The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in a goodwill message to Nigerians for the New Year 2022 has urged Christian faithful, especially church leaders to pray for God’s mercy over the country Nigeria that God may intervene divinely and miraculously in the affairs of Nigeria.
“I call on all our denominational and church leaders to use the opportunity of the New Year Fasting and Prayers programme of our churches to rescue Nigeria from those who are hell bent on destroying it by deliberately praying for the mercy of God over our unfortunate situation. For the Lord our God is a merciful God. He will not leave us or allow these heartless criminals to destroy us. We serve a God who is merciful and gracious; slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,” said Samson Ayokunle, CAN president, in a statement.
The CAN president posits that except for the mercy of God to intervene divinely and miraculously, Nigeria would be like Sodom and Gomorrah. According to him, it is only God who can make the 2023 general election a reality; stating that it is only God in his own way who can teach the country’s leaders the right step to take. He therefore posits that it is only God who can send help to Nigeria from above. “Because of the desperate situation we are in, some governors are already calling for self-defense and declaration of state of emergency! This is unprecedented,” Ayokunle stated.
The CAN president disclosed that it gladdens his heart to say a resounding ‘Happy New Year 2022’ to all Nigerians irrespective of their religious, tribal and political persuasions. Accordingly, he states that 2021 was one year too many as a result of the ways and manners criminals have been operating with impunity across Nigeria, as if they have taken over the leadership of the country; invading communities, markets, churches and schools. Ayokunle said that the criminal elements operating across the country kill, maim, destroy and kidnap without much resistance or hindrance.
“At this juncture, I call on all Nigerians, irrespective of their religious affiliations, to rise up and cry for the mercy of God that can preserve us and bring an end to all these pains. It appears as if our governments have got to their wit end over the menace of insecurity. Their major focus now is on the 2023 general election. Can the 2023 election happen if the nation is over-run by criminals? Our nation must survive first and be at peace before elections can take place,” said Ayokunle.
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According to CAN, Nigerians have cried in vain for help from the developed world and the United Nations. However, he said that it seems like the West and the UN are more occupied and busy with COVID-19 than paying attention to the daily destruction of lives going on in Nigeria. “They have turned our roads into death traps where they now kidnap for money, apparently due to the poor conditions of our roads and all of a sudden kidnapping has become a big business as the innocent people are being kidnapped and ransom in millions are being demanded and paid,” Ayokunle said.
According to him, families of kidnapped people are at the mercy of the criminals; some were not even fortunate as they were killed after the ransom had been paid. CAN posit that security agencies have been overstretched and the best done by the government is far from being enough if Nigerians must say the truth without deceiving ourselves. “The Police have been parading the arrested kidnappers on the television but surprisingly, it appears as if they are too busy with their investigations to prosecute them,” he stated.
He however, did not fail to pray for the country stating that may 2022 be the year of total deliverance from all manners of insecurity challenges and bloodletting in Nigeria, and wished all Nigerians a peaceful and highly prosperous New Year. “It was in His mercy that He rescued the family of Noah against the Great Flood; He delivered Lot and his family in Sodom and Gomorrah shortly before the destruction of those cities. By his mercy, he delivered Israel from Egyptian captivity without Israel fighting any battle. The list of God’s merciful intervention in human affairs is endless. That same God will surely have mercy on our country in Jesus’ name,” Ayokunle concludes.
