And it was so, that when the children of Ammon made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to fetch Jephthah out of the land of Tob (Judges 11:5).
Barrister Emeka Nwankpa wrote a book in 1994 entitled REDEEMING THE LAND. In that book, he described the Church as an institution of spiritual violence established by God to destroy the gates of hell. He explained that the Church can do charitable works like showing mercy, visiting the sick, and visiting prisoners in prison. Those are good works, but they are not the primary purpose of the Church. Quoting Matt. 18:16, "upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it," he postulated that the primary purpose of the Church was to assail the gates of hell and destroy them (Pg. 22). Wherever the Church is not assailing the gates of hell to destroy them, those gates will attack the Church and seek to destroy it. The Church must always be on the offensive against hell.
Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure (Isaiah 46:9-10).
When God speaks, it comes to pass. No word of the Most High returns to Him void (Isa. 55:11). Neither man nor Satan can stop or hinder what the Almighty God has purposed to do. However, due to the free will that God has given to man, and the dominion which God has entrusted to man on earth (Ps. 115:16), there are instances in which man has refused to cooperate with God’s purpose. Such refusals do not nullify the purpose of God; they merely delay it. If a generation will not cooperate with God to enter the Promised Land two years after leaving Egypt, God will wait for an additional thirty-eight years for a generation that would cooperate. Israel must enter the Promised Land. Amen.
And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and the beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him. And all nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son's son, until the very time of his land come: and then many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of him (Jer. 27:6-7).
On 1st July 2016, God gave a vision in which He made it clear that His word to Nigeria was Jeremiah 27. That message was delivered in November 2016 at the annual National Prophetic Conference in Ibadan. It was explained that Buhari carried the spirit of Nebuchadnezzar, and he would not die, and after him would come “his son, and his son's son” (Jer. 27:7). It was further explained that unless the Church genuinely repented, there would be three generations of "Nebuchadnezzar" to trouble the land. Following that message was a call for national repentance. Christians generally participated, but Church leaders did not.
GENOCIDE COUNTER-NARRATIVES: WHEN SHEPHERDS BECOME PREDATORS
I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep (John 10:11-13).
MARATHON PRAYERS Monday 18th – Sunday 24th August 2025
THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT
Thou shalt not commit adultery (Exodus 20:14).
In two previous prayer bulletins, we drew attention to three things that defile a land and bring judgment upon the people: 1. Bloodshed 2. Idolatry 3. Adultery
MARATHON PRAYERS Monday 25th – Sunday 31st August 2025
NOBODY KNOWS THE DAY AND THE HOUR? – (Part 1 of 5)
And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the Lord hath not spoken? When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him (Deut. 18:21-22).
INTRODUCTION
A major concern in the Church has been how to ascertain the veracity of a prophecy. God provided an answer in Deut. 18:21-22. If what the prophet says does not come to pass, God did not speak through him, except in the case of a call to repentance for averting judgment, as was the case of Jonah and Nineveh. When Nineveh repented, Jonah’s prophecy of doom was averted.
This Bible verse should be kept in view as we commence an examination of spiritual, physical, and scientific signs pointing to 23 – 24 September 2025 as the time of the Lord’s return to take His people home. Christians describe that event as the Rapture of the Church. We shall unpack those signs subsequently. The information that shall be presented in the next few weeks with respect to those signs is compelling and demands sober and careful examination. This is not an attempt at sensationalism, nor is it a cause for controversy in the Body of Christ. It is a sincere effort at ensuring that saints are awake and alert, as commanded by the Lord in Luke 21:36: “Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.”
The first objection that is likely to arise in the mind of many Christians is that “no man knows the day and hour, except the Father only,” according to Matt. 24:36, but that was a Jewish idiom referring to the Feast of Trumpets. It is like the metaphor of a camel passing through the eye of a needle, which cannot be interpreted literally (Matt. 19:24). The “needle’s eye” referred to openings in the wall of Jerusalem for sheep and goats to get back into the city after grazing outside the walls, when the city gates have been shut for the day. Jesus’ audience understood Him in the matter of the idiom of the camel’s eye as well as with respect to the feast referenced as “No man knows the day or the hour” – The Feast of Trumpets.
