Anglican Primate Tasks Christians On Elective Offices

Hon. Legbosi Nwidadah (left) Hon. God’s Time Ben Horsfall (middle) Hon Josiah Olu (right) at the sitting of the House recently. Photo: Chris Monyanaga

Primate of Church of Nige
ria (Anglican Communion), His Grace, the Most Rev’d Nicholas Okoh has charged Christian faithful not to shy away from the country’s electoral process because of its perceived dirty nature but do well to gear up for elective positions for selfless leadership in which the people will rejoice.
Okoh who spoke at the just-concluded fourth edition of Divine Commonwealth Conference (DIVCCON) with the theme. “In Times Like These”, said Christians more than ever before, should stand up to be counted among the political leaders in the country so that they can contributed effectively in the peace, unity and progress of the nation.
The Primate said with nostalgia that Nigeria and indeed most parts of the world  were passing through perilous times in which people with the fear of God should go into leadership  position to bring succor to the system.
“The times we are in are characterized by towering magnitude of moral evil, inhumanity and wickedness never before seen in the history of the world and from developments around the world, this widespread nightmare does not seem to be hastening to a decline. There is no country or part of the world that can actually be said to be at ease any longer. If it is not civil war, then terrorism, splintering insurgency groups, then Ebola and other devastating situations bedeviling the generation” he said.
He noted that the challenges of the times are multi-faceted with different parts of the world struggling with one type or the other, describing the incidents as bad omen for the human race. He remarked that human being have grown so callous that there is no explanation for their wickedness and dastardly acts against fellow beings. The Anglican Chief Shepherd said the appalling signs of the times also abound in Nigeria, especially, in the North East areas where peace has become a commodity that they used to know but no longer exist resulting from terrorism under the aegis of the violent Boko Haram sect of the Islam.
He also spoke about other evils of the times in Nigeria which include the proliferation of baby factories, kidnapping in the South and Niger Delta areas as well as ritual killings rape, homosexuality, lesbianism, same-sex marriage, bestiality.
Given the prevailing times, he called on all well-meaning Nigerians, especially, Christians to rise against the evils, but charged the faithful not to lose heart knowing that these events herald the close of the age.
Okoh said the nation needs divine intervention in times of terrorism and political maneuverings, and charged people with the fear of God to rise to the challenge of exposing and opposing evils in the land even at the risk of their own lives, and not people who will bend facts because of selfish gains or any affiliations in religious, political, ethnic and tribal sentiments.
He said people should be free to practice their religious faith without intimidation and molestation of any form especially in the face of terrorism and wanton destruction of lives and property, adding that in times like these, politics of selfishness must give way to justice, equity and peaceful co-existence.
The primate said though evil seems to be on the riot in the society, he charged Christians to be courageous, preserver, maintain unwavering faith, prayerful etc “knowing that darkness can never conquer light.
According to him, “God shall fight for Nigeria and put her enemies to shame, and called on all Christian churches to unite and return to the places of fasting and prayer for the nation towards the restoration of her fortunes.

Samuel Eleonu