It is stale news that Nigeria is under the siege of
terrorism. Armed robbery, kidnapping, cultism,
murder are now routine occurrences so much so
that many people have lost count of the number
of victims. Even though incidence of crime is
nationwide, that of the Northern Nigeria,
particularly North-Eastern states of Borno, Yobe
and Adamawa is particularly more troubling. The
insurgent group popularly called Boko Haram has
been wreaking a lot of havoc on the residents of
the aforementioned states since 2009. As I write
this, the abduction of over 200 girls from
Government Secondary School in Chibok, Borno
State since April 14, 2014 has dominated the
media, be it traditional or social. The
#BringBackOurGirls advocates are dominating the
social media. The Nigerian government has been
trying to restore peace and order in the
insurgents’ hot spots but if the truth must be
said, our military seem overwhelmed due largely
to a number of factors such as inadequate
funding, corruption, sabotage and politics.
Heartwarming, therefore, is the offer of assistance
from some foreign governments such as France,
the United States of America, China and the
United Kingdom.
As the Nigerian government battles the insurgents
without much success, I am tempted to ask,
where are the prophets in Nigeria? Where are the
celebrated “Oracles of God”? I mean the General
Overseers, Pastors, Evangelists, Reverends,
Bishops, Archbishops, and other titular religious
leaders who always lay claim to know the mind of
God? I ask again, where are our miracle
merchants? Where are our own Prophet Elijah,
King David and Moses? It will be recalled that in
the Biblical account of 1 Kings 18, Prophet Elijah
confronted the 450 prophets of Baal and defeated
them on Mount Carmel. Also in the Bible,
according to 1 Samuel 17, a young shepherd boy,
David, removed the reproach of the nation of
Israel by killing Goliath. The account read that
after 40 days of taunting and mocking of Israel’s
army by Goliath and the armed forces of
Philistines, David with a mere sling and stone
killed Goliath. It is also on record in the book of
Exodus how God used Moses to deliver the
Israelite from their generational bondage in Egypt.
If these Biblical accounts are not fictional stories;
if they did happen as we are made to believe; if
truly God is immutable and capable of doing all
things as He said in Luke 1 verse 37, then, it is
time to see live practical demonstration of His
omnipotence through the works of His anointed
servants in Nigeria. This country has a
bourgeoning Christian population especially in the
Southern part. Though it may be true that Boko
Haram insurgency has been happening mostly in
Northern Nigeria, our Christian leaders need to
rise up against this menace before its tentacles
spread to the South. I cannot imagine the
devastating effect of a terrorist attack on any of
our religious camps on the Lagos-Ibadan
Expressway or anywhere else where hundreds of
thousands of worshippers gather for weekly,
monthly or annual programmes.
Just imagine clerics like Pastor Enoch Adejare
Adeboye of the Redeemed Christian Church of
God, Bishop Mike Okonkwo of The Redeemed
Evangelical Ministry, Bishop David Oyedepo of the
Living Faith Church, Pastor D.K. Olukoya of
Mountain of Fire Ministries, Prophet T.B. Joshua
of The Synagogue Church of All Nations, Pastor
Chris Oyakhilome of Christ Embassy, Bishop John
Praise Daniel of the Dominion Chapel
International Churches, Pastor Paul Enenche of
Dunamis International Gospel Centre, Pastor W.F.
Kumuyi of the Deeper Life Bible Church and
several others jointly or individually challenging
Abubakar Shekau, the leader of Boko Haram, to a
spiritual duel like Elijah of old did. Just imagine
what the defeat of Boko Haram and other terrorist
groups by Christian leaders will do to the growth
of Christianity and restoration of peace in Nigeria.
Not only will Christians be able to worship God in
harmony, evangelism will become a piece of cake
as many non-Christians will readily believe and
accept the gospel of Jesus Christ. Will our
Christian leaders seize the moment to
demonstrate their much talked about God-given
spiritual prowess?
Why am I recommending this duel between
Christian leaders and Boko Haram? Watch the
latest video released by Abubakar Shekau. He
made no pretence about his hatred of Christians
and has promised to extend his reign of terror to
Southern Nigeria. Our Christian leaders had better
act to check these merchants of death and
sorrow before they succeed in putting the
Christian fold, and indeed the entire country, in
disarray. I am not unmindful of all the prayers
and fasting that have been declared and observed
by Christians for the restoration of peace in
Nigeria. The efficacy of these spiritual measures
is not in doubt, but in addition, Christian leaders
need to act, take action as directed by God.
According to news reports, Chibok, where over
200 girls were abducted on April 14, is a
predominantly Christian community in Borno
State. About 180 of the kidnapped girls were said
to be Christians. Should our spiritual leaders
continue to play the ostrich about the potent
danger posed by terrorism to their fold and the
nation, they may wake up one day to minister to
empty churches when the congregation may have
become too scared to attend services.
Already in Lagos and a few other places in the
South, dare-devil armed robbers have been
reported to successfully raid some churches
during services, and a couple of child kidnap
cases have also been reported. Some of these
happened during the day while others happened
during vigil services. I know many of the church
leaders claim to have divine mandate to make
disciple of all the people. It would be great to
demonstrate that by winning the soul of Shekau
and his cohorts. It is time our religious leaders
deployed their spiritual arsenals to the fight
against terrorism which is an ill-wind that blows
no good to the nation in particular, and the world
in general.
[Written By Jide Ojo, Punch NG]