This information is necessary to help us approach the issues with an open mind and prepare for the coming of the Lord. What has anyone got to lose even if those dates turned out otherwise? The Lord has warned, “And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth” (Luke 21:34-35).
Under the circumstances, every Christian should prepare to meet the Lord, awakened to the reality of eternal life and eternal destruction. Where restitution needs to be made, let it be done hastily, with the wisdom of God. Forgive those who have trespassed against you and apologize to those who genuinely require apology. Let every stained garment be cleansed in repentance with the Blood of the Lamb. Maybe, that is the key to the new Nigeria.
“Even so, come, Lord Jesus” (Rev. 22:20).
PRAYER POINTS
1). 1 John 4:1 Pray that God will confirm His truth about the coming of the Lord and deliver His people from the error of the five foolish virgins.
2). 1 Thes. 5:1-5 Pray for light to the people of God, so that the coming of the Lord will not catch them unprepared and unaware.
3). Lev. 17:11 Plead the Blood of Jesus to make atonement for your soul and that of the members of your family.
4). Luke 21:34-36 Pray for grace to be accounted worthy to escape all the evils coming upon the world, and to stand before Jesus Christ in glory.
5). 1 Tim. 2:3-4 Intercede for the salvation of all unsaved souls, that they shall come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
6). 2 Tim. 2:22 Intercede for the deliverance and salvation of the youths of this generation. Pray that God will deliver them from the snares of the devil and save their soul.
7). Is. 49:25-26 Intercede for the safety and deliverance of the Wailing Women kidnapped recently on their way from a conference
MARATHON PRAYERS Monday 11th – Sunday 17th August 2025
TOWARDS 2027
... for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light (Luke 16:8).
As Nigeria approaches another crucial election season, it is good for Christians to review their impact on politics and power in Nigeria. It amounts to naivety for any Christian to claim that the Church should not get involved in politics. Isaiah 9:6 places the responsibility of good governance on earth upon the Church: "For unto us a child is born ... and the government shall be upon his shoulder." The shoulder is a part of the body. That prophetically places the responsibility of governance upon the Body, Christ being the Head of that body.
MARATHON PRAYERS Monday 4th – Sunday 10th August 2025
A CHURCH IN NEED OF DISCERNMENT
His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter (Isa. 56:10-11).
There are two categories of ministers of God in the sanctuary. They are highlighted in Ezekiel 44 as follows:
1. Those who minister to the house 2. Those who minister to the Lord
Both categories are in the sanctuary and are recognized by God. However, while those who minister to the “house” are restricted to the outer court, only those who minister to the Lord are permitted to enter the Holy of Holies and come near to God.
Ez. 44:11 says, "Yet they shall be ministers in my sanctuary, having charge at the gates of the house, and ministering to the house." Why would God restrict some ministers in the sanctuary to the outer court? Ezekiel 44:12-13 provides the answer: "Because they ministered unto them before their idols, and caused the house of Israel to fall into iniquity; ... And they shall not come near unto me, to do the office of a priest unto me, nor to come near to any of my holy things, in the most holy place: but they shall bear their shame, and their abominations which they have committed."
The other category of ministers in the sanctuary has a different assignment. Ez. 44:15-16 describes them as follows: "But the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept the charge of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me, they shall come near to me to minister unto me, and they shall stand before me to offer unto me the fat and the blood, saith the Lord God: They shall enter into my sanctuary, and they shall come near to my table, to minister unto me, and they shall keep my charge."
The difference between both is how they handled ministry when the people of God went astray. One category pleased the people, the other only did what pleased the Lord, but neither of them realized that the Lord was watching them. Those that pleased the people ministered to them before their idols, and they enjoyed the patronage of the people, while the other group suffered lack of human attention. The crux of the matter was, commitment to the Lord. The frightening thing, even today, is that both are in the sanctuary.
At this point, it may be necessary to ask, What is the idol of the people of God in this generation? Eph. 5:5 says, "For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God." The Bible adds in Col. 3:5, "Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry." In the New Testament, covetousness is idolatry.
