Christians urged to participate in politics, governance

The General Overseer of Ever Increasing Anointing Ministries International, Igando, Lagos, Pastor Taiye Olayemi, has called on Christians to rise to the divine mandate given to them in Isaiah 9:6 to lead Nigeria, especially as 2023 general election draws near.

Olayemi noted that the devil in the past took advantage of Christian inaction in the nation’s politics to give the country wicked leaders.

In his keynote address as host of Prophet Isa EL Buba’s Initiative for Better and Brighter Nigeria (IBBN), a one-day ministers’ conference, held recently in his church, the cleric said that: “I want to assure you and verily, verily that because we (Christians) are inactive that is why Satan is in action. Nigeria is given to Christians to lead as divine mandate in Isaiah 9:6. So, in 2023 we must take over the leadership of this nation.”

He advised Christians who are yet to collect their Permanent Voter’s Cards (PVC) to go and collect them to be able to vote in God-fearing leaders in the 2023 general elections.

He said: “Any minister that now invites me to his ministry, must show me his PVC. If he does not have it, I won’t accept his invite. In our church, we don’t allow members without PVC to come in, let such members return home and worship without PVC. We have a committee on PVC, and through this committee, lots of our members have got their PVCs.

“Prayer without action is foolishness. It is time we know who we are in this world. We are not in Nigeria by accident. We are in Nigeria for a purpose. May we not get to heaven and be thrown out for failing to carry out our purpose on earth. Many will not make heaven not because of sin, but because of failure in fulfilling their God’s given purpose on earth. One main purpose is that we should be the light and the salt of the earth.”

The IBBN Lagos State Coordinator, Rev. Dr. Lawrence Osunsanmi, speaking on the theme, “Wake Up Nigeria,” said IBBN is globally acknowledged as the home of a new Nigeria. He enjoined participants to prepare themselves as good citizens for the unity of the Church and Nigeria at large.

Apostle James Okocha, IBBN’s Vice President/South Nigeria Coordinator, charged both the participants and Nigerians generally to take up the responsibility of rescuing Nigeria from its problems, instead of praying to God to rescue the country for them.

Okocha said that after completing creation on the seventh day, God handed the affairs of the earth to man, while He rested from all works.

“The Bible says on the seventh day of creation, God rested from all works. So how can people be praying to God who is resting to rescue them? It is our responsible to rescue Nigeria and not by praying to God to do so for us because God is resting and has given us the responsibility to change the affairs of this world,” Okocha noted.