Nigeria’s former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo has identified greed, selfishness and ignorance as the bane of the nation’s stagnated development and its current situation.
Obasanjo said that God did not create Nigeria to be a “basket case,” emphasising that God gave the country all that were required to prosper.
The retired army General who made this known during the 40th Anniversary and Awards Service of the Methodist Church of Nigeria in Abuja on Sunday, where he and General Yakubu Gowon were honoured as Knights of John Wesley by the church, said Nigeria is a land filled with immense potential that can make it great again.
He emphasised that human shortcomings, greed, selfishness, and ignorance were to blame for the present challenges that Nigerians are experiencing.
He called for a renewed spiritual commitment among political and religious leaders, urging them to continue their prayers for peace and unity in the nation.
“Men of God, pastors, priests, bishops, archbishops, they should never stop being close to God and praying to God,” he said.
The former president shared a humorous analogy about God’s creation of Africa, where Nigeria was endowed with vast natural resources and beauty.
“When He got to Nigeria, He created Nigeria. He put two rivers, Benue and Niger. Now, there are not too many countries in which God did that.
“Then He went on to the soil. He put oil. He put tin. He put other minerals. And then He went to the coast. He put a beautiful coast. He put plenty of fish.
“And then Archangel Michael said to God, ‘Hey, you are doing too much.’ And God laughed and said, ‘Well, don’t worry. You will see the people of this country. They will mess it all up.’
“So what God has given to us, we have messed it up. It is not the fault of God. But then if we call the name of God and we go humbly before God and we show remorse and pray to God, God will heal our land,” he said.
Also, President Bola Tinubu who was represented by the Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, praised the Methodist Church for its longstanding contribution to the nation’s development.
“Over the past four decades in Abuja and 182 years in Nigeria, the Methodist Church has played a pivotal role in the development of our nation,” he said.
Tinubu acknowledged the church’s influence in promoting social justice, education, and humanitarian outreach.
“Your initiatives in education have empowered generations,” he remarked, emphasising the need for collaboration between the government and faith-based organisations to address societal challenges.
He further urged the church to continue its mission of compassion and support for the community. “The challenges we face as a nation require a united front,” he stated, inviting the church to act as a platform for social transformation.
The Prelate of the Methodist Church of Nigeria, His Eminence, Dr. Oliver Ali Aba, expressed gratitude for Nigeria’s resilience, saying, “Looking at some of these things that are happening around us, if it were in other nations, they would have gone fully. But we are still together.”
He emphasised the importance of collective efforts to build a prosperous nation, comparing Nigeria to a “baby crawling” that must eventually stand firm.
Aba highlighted the potential for greatness embedded within Nigerian society, asserting, “Nigeria has a pride of place in the map of the world because of our population.”
He called for unity and cooperation, urging all citizens to join hands for the development of the country. “All hands must be on deck; we must struggle together to make sure that Nigeria is built properly for posterity to come,” he said.
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