Covetousness is the opposite of the contentment and self-denial that Jesus called His disciples to adopt. Much of the crave of some Christians for "prosperity" is fuelled by covetousness. That is the “idol” that many prosperity preachers join the backslidden believers to worship. The command of God for the New Testament saint is clear in Heb. 13:5, "Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." The Lord warns His followers in Luke 12:15, "Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth." Under the guise of prosperity, covetousness has become a major doctrine in the Church.
Two types of churches are recognized in the world today: the true Church and the harlot Church. The harlot Church prostitutes its calling and anointing. If there is harlot Church, it presupposes that there are harlot pastors. The Bible refers to it as the Laodicean Church. That is the Church that boasts, "I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing." Meanwhile, the Lord laments over that Church, "thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked" (Rev. 3:17).
Ministers who serve the people in their idolatry face a lot of dangers. They will have no reward from the Lord, and if they get into trouble, the Lord will not help them, because they do not serve Him. When their oil dries up, they cannot expect the Lord to refill them. That may be why some ministers of the gospel are turning to charismatic witchcraft and Satanic covenants for power. The Lord does not supply them with fresh anointing. Unfortunately, greed and pride will not allow them to repent and return to serving the Lord. The adulation of men, and praises of the people blind their eyes from the beauty of, and eternal reward in, serving Christ.
Pastor Elton lamented this condition in the Nigeria Church many years ago, when he said, “I see crowd, I see cars, I see cash, but I do not see Christ.” Every minister of the gospel should ask himself/herself, “Am I ministering to the Lord, or to the house?” At the same time, each believer should ask himself/herself, “Is my pastor ministering to the Lord, or to the house?” This second question is very important for every believer, because wherever the shepherd goes, the sheep will follow. It is a spiritual principle. The sheep follow the shepherd. If the shepherd is going to hell, the sheep are likely to be in the same danger.
In the Nigeria Church, obsession with mammon has caused much problem. Apart from causing spiritual blindness, it has robbed the Church of credibility, power, and moral authority. The average pastor in Nigeria is suspected as a fraud. It is one of the consequences of the 'ministry to the house' when believers go after their idols which, in our time, is covetousness.
The other danger is that it has robbed the Church of discernment. The Church is unable to distinguish between right and wrong, holy and unclean, the sacred and the profane. Consequently, the Church was manipulated in recent years to take decisions that brought calamity upon Nigeria and the Body of Christ. It is shameful that it was Church leaders that endorsed and put the politicians into power in 2015. They facilitated the re-election of the controversial Buhari in 2019 and endorsed the heinous electoral fraud of 2023. Some Church leaders not only promoted that party into power, but also gave it a pastor as first Vice President. Why did the Church commit such grievous errors? The leaders lacked discernment.
In 2014, Mama V. A. of the Jury Ministry, asked God about the spiritual condition of the two major parties that were contesting for power, the PDP and the APC. Soon as she asked, God showed her PDP as half-man and half-beast, and the APC as complete beast, with no iota of humanity. The past ten years of APC leadership in Nigeria have confirmed that the woman saw correctly. She informed whoever cared to listen to be careful in exercising their votes.
The Nigeria Church is in dire need of leaders with discernment. Another election is drawing close, and emerging signals indicate that the ministers serving the house have not repented. Discernible moves have commenced in the Church that strongly suggest that the “ministers to the house” have commenced another round of commercial transactions.
In the circumstances, what should the Church do? The Church must review its leadership structure and, more importantly, the process that produces leaders in the Church. Christians should interrogate the selection process that keeps producing greedy and profane persons as leaders in the Nigeria Church. This assertion is neither slander nor disrespect. The quality of Christian leadership in this season of distress falls far below the Scriptural standard.
The current leadership selection process must be overhauled, and the Church should conduct a leadership performance audit. Too many innocent people are dying while the leadership of the Church keeps transacting business with corrupt and ungodly politicians. The voice of the Church is quiet in the hallowed chambers of truth where the Body of Christ is expected to speak truth to power.
