Osinbajo: With God’s Backing, Nigeria Will Overcome its Challenges

Deji Elumoye

Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo has given an assurance that with God’s backing, Nigeria will overcome the myriad of challenges facing it with time.

He was emphatic that the nation would eventually rise from its security and socio-economic challenges into the glorious light of dawn that would herald greater things for the country and its citizens, because the Spirit of God is in the land.

Osinbajo stated this yesterday in Abuja, at a send forth service for Revd. Israel Adelani Akanji, the new President of the Nigerian Baptist Convention, who until recently, served for 22 years as Senior Pastor and Minister in Charge of the First Baptist Church, Garki.

The vice president in a brief remarks at the service quoted from the first chapter in the Biblical Book of Genesis, to compare events surrounding the creation of the heaven and earth to the nation’s present challenges and the lives of great individuals.

According to him: “indeed, the lives of great men and women, even as the lives of nations teach important lessons.”
He noted that, “in the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. The beginning was bleak, confused, without form, empty.

“This is the way of the lives of some of the greatest men and women and also nations. There might be confusion, grief, trouble, darkness and fear. But even in that confusion, the Bible tells us that the Spirit of the Lord was hovering over the face of the deep. God was in the darkness, He did not run away, He is not asleep.

“So, it is with our nation. Today, some things may seem bleak and grave, with insecurity, economic difficulties, but even in the midst of these problems, the Spirit of God is in this land, it is here, hovering over this nation.”

He further said: “So, what happens next in verse three? We are told that suddenly God spoke, ‘let there be light…and there was light.’

“The darkness came to an end, the fear, insecurity came to an end. So, it shall be for you and our nation. In the next verse, scripture says, God saw the light that it was good….so it shall be for you and our nation. The light will come and it shall be good, very good.”

The vice president also commended the attributes of the new President of the Baptist Convention, describing Akanji as a humble and credible leader who has continued to forge pathways for peace and unity as an effective bridge builder between faiths and ethnicities, realising that Christ died for all men, and that the gospel is the gospel of peace.

While congratulating the cleric on his inauguration as President of the Baptist Convention, Osinbajo noted that Akanji has also served the Body of Christ in Nigeria as the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Chairman of Federal Capital Territory, and is still serving as the CAN North Central Zone’s leader.

According to him, Akanji’s “practical demonstration of the gospel of the love of Christ is his recipe for conflict resolution.”

Noting his determination to forge pathways for peace and unity, the VP observed that Akanji’s doctorate thesis was on, “Theology of Conflict Transformation in Contemporary Nigerian Society.”

“I took the trouble to read portions of it to better understand his thoughts. He proposed a new approach which challenges the religious institutions, particularly the Church, through its pastoral ministry, to become actively involved in the transformation of conflict in the nation through a practical theology, a theology of hospitality,” he added.