By Chidiogo Asierika
Bishop of Lagos (Anglican Communion) Rt. Rev. (Dr) Humphrey Olumakaiye, has disclosed that there is an encouraging future that is replete with not just hope but also fulfillment and prosperity for Nigeria.
Olumakaiye made the revelation in a press release titled ‘Pastoral Christian Message to the nation’
In his word “As we approach the New Year, 2020, I envision an encouraging future replete with not just hope but also fulfillment and prosperity. Let us go into the New Year with strong core values and convictions that are based upon the standards of God’s word.”
Olumakaiye stated that Christmas Season is a unique one that brings the consciousness of the peace that Christ brought to individuals, family and the nation. It reminds people how Christ brought them out of darkness into God’s Marvelous light.
He then decried some negative happenings in the nation Nigeria “When we look within as a nation, we see continuing raids and attacks, loss of lives and many things looking so unsettled while a lot of people are starving. In some places, people are crowded in refugee camps that lack a simple basic human need like portable drinking water. Millions of people have little hope for the future.
“Our tribal diversity, religion and tight communal ties, the very elements that promote our rich culture were weaponised and unleashed among ourselves. The remarkable innovations in mobile telecommunications which was deployed to transform our economy became deadly channels of subterfuge and deception. Tribal sentiments were whipped up, fuelled and fanned. Yet, we thank God, peace prevailed,” Olumakaiye maintained.
He also called for prayers for the leaders when he said “Our leaders need more prayers, leadership is a critical factor to a nation’s progress but it has pre-loaded inputs.
“Competence, savvy, dexterity and intelligence are key, but so also is integrity and fairness. These are qualities sorely lacking in our time. A familiar phrase has been, ‘when the desirable is not available, the available becomes the desirable.
“We must commend the nation’s leadership on maintaining a relative stable fx regime for most of the year. Recently however, there has been some concern over inordinate spending, the national debt burden and depleting fx reserves especially in the second half of 2019,” he said.
Economists, according to Olumakaiye, are positing that depleting foreign reserves portends a further depletion of the currency, worsening economy and impending hardship. “Again we implore our leaders to avoid plunging the nation into any undue economic bondage,” he pleaded.
He called on Christians to pray for Leah Sharibu “As we celebrate Christmas, Leah Sharibu remains a grave concern for the nation, not only because of the nature of the abduction or the lengthy period since she was last seen, but for the seeming lack of sustained pressure towards her release. It is my view that if the entirety of the Christian community come together we can jointly compel Leah’s and others’ speed release,” Olumakaiye stated.