The relentless murder of Christians all over the country and the overwhelming population of 8.18 million Nigerians in IDP camps should incense any God-fearing Christian leadership. Unfortunately, Christian leadership remains passive. May the Lord raise credible voices in the Body of Christ that will demand a review of the leadership structure of the Church. The passivity and compromise of the Church must not continue.
God bless Nigeria.
PRAYER POINTS
1. Is.56:10-11 Repent on behalf of Nigeria Church for the passivity and compromise of Church leaders who are meant to stand for the Church in this season of distress.
2. John 10:12-13 Pray that God will uproot from His Church all the hirelings who use Christian positions to promote their selfish interest rather than protect the flock of Christ.
3. John 10:11
Pray that God will raise good shepherds for the Nigeria Church who will place the interest of Christians above theirs.
4. Acts 6:1-4 Pray that God will raise credible persons who will ensure that the Church is re-organized to respond effectively to existential threats against Christianity in Nigeria.
5. Isa. 45:12-13 Intercede for Christians in the IDP camps, that God will intervene for them to return home. A United Nations report stated that 8.18 million Nigerians are in IDP camps.
6. Job 5:12-13 Pray that God will frustrate every Church leader that is paid to support and promote corrupt politicians to remain in power.
7. 2 Cor. 6:14-18 Pray for the gift of discerning of spirits for the Nigeria Church, so that Christians will always separate the sacred from the profane.
MARATHON PRAYERS Monday 28th July – Sunday 3rd August 2025
THE NICOLAITANES
So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me (Ez. 33:7).
In the Marathon Prayer call of Monday 30th June – Sunday 6th July 2025, reference was made to four diversionary groups in the early days of the Church. Those groups were initiated by the devil to dilute, distract, and discredit the gospel of Jesus. The four groups were the Epicureans, Stoicks, Gnostics, and the Nicolaitanes. Of the four, the Gnostics were not mentioned in the Scriptures. Below is a short summary of what each group represented.
MARATHON PRAYERS Monday 21st – Sunday 27th July 2025
IT IS TIME FOR A GENERATION SHIFT
One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever (Ecc. 1:4)
The human society is structured in three generational categories: 1) the generation of elders who have served the society and are in retirement from active service, 2) the generation of those who actively constitute the work force, 3) the generation that is growing and is not yet ready for service or leadership.
MARATHON PRAYERS Monday 14th– Sunday 20th July 2025
WE JUST WANT TO GO HOME
For, lo, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, saith the Lord: and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it (Jer. 30:3).
MARATHON PRAYERS Monday 30th June – Sunday 6th July 2025
THE VEIL
But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them (2 Cor. 4:4).
MARATHON PRAYERS Monday 23rd – Sunday 29th June 2025
RENEGOTIATE CHRISTIANITY IN NIGERIA
Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful (1 Cor. 4:2).
While it is admitted that there is urgent need to RENEGOTIATE NIGERIA, the critical prerequisite is the need to renegotiate Christianity in the country. If there is going to be a new Nigeria, there must be a new Church, and if there is going to be a new Church, there must be new Christian character. Whereas there is widespread dissatisfaction with the state of the Church in Nigeria, the truth of the matter is that individual Christians make up the Church. Therefore, if the Church is badly perceived, the logical conclusion is that most of those who profess Christianity are unconverted and unrepentant human beings.
MARATHON PRAYERS Monday 16th – Sunday 22nd June 2025
NIGERIA: THE ROAD TO ARMISTICE
And therefore will the Lord wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the Lord is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him (Isaiah 30:18)
In a previous prayer bulletin entitled “WHO ARE THE KILLERS IN NIGERIA?”, three categories of leaders of the indigenous ethnic nationalities were identified as culpable in the ongoing bloodshed, due to their negligence: 1) their traditional rulers, 2) their religious leaders, particularly the Christian leaders, and 3) their politicians. By their failure to provide vibrant and virile leadership to defend their people, they provide the reprehensible convenience for the killers to operate.
