“Will God ever restore the kingdom to Nigeria?” I cannot but ask this question during a telephone conversation with a colleague and Publisher of an online news medium, OyoReporters.com, Akin Aboluwade, on sundry national issues.
For almost one hour, we were busy discussing the fate of Nigeria and Nigerians in the hands of the successive administrations, military and civilian; we lamented over the fate of a country, with over 200 million people, in the hands of a few individuals.
The question is similar to the one asked by the disciples of Jesus Christ: “When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?”- Acts 1:6 (King James Version). Jesus responded: “It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power?”-Acts 1:7 (KJV).
The question asked by the disciples was based on their expectation that their Master would establish a physical kingdom in Israel, within the limits of their understanding of a prophecy concerning the establishment of the kingdom and rulership of God on earth, through His son, Jesus Christ. The answer by the all-knowing Master indicated that the establishment of the kingdom and when is a matter that is solely in the hand of God.
Aboluwade laughed when I asked the rhetorical question: “Will God Ever Restore The Kingdom To Nigeria?” He laughed, knowing that I am not a born again Christian in the mold of pentecostalism. He laughed, because he understands that I never pretend to be a pentecostal. He laughed, because he knows what I have against many of the religion leaders. He laughed because he knows my stance against the Nigerian rulership.
Nigeria And Israel…A Paradox
The banters with Aboluwade triggered a loaded meaning to my question, “Will God Ever Restore The Kingdom To Nigeria?” It got me thinking, reflecting deeply on how Nigeria and Nigerians, over the years, got to this sorry pass. It became more ingrained with the realisation that my beloved country consists of millions of prayerful Nigerians with no positive result, all through the years.
It is very ironical when you juxtapose the variables in Nigeria with what obtains in the acclaimed land of birth of Jesus Christ. While Israel is, unarguably, among the most developed countries of the world, my beloved country holds an unenviable ranking among the countries in the backwaters of development…among the world capitals of poverty. The Zionists have been prosecuting and winning wars since the Proclamation of the State of Israel in 1948, relying on technology and modern weapons of war. Nigerians, on the hand, have ceaselessly been praying and calling on the God of Israel to come to the aid of Nigeria, even where it concerns provision of some basic essentials, including food, clothing and shelter.
Nigerian Pastors And Their Divine Interventions
Some issues concerning religious matters, especially the Church and pastors, came up within me at my point of reflection. It is a fact undeniable that the prosperity pastors, bishops and General Overseers that we have in Nigeria have upstaged those who were elected or appointed to oversee the affairs of the state. They are more apostolic than the original apostles of Jesus Christ. These “Men of God” saw themselves as the sole route…the only means to curry and receive favour from God in the quest for national and individual survival, growth and development.
Our Prayerful Musicians
And I remembered four prominent Yoruba musicians…two dead, two living. The four ply (plied) their trade in the gospel, juju and folklore genres. They shared one thing in common… Their prayerful convictions that Nigeria will surely get better with the intervention of God. They are Chief Ebenezer Obey, Pastor Joseph Adebayo Adelakun (Ayewa), the late Evangelist Bayo Adegboyega and the late Dipo Sodipo.
Pastor Adelakun is a popular gospel musician. He shot into prominence with his evergreen track, Amona Tete Maa Bo, released in 1984…40 years ago…how time flies!!! Unknown to many, the album was the ninth effort of Adelakun on the vinyl. It was released when the duo of General Muhammadu Buhari and the late General Tunde Idiagbon were at the helms of affairs of Nigeria.
Adelakun, in Amona…, lamented the pervading malfeasances of that era. He cried that Nigerians were grumbling under civilian administration…that there were groanings under the Buhari/Idiagbon regime. He called on God to deliver Nigeria from bad governance, anti-people laws and decrees that made life and living unbearable for the people. 40 years after the prayerful lamentations of Adelakun (who is now 75-year-old), what is the fate of Nigeria? Are Nigerians faring any better?
