From Noah Ebije, Kaduna
As Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ on Christmas Day, the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has urged them to pray for God’s intervention against nepotism, insecurity, and corruption, which it noted are bedevilling the country’s polity.
In a statement on Tuesday by its National Publicity Secretary, Prof. Tukur Muhammad-Baba, the ACF also called on all Nigerians to pray for economic prosperity and improvements in the sociopolitical challenges facing the nation.
The Forum lamented that major communities in the North continue to bear the burden of the negative effects of these challenges without any hope of redemption in sight.
“The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) wishes happy celebrations to the multitudes of Nigerian and other Christians across the world as the 2024 Christmas is observed. As well, ACF wishes all a very happy and prosperous New Year, which comes up a week after Christmas.
“ACF rejoices with all and prays for God’s grace and mercies for Nigeria as the people celebrate the Christmas and New Year occasions amid daunting existential economic, social and political challenges, as well as a state of debilitating insecurity, corruption, and nepotism in the polity, disappointing political representation, etc. As has sadly become all too familiar, communities in Nigeria’s North continue to bear a disproportionate burden of the negative effects of the aforementioned challenges.
“This is not to downplay the effects of the problems on people in other parts of the country, but the situation in the North remains dire, even as people fervently look forward to a better future.
“In spite of or, in fact, because of the challenges that the people face, ACF asserts that surrendering to despair and hopelessness are not options. Therefore, in the spirit of the season, [the Forum] calls on Christians, and indeed all Nigerians, to pray for peace, security, and economic recovery for Nigeria; for God Almighty’s intervention to see that Nigeria’s leaders are re-endowed with faith, strength, divine love, wisdom, and righteousness in intentions and deeds as they pilot Nigeria’s affairs; for God Almighty to endow and guide Nigeria’s security agencies with the needed strength and bold resolve to crush all agents of terrorism, criminality, insecurity, corruption, social and political destabilisation, and all other evils against Nigeria and its people.
“That the fear of God Almighty enters to change the evil minds of all manner of terrorists and criminals so that they repent and refrain from their culture of criminality; and for God Almighty to restore hope for a better, prosperous, more equitable, and more hospitable Nigeria, ruled by justice, fairness, and justice for all citizens,” the statement said.