Having examined the failure of the leaders of the indigenous ethnic nationalities in Nigeria, it is fair to also look at the leaders of the Fulanis. It is indisputable that in the ongoing war in Nigeria, the Fulanis are the aggressors. In this matter, those who protest a perceived “ethnic profiling” of the Fulanis are dishonest and deliberately mischievous. It is on record that the Fulanis brought mercenaries into Nigeria before the 2015 elections, to help them take the presidency (https://businessday.ng/news/article/how-we-brought-in-fulani-militias-from-mali-sierra-leone-senegal-others-to-win-2015-election-kawu-baraje/). A former governor of Kaduna State admitted publicly that his government paid (Fulani) terrorists to stop attacking his state, and Buhari launched the questionable “Open Visa Policy” that opened the borders of Nigeria to Fulanis in the Sahel to enter the country. From the hundreds of villages sacked by insurgents and terrorists, the residents, who have been forced into IDP camps, have generally confirmed that those who drove them out and took over their lands are Fulanis. Apart from those forced out of their ancestral homes, abductees who have been lucky to escape from the den of their kidnappers, after paying hefty ransoms, have also usually confirmed that their kidnappers were Fulanis. The allegation that Fulanis are victims of ethnic profiling has no basis.
The question begging for an answer is, why have the leaders of the Fulanis failed to call their youths to order, if they are truly not in support of their havoc? Some years ago, when some youths in the Niger Delta got restive and took to arms against the Nigerian state, leaders and elders in the Niger Delta entered the creeks and reasoned with their children and persuaded them to come to the negotiating table with the government. That was how the Amnesty Program under President Yar’adua succeeded. Why haven’t the elders and the leaders of the Fulanis done the same?
Last week’s prayer bulletin entitled “RISALA” addressed the apparent ethnic agenda of the Fulanis to continue the Uthman Dan Fodio expansionist expedition all over Nigeria, which was halted in 1903 through the defeat of the Fulanis by the British. Before then, the Fulanis had taken over Hausaland and supplanted all their traditional, local, and municipal rulers. The Hausas were turned into “dhimmis” (second class citizens) on their own land. One shudders that the same model of “dhimmis” is what the Fulanis have in mind for the rest of Nigerians who have accommodated them.
The situation is not helped by the very disturbing statements of some elders and leaders of the Fulani stock to the effect that Nigeria belongs to the Fulanis (https://www.vanguardngr.com/2020/06/outrage-greets-miyetti-allahs-nigeria-belongs-to-fulani-comment/). A former governor of Bauchi State, in a widely circulated video, said all Fulanis in Africa have the right to live in Nigeria (https://tribuneonlineng.com/bauchi-governor-on-the-stateless-fulani/). Former President Buhari, another Fulani, introduced the Open Visa Policy by which his kinsmen could stream into the country (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-50758323). All of these strengthen the allegation that the bloodshed in Nigeria is a deliberate conspiracy to take over the lands of indigenous ethnic nationalities in Nigeria. This must not be true. It is as absurd as a superpower like the USA or China waking up one day to say that their god has given them an independent country like Canada or Saudi Arabia, and they start killing those people to take over their land. The public assertion of Sir Ahmadu Bello on 12th October 1960 that Nigeria would be an estate of his great-grandfather was, unfortunately, not challenged by that generation. Had it been challenged, Sir Ahmadu Bello might have been tried in court for treason.
This unfolding scenario compels an appeal to the national leader of the Fulanis in Nigeria, the Sultan of Sokoto. The Sultan is recognized in the country as a statesman. It is therefore very disturbing that such a statesman should, to all appearance, fold his arms and permit the carnage that is unleashed upon the citizens of Nigeria by his kith and kin. In the circumstances, someone may reasonably conclude that there is covert complicity, which is sure to be denied for political correctness. Such implicit complicity is not the attribute of a statesman. Nevertheless, the nagging question remains, that something more visible and impactful should have been done by the Sultan in the over 15 years since this insurgency started. It is more worrisome when one considers that the bloodshed started in 2009, three years after he ascended the throne in 2006.
Considering some of the offices held by the Sultan, certainly, his royal highness does not lack the authority to call the terrorists, bandits, insurgents, and his kinsmen herdsmen to order. The following are five offices of the Sultan:
1. “Amirul Mumuni” – Commander of the Faithfuls. This title suggests a military status, like Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria. In the case of the “Amirul Mumuni”, the holder of the title controls the forces of jihad. Jihad cannot be launched without his approval, nor can it continue without his consent.