Obey is a household name in the Nigerian music scene. A professed evangelist, he is an established authority in the Juju Music genre. The now 82-year-old Juju Music crooner released an album in 1985 when he was just 43. He titled it My Vision.
Obey, in one of the tracks in the album, Nigeria Yi Si Ma Dun, prophetically declared that his dream for Nigeria will surely become a reality…he sang with a conviction that Nigeria will transform into a great country. He added a caveat however… We should move closer to God and be more hardworking, forsaking sin. 39 years after, we are nowhere near the fulfilment of the vision by the Chief Commander…it remains a dream for a country that can boast of having horses of Christians, Muslims, churches and mosques more than anywhere in the world.
The late Bayo Adegboyega was a gospel musician who ruled the airwaves with his brand of music in the ’80s. The then 31-year-old gospel musician, in 1987, released Ilu Le Koko. The album contains two other popular tracks… Atayero Wa, a supplication to God to take over and establish his kingdom in Nigeria; and Ọkọ Nigeria L’oju Agbami, a warning that the ship of the country was in turbulence on the sea, hence the need for God’s intervention.
Thirty-seven (37) years after the prayerful effort of Adegboyega, Nigeria still le koko…its ship seems to have wandered off the track on the sea…and it is like Atayero (God) has gone into a very deep slumber over the Nigerian situation. What is sader? The man who expressed much belief in God’s intervention in respect of the country could not get the attention of God in his own personal case. Bayo Adegboyega died in April 2008 at the age of 52: he died unsung…without enjoying good health…and in penury. God, where is Your face!!!
The late Dipo Sodipo, the Pope without a Cathedral, popularised the one-man band which has Uncle Tunji Oyelana as one of its forebears. To many, his music is a fusion of many genres…highlife, blues, soul, folklore, juju music and gospel. To some others, his music can best be described as renegade highlife. He co-founded a choral group which later became the K-12 Voices. From K-12 Voices, his one-man band became the cynosure of all eyes from parties to clubs…his deep baritone voice and jovial nature endeared him to many.
In 2000, Sodipo released Getting Better– a medley of worship, praise and thanksgiving songs. He sang about Nigeria getting better, with the hope and belief that God is on the throne to wrought his miracles to turn the country into the Promised Land. The man died on 19 August, 2000, aged 46. 24 years after his death, things are not getting better for Nigeria and its people.
Apart from the four musicians, the Choir of the Cherubim and Seraphim Church Movement (Ayo Ni O), Apapa-Oshodi Expressway, Lagos released an album in the early 1980s, titled Take Control. In the title track, the spirit-filled choristers lamented that “Children are hungry…parents are helpless…we multiply in sin.” They called on Holy Michael, Holy Gabriel, Holy Raphael and Holy Uriel, the heavenly hosts and Jesus Christ, the Son of David, to come down and take control because “this is the day the Lord has made…the pentecostal day…” In spite of this, we are yet to witness the arrival of God to establish his kingdom in Nigeria.
Still In The Wilderness, More Than 64 Years After
More than 40 years after the prayerful intervention by these musicians, the C&S Church Choir Band and several others, and more than 64 years after independence, Nigeria and Nigerians still grope in the dark and gloom. This is despite the preponderance of self-righteous religious leaders and proliferation of places of worship.
What we have been seeing across the country is everything antithetical and diametrically opposed to good governance, development and uplifting of the people and their welfare. In Nigeria today, hunger, abject poverty, hopelessness and depravity are prevalent. The President Bola Tinubu administration is showing us the true essence of negativities in public governance, contrary to his avowed Renewed Hope agenda.
Within the first 17 months of the Tinubu Presidency, four times we have experienced increments in the official pump price of fuel by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL): ₦180 pre-May 29, 2023; ₦568: ₦865 and now ₦1,030 per litre, if you live in Ibadan…And there is no end in sight yet to the increments. The intervention by Dangote Refinery Limited (DRL), rather than bringing succour, has further compounded the tales of woes in Nigeria.
Concomitant with the escalating cost of fuel are the rising cost of basic needs which are hitting the roof top on daily basis. And what do we have in our hands in Nigeria? An average Nigerian has become a stingy human who can no longer be his brother’s keeper, given his fast depleting meagre income…gone were those days when you greet your fellow human and ask, “How are you doing?” You dare not ask because you already know the response and you are helpless as you cannot measure up financially to such a response.
The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) feebly kicked against fuel price hike, calling for a reversal. But we all know that it is a lost case. Our president told us countless times that there is no alternative route to the tough road he is taking us through on the way to recovery and prosperity for Nigeria. He told us that he was aware that Nigerians are going through harrowing difficult times, but he must do what he has to do.
We can endure sha!!! In the midst of it all, Nigerians seem to have resigned themselves to fate. There is this pervading quietness in several quarters. You will begin to wonder if the pains and agonies in Nigeria are real. What we have prevalent now are cases of some highly-placed individuals, both in government and in their private capacities, catching cruise at the expense of the people.
In our dear Nigeria, absurdities now reign supreme. Rather than facing the issues of governance, some 16 state governors are court, waiting for the Supreme Court to deliver judgment, on Tuesday, 22 October, on a suit challenging the constitutionality of the laws that established the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC); former Governor Nyesom Wike is powerfully and comfortably seated in Abuja, flexing muscle with his anointed successor, Sim Fubara, to the detriment of Rivers State and its people. Same Wike is engaged in a battle of wits with some other individuals, and even with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the political party that gave him political relevance.
Taking Our Fate In Our Hands
Here again comes the question… Will God Ever Restore The Kingdom To Nigeria? For 40 years, the Israelites of old wandered in the wilderness as they sought freedom from the Egyptian King Pharaoh bondage. They did not just rely on prayers. Rather, their leaders- Moses and Aaron and later Caleb and Joshua- took the bull by the horn and led them out of slavery to the Promised Land. The citizens of the modern-day Israel are not relying on prophetic words emanating from the mouth of any self-righteous pastor, bishop or General Overseer to fight their battles against their enemies.
It has been more than 64 years of attainment of independence…it has also been 64 years of stunted growth and arrested development in all facets of our national life. It has been litany of woes, occasioned by successive reigns of rudderless, individualistic, gluttonous and gluttonous wheeler-dealer leadership. But for how long shall we continue with our Lamentations For Nigeria? Must things continue this way? Must we defeatedly resign to fate and wait on God to restore the kingdom to us in Nigeria? When are we going to rise up to the occasion?
Nigeria is one of the countries blessed with the most youthful population in the world. To get out of the wood, we must shift focus from waiting till Godot. We should take our destiny in our hands. Waiting till when God will restore the kingdom to us in Nigeria will take eternity. Remember that even Jesus Christ told his disciples that it was not appointed unto them to know the time when the kingdom would be restored back to Israel. So what makes us think that we are a special breed, a race set apart from other people?
Ambassador (Dr) Yemi Farounbi, a respected voice in the journalism profession and seasoned administrator, will often say a state of inertia will happen…Nigeria will move and things will change. Yes, it is true. But the change will not come in vacuum. We must be up and doing. Mr Wale Ademowo, a former Editor with the Nigerian Tribune, wrote on his Facebook page on Saturday: “Nigeria overtook India in extremely poor nation in the world. Pastors have been preaching prosperity for 30 to 40 years. The curriculum has to be changed.”
The advice by Mr Ademowo, a very distinguished leader in the pen-pushing profession, is timely and very essential. It took human effort by Moses and his team to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Benjamin Netanyahu is neither relying on prophecy, nor waiting on God to fight the battle of Israel against its foes. Nigerians, it is never too late for us to take action and lead Nigeria out of the wilderness to the Promised Land.
•Falade is the Editor/CEO, Newscoven.com.
