The Bishop of the Diocese of Lagos West of the Anglican Communion, Rt Rev James Odedeji, has expressed optimism for Nigeria’s future, declaring that 2024 holds the promise of being a truly remarkable year for the country.
This was contained in a New Year Message made available to journalists on January 1 by the Coordinator of the Diocese Media Team, Tunji Oguntuase.
Odedeji, who took time to pray for Nigerians and institutions of government, said the time to favour Nigeria is now.
“God is about to do a new thing in our country and we all shall experience it as the Lord lives. My prayer is that evil will not prevail in the land.
All the elements of bad governance will not thrive in the year. I am optimistic that Nigeria will experience a new awakening irrespective of the bad indices that are confronting us,” he declared.
The Anglican Bishop, however, urged all those who are in places of authority to get to work.
“This is not a time to talk glibly about transformation. It is a time to work and be sincere with what God has committed into our hands. It is time for all those that have been put in charge of strategic places in governance to wake up and live up to their billing,” the Bishop stated.
He said though God has decided to favour Nigeria, if we don’t do the work, we will remain impoverished and will continue to cry.
“It is the responsibility of every Nigerian to work towards a new Nigeria. It will not come by magic. If we are not ready, God won’t be ready. God will not forcefully make our land good if we are not ready to do the work,” he said.
Oguntuase said the bishop decried the ongoing killings in the north, urging religious and community leaders to prevail on their people to live by the rules of the land.
“It is expected that the killings in the North should be a thing of the past. But it is still very much with us. This is sad. We can only pray and call for peace. May the Lord grant our leaders wisdom on how to handle this persistent state of insecurity of lives and property,” he added.
He called on President Bola Tinubu to work towards securing lives and property.
“Nigeria can’t afford the continuous bloodletting going on in the North and some other parts of Nigeria. It is time for our president to ensure that our security chiefs are up and doing. We have lost too many lives.
“The security of the country is at the doorstep of the President. He is the commander-in-chief. Innocent lives are being lost daily. We are appealing that President Tinubu should act fast and ensure that all the security chiefs are doing their work and they are not being compromised,” he added.