‘I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour.’ (1 Timothy 2:1-3).
I love my country, Nigeria. I love the flora and fauna of the environment. I love the landscape largely devoid of natural disasters (the mountains, the valleys, the tablelands, the moors; all beckoning you to come to explore them). I love the people (their native hospitality, warmth, and simplicity of life) and their cultures. I love the tasty foods across the nation (especially the Ogi and Akara known as Koko and Kose in Hausa or Akamu and Akara in Ibo). I love the beautiful sunshine and the torrential rainfall of its tropical climate I’m an avid user of rainwater; indeed the taste of our rainwater is divine. I love the open markets that function daily, weekly, and fortnightly.
Regular visits to some of these weekly markets can alleviate stress by watching the drama and fun created by traders in the joyful process of marketing their wares. I love the sense of fashion and colour.
I love the structure of our government system even though some unscrupulous ones exploit its provisions to perpetrate corruption and that to the chagrin of the larger population. I could easily go on and on. Because of my love for my nation, I pray fervently also for the nation and when I pray, God always answers.
Sometimes I am pleased with the answers, sometimes I am not so pleased and at such times I humbly submit to the will of God, realising that I am merely a man.
Our text above, taken as usual from the Bible encourages us profoundly to pray for our nations for the sake of our peace of mind. Any genuine Christian would love his country just like the Jews loved Jerusalem in the Bible times and continue to love their nation and land to date. A study of Psalms 122 and 137 will provide expatiation on this subject. Psalms 122:6 says ‘pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee’.
Currently in Nigeria, the Presidential and general elections are coming up in a matter of weeks. Rather than complain about bad leadership, let us seek the face of God in the privacy of our homes, praying fervently for God to provide us with decent leaders.
This prayer would not be part of the casual 15 minutes daily prayer some offer but a prayer that involves setting aside some days for quality prayer and fasting specifically for the nation as we proceed to the polls.
Anything less than this is tantamount to neglecting our national responsibility and neglecting the nation spiritually. In this prayer, we will pray to the Lord to provide us with a decent President, not Mr Peter Obi, Mr Bola Tinubu, Mr Atiku Abubakar, or anyone else.
After the prayers, we vote for whoever we desire and simply wait to see who God would present to us as a Nation. This prayer pattern will always work. A couple of years ago, I prayed in this manner for the presidential polls, and thereafter, I had a dream just a few weeks before the polls. In this dream, a candidate whose name I wouldn’t mention emerged as President.
Nigeria appeared as a bride and this man as a groom. The wedding took place and they were both dancing to the Podium but then the Lord was not pleased with this arrangement and he drew my attention to this marriage which would spell doom for the nation. I woke up from this dream astonished and began a fast the same day. Thankfully, the polls came and went, Mr Goodluck Jonathan, emerged as the President and not that man. However, whenever we find ourselves in a situation where extensive prayer for the nation is impossible, the onus is on us to face the polls with spiritual intelligence.
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In addition to whatever qualifications and manifestoes our candidates present, we need to consider the spirituality they practise because spiritualities greatly influence people’s judgement and choices whenever they have to take decisions. A leader is only as good as his spirituality.
In Nigeria today, Christianity and Islam remain the main religions majority of the people profess publicly. However, most Christians and Muslims rarely draw spiritual strength from these two religions but rather from other spiritualities such as Voodoo, Hoodoo, Necromancy, Lodge, etc.
Historically, leaders have been known to embrace another spirituality in addition to whatever religion they openly profess, this ‘another’ spirituality is what the voting population should note and scrutinize.
Until we begin to scrutinise the second and third (as the case may be) spiritualities of our leaders, we would continue to elect bad leaders for the nation. Here is my point, Chief Obafemi Awolowo (1909-1987) the first Premier of the western region of Nigeria (1952-1959) was publicly a Christian of the Methodist denomination but then he was also a Rosicrucian AMORC.
The blending of these two spiritualities produced the legendary statesman we all respect today. Obviously, both Christian and Rosicrucian AMORC values and tenets are not anti-state and this explains the legendary contribution of Chief Awolowo to nation-building.
A founding father of the United States of America, Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) was also Christian and Rosicrucian. He contributed to ending Slavery in the world.
Contemporarily, Mrs Dora Akunyili (1954-2014); a former DG of NAFDAC (2001-2008) comes to my mind largely concerning her contribution to ensuring that foods and drugs in the nation are safe for consumption. Mrs. Akunyili was a staunch Roman Catholic and it is common knowledge that Catholicism combines Christianity values with spiritual strength drawn from the adoration of Angelic and other spirit beings.
Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, a former Minister of the FCT (2003-2007) contributed immensely to making the city of Abuja the beautiful and functional city we appreciate today, He is a Muslim and whatever Mr el-Rufai’s second spirituality at that time was, it aided and not diminish his contribution to nation building.
These leaders aided the establishment of strong institutions and structures upon which their nations continue to thrive and survive to date. A situation where a candidate professes Islam or Christianity but adds ‘Hoodoo’ as a second spirituality is unacceptable. Voodoo yes, Hoodoo No.
You may wonder about the difference between the two. Well, Voodoo is our native religion and it is purely physical. Everything about Voodoo is physical and it involves the periodic worship of deities, gods, and ancestors. Family and friends come together in the worship physically participating in the processes.
Our popular Masquerade festival of worship of our ancestors falls into this category. Voodoo adherents are completely human and can make sound judgement whenever the need arises. Contrarily, Hoodoo is not physical and requires initiation to participate in the processes with activities often held in other realms. Hoodoo involves so much wickedness that in ancient times, our ancestors would destroy anyone suspected of this spirituality, and in some parts of the country, upon killing the suspected adherent, the corpse would be disposed of in an evil forest rather than interment, adjudging such a body an abomination to the earth.
The Hoodoo adherent though man, can hardly make any important judgement without recourse to some evil spirits who manipulate and direct his judgement. Considering that evil spirits do not possess the moral code of human beings, with a practising Hoodoo adherent in an exalted position such as that of the president; your guess is as good as mine.
Easily, a former President of Uganda, Mr. Idi Amin (1925-2003) who ruled the nation from 1971-1979 and some other African Presidents will cross the mind.
Finally, if we love our country Nigeria, as we proceed to the polls, we should begin to scrutinize the second spirituality our candidates have embraced for this would ultimately influence their performances, and desist from fooling ourselves by suggesting that they are Muslims or Christians. A decent spirituality makes a decent leader.
Dare Oduwole, a Christian counsellor, can be contacted via 08027291632
