IN my house, we pray for leaders, particularly President Bola Tinubu, the current symbol of our sovereignty. No, we don’t agree with most of the policies, actions, inactions, views and style of the current national leadership as evinced by the President.
Millions of Nigerians even still distrust the mandate the President is governing with, but Romans 13:1-2 is clear about leadership and God’s will.
“Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.”
Till tomorrow, millions of Americans are still saying “not my president” to Joe Biden, despite the mainstream media’s sustained efforts at criminalising their disavowal of the incumbent’s mandate, by tagging them “election deniers” a coinage the Trump movement now wear as a badge of honour.
But certainly, whoever God doesn’t have a leadership plan and seasonal purpose for, won’t get there, no matter how hard he or she tries. With due regard to the dead, Abubakar Audu, could have died of the same hypertension in the 12 years he was out cold in political wilderness, especially during his travails with the law over alleged sleaze earlier in office as governor, but he lived through those challenges only to succumb to death when the Kogi throne was being dabbed with the diamond for him to mount again.
The same God mandates His obedient children to pray for these leaders, many, whose names, come with some bitterness in the mouth.
In 1 Timothy 2:1-4, the Bible offers clear instruction; “I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Saviour, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”
It is in obedience to this Biblical injunction, that I pray today’s headline for the President and by extension, everyone in the position of authority.
Our leaders need prayer, whether we agree with their doings or not. We must choose to be obedient to the Lord and cover them in prayer.
Our leaders need God’s help. People hardly take up assignments to fail, even when they are obviously lacking in requisite know-hows demanded by the engagement, not to talk of power-seekers (politicians), who deliberately seek public office, through the ballot.
Father Matthew Kukah in his assessment of candidates for the office of President last year, unequivocally declared today’s incumbent as the most prepared of the lot. Many of his admirers also held that thought and campaigned with the assumption. Even among those who would not be casting their ballot for him, a sizeable number conceded today’s president would do well in office, only that he wasn’t just their choice.
But against those expectations and assumptions, President Bola Tinubu, in just one year in office, has gone to be an unmitigated governance disaster and there are times I struggle through prayer for him, especially when I see and hear real pains people are experiencing to live through every 24 hours.
But there are no footnotes to obedience calls in the Bible. As God’s children, ours is to obey and leave Him, to divinely, do the impossible and the unbelievable.
He is a miracle-working God.
I worry for the President because it would be dangerous for him in the end, if the harrowing existential challenges he is taking Nigerians through, were just for some voodoo economic model experimentation and not that he actually believes the crushing reforms would bring a new dawn, signalling a march towards national economic rebirth and prosperity. It is not too late to withdraw them, if his private doubts are overwhelming his often-expressed public optimism.
Right now, his policies are inducing hunger, homelessness, acute poverty and extreme lack. I have also noticed a knee-jeek pattern in covering policy implementation mess, suggesting his economic team, isn’t into rounded thinking.
Does FX black market only thrive in the street?
In Matthew 25:31-46, Jesus speaks about stewardship with the allegory of sheep and goats.
I leave the President with his Maker’s Declaration; “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne.
“All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.
“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in. I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.
“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink. I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
“He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
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