Worried by the unresolved Nigeria’s economic challenges, the religious leaders have called for national repentance, moral rebirth, and divine intervention, lamenting that successive governments had consistently failed to resolve the country’s socio-economic challenges.

Rising from a national prayer meeting held recently in Lagos, and organised by the Ministers of God Prayer Network International, the clerics attributed Nigeria’s persistent struggles to what they described as a fundamentally “faulty foundation.”

Speaking on the theme: “God’s Hands Are Healing the Nation,” the convener, Bishop Bola Oyegbami, identified ways of overcoming the challenges.

According to her, Nigeria’s obstacles would require a twin-track approach of combining spiritual reflection with direct personal accountability from every citizen.

Oyegbami said: “The foundation is afflicting the land, the people, and those governing it.” She emphasised that political leaders alone cannot turn the nation around and urged every Nigerian to come together and do his or her part.

She noted a widespread ethical decay across everyday society, ranging from extortion in public offices to artificial price inflation by market traders, as evidence that corruption is not confined to government officials.

Citing 2 Chronicles 7:14, Oyegbami urged Nigerians to humble themselves and seek spiritual renewal to heal the nation.

She further noted that fixing the structural and moral defects could improve living conditions at home, while creating an environment capable of attracting skilled Nigerians in the Diaspora to contribute to national growth.

On his own part, Ikeja Coordinator, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Evangelist Rotimi Ajayi, said that political solutions over the decades proved insufficient because they failed to tackle the root cause of the nation’s crisis, which specifically is the collapse in public and private morality.

Ajayi challenged faith institutions to take a harder look at their own practices, urging churches and religious bodies to stop celebrating unexplained wealth,instead return to preaching integrity, righteousness, and transparency.

“We need the fear of God,” Ajayi stated, noting that public office holders who divert shared resources for personal gain demonstrate a complete lack of moral foundation.

He called on the body of Christ to go back to the old path and ensure that they preach the gospel, fear of God, and God’s mind.

According to him, that will build up the nation.