Nigeria needs prayers, says Bishop Okonkwo

The presiding Bishop of The Redeem Evangelical Ministry (TREM), Mike Okonkwo, has urged Nigerians be hopeful and to pray for the nation, especially now that the country is going through hard times.

Okonkwo, in his goodwill message to Nigerians on the countryís 56th Independence Anniversary, urged Nigerians not to lose hope in the country, in spite of daunting socio-economic challenges facing the nation.

“I urge every Nigerian to pray fervently and put their trust in God as we go through the present economic recession. Irrespective of the challenges currently facing us as a nation, I am a firm believer that prayer can change situations and circumstances, no matter how complex they may look.”

He further stressed that matters should be trashed out unaccompanied by ethnicity and politics.

The problem, however, with us as Nigerians is that rather than deal with issues as they come, we politicise them. In the developed nations of the world, they deal with issues holistically without ethnic or tribal sentiments. That is the reason why they seem to be on top of whatever comes their way.

I call on our leaders to bury their differences and tackle national issues with the urgency they deserve rather than politicise them. I still believe we can tackle our internal issues decisively just like we did during the Ebola scourge.