2. “Sarkin Musulmi” – The King of Muslims. Whatever Muslims do in Nigeria, the Sarkin Musulmi is accountable because he is their king. All the bandits, terrorists, insurgents, and herdsmen are Muslims.
3. President, Nigerian Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs
4. President, Jama'atu Nasril Islam (JNI) - The JNI is an umbrella body for various Islamic organizations in Nigeria, aiming to promote Islam and defend Muslim rights, as generally said, through peaceful means. At present, non-Fulani Muslims are being killed in their thousands in Zamfara, Niger, Katsina, Kebbi, Kaduna, Sokoto, and other states in the federation.
5. The traditional ruler over the Fulanis - This implies that all the herdsmen in Nigeria are the subjects of the Sultan.
The holder of these offices has the requisite authority to put an end to Islamist insurgency in Nigeria. As a nationally acclaimed statesman, the Sultan has a role to play in disarming the insurgents, like the statesmen of the Niger Delta did a few years ago with their youths. Disarming the insurgents should not be difficult for the statesman. He had an illustrious career in the army, starting as the head of the Presidential bodyguard while General Ibrahim Babangida was military “President” of Nigeria. Later, he was posted to Pakistan as Defence Attaché at the Nigerian High Commission, with concurrent accreditation to Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Iran. An individual who covered those countries, which are hotbeds of Islamist insurgency, should know how to resolve the crisis in Nigeria. He retired from the army as a Brigadier General and Intelligence Officer. These details are sufficiently significant not to suggest someone incapable of reasonable deterrence.
This is not to assert that the elders of the Fulanis are directly behind the activities of the insurgents and herdsmen, but Nigerians find a moral and ethical challenge in their apparent passivity in dealing with the problem. A situation in which the youths of an ethnic stock have taken up arms against the entire state, and their elders and leaders are not visibly restraining them, is reasonably worrisome. It suggests either complicity or condemnable negligence. If the leaders of the Niger Delta had acted the same way, Nigeria would have collapsed many years ago.
Those who are placed in positions of authority are meant primarily to use their position to promote the common good. A Yoruba proverb says, “It is better for a man not to ascend the throne than to say he has no control over his domain”. For example, the revered Sultan, a statesman, cannot claim that he has no control over his domain. Islam is his domain, and the herdsmen are his subjects. The Sultan should call his people to order. Their havoc all over the country indicts his leadership. Statesmanship is not a decoration; it comes with a responsibility.
Nigeria is too large and its people too many for any individual or group of individuals to believe that they can kill and continue to kill, without consequence. We are not living in the 6th century or some primitive era in history when anyone could rise to exterminate other peoples without consequence. No matter how corrupt and greedy the nations of the world have become, there are global institutional structures that call nations to order. During and after the Second World War, Germany and Japan faced the consequences of their actions during that war. Charles Taylor of Liberia accounted for the genocide in his country. The world has moved on from primitive times. The elders and leaders of the Fulanis must stand to be counted in the search for an armistice in Nigeria. It is time to bring the madness to an end.
God bless Nigeria.
PRAYER POINTS
1). Isa. 30:18 Pray that God’s righteous justice and judgment will be manifest in Nigeria over the wanton destruction of lives and properties.
2). Zech. 3:2 Pray that the Lord shall rebuke Satan and all his forces operating in Nigeria.
3). Heb. 12:22-24 Plead the Blood of Jesus to nullify and neutralize satanic blood sacrifices and rituals in Nigeria through the shedding of the blood of innocent people.
4). 2 Tim. 2:25-26 Pray that God will grant mercy to all whom Satan has captured as his instruments of death and destruction in Nigeria. Pray that they may receive grace to repent and confess their evil deeds, while mercy still lasts.
5). Col. 2:14-15 Pray that every ordinance, decree, or law in Nigeria that is contrary to the peace and progress of Nigeria shall be taken out of the way. Pray for a new constitution to replace the 1999 constitution (as amended).
6). 2 Chr. 2:11-12 Pray that God will raise a new generation of leaders for Nigeria, who will promote