of fact, I did not want this second term, and I told the fathers of faith that four years is not enough to do everything that you want to do, but it is long enough for you to make your own impact and go your own way. But if we get the opportunity to discuss this, I think five or six years single term will really be enough for most of us to do whatever we are supposed to do.
“These leaders that God has asked us to pray for, they are products of who the political parties present to us. But when these leaders have been chosen, we are obligated to pray for them and work with them. I Timothy 2:1-2, urges us to pray for those in authority. It did not qualify it whether we like them, or we do not like them, it is our state and it is our country.
“These leaders that God has asked us to pray for, they are products of who the political parties present to us. But when these leaders have been chosen, we are obligated to pray for them and work with them.
“Yes, we must pray for those in authority. Politics is over. It is time for governance. But if we don’t like those in authority, what should we do? We have another opportunity in another years to vote again. But in order to accomplish that, we must start now to join political parties. We cannot become politicians when all the politics has been done.
“I made a conscious effort to join politics because I asked myself, yes I can pray. But prayer without work won’t get the result. We have to make a move. And if we choose to allow the riff-raffs and people that do not have intelligence as we, to keep taking decisions for us, then those decisions are binding on all of us.
“So, some people have queried the action that some of us took during the last election, and they are passing judgment based on what they think ought to have happened, and the result they would have preferred. But the fact remains that we cannot be doing the same thing, that is waiting every four years, before we get involved in politics, and then expect different result.”
The PFN National President, Oke, in his address, stressed the importance of the church in healing Nigeria, disclosing his experiences during the 2023 presidential election. He also highlighted the pressure placed on him to promote certain candidates and the importance of not endorsing any particular party.
He argued that the church can use the word of God, the anointing of the Holy Spirit, and the wisdom of God to bring the country together. He also referred to Sudan as an example of a country that did not recover from political division and violence after an election held over 30 years ago.
Oke called for an end to partisanship in the church and urged the congregation to unite for the greater good, saying: “It is time to put partisanship aside, come together, and let the healing begin. When we are one, there is a great difference that 65million people can make in the nation, that is when we are united.
“Prior to the 2023 general elections, I was kept under severe pressure. The pressure that each of the presidential candidates put on me was indescribable… We did not pitch for any party. We directed that everybody should vote according to their conscience. We are their spiritual fathers. We cannot afford to pitch our tent.
“Nigeria is in need of healing… Let’s bring the nation together. Election will come and go. If the nation is still on ground, the person that lost today, can win tomorrow.
“And if the church does not take its place to bring about peace and righteousness, then the nation will go to war, and all of us will be losers. I thank God and the pentecostals for praying. We prayed like never before. If you think God didn’t answer your prayer the way you wanted it, the fact that Nigeria is at peace today is an answer to prayer.”
