Clerics urge citizens to pray, make sacrifices for Nigeria

The Pastor of Assemblies of God Church, Ikeja, Lagos, Rev. Victor James, on Saturday urged Nigerians to pray to God to restore the glory of the country as they celebrate Easter.

James spoke in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

“As Jesus sacrificed his life for us, we should also make sacrifices for one another and for our nation so that the country will be a better place to live in,’’ he said.

The cleric urged Christians not to go back to their old sinful ways just because the fasting period of lent was over.

He advised Nigerians to continue to look up to Jesus for perfect solutions to the problems in the country.

“There is no situation that cannot be saved by Jesus if only Christians can unite in prayers to enable them to overcome the challenges confronting the nation.

“God will restore and rebuild the nation; he has plans for Nigeria, it is only sin that is distorting God’s plan for the nation,’’ James said.

According to him, this Easter offers another opportunity to appreciate the invaluable sacrifice made by Jesus Christ who laid his life for all.

“It is a time of restoration because Jesus rose from the dead and we envisage that the church and nation will rise again,” he said.

Another cleric, Pastor Ayo Ajayi of the Christ Apostolic Church, Ayobo, urged Christians to always show love to the less privileged.

According to him, Easter marks the beginning of our salvation and everyone should use the opportunity to show love to friends and neighbours, irrespective of their religious or ethnic backgrounds.

Ajayi urged those in authority to govern with the fear of God as they would be accountable for their stewardship.

“Any nation with the fear of God filled with righteousness will attract God’s favour,“ he said.

The cleric urged Nigerians to be steadfast in order to triumph over every adversity.

“Our leaders should adopt the servant-leader attribute of Jesus Christ by striving to enhance the quality of peoples’ lives rather than engaging in the inordinate acquisition of wealth.

“They must be more responsive to the yearning of the people and serve the urgent need of the citizens,’’ he said.

Ajayi also urged government at all levels to invest heavily on the protection of lives and property so that all forms of crimes and violence would be eliminated.

He said that this would make Nigeria a better and more conducive place for its citizens.