Healing Nigeria: A clarion call from an elder statesman

That Nigeria needs healing is overdue. The country has been quite sick for a donkey period and has drifted into a terminal illness. To say that the country is in life support is to underestimate the situation.

So, the recent call by our elder statesman and former president of the country, Olusegun Obasanjo is not out of place despite the timing because one question that the minds of Nigerians is “why didn’t he cause the land to heal when he had ample opportunities?” No time is late. One pertinent issue to deduct is that our land needs to heal as urgent as possible.

Unfortunately, however, lands do not heal in isolation, the people of the land have strong and indispensable inputs to make for their land to heal. 2 Chronicles 7:14 is a very obvious testimony. Our land cannot heal when we are not healed first. There must be self cleansing first before the land is healed. Nothing is wrong with the lands, waters and the air of Nigeria. We polluted them through our unwholesome behaviours and attitudes. A land that is expected to be healed cannot parade people with all manner of questionable characters as its leaders.

Indeed, we need our land to be healed but we need to be healed first. For our land to be healed, the pronouncement in Isaiah 40:1-4 must come to play: “Comfort my people,” says our Lord. “ Comfort them”. Encourage people of Jerusalem. Tell the people of Jerusalem. Tell them they have suffered long enough and their sins are now forgiven. I have punished them in full for all their sins.”

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For our land to heal, the mountains must be brought low; the valleys filled; and the rough plains be made smooth. The mouth, valleys, and rough plains represent or symbolize the negative behaviours and attitudes that have held is down.

Okechukwu Keshi Ukegbu wrote from [email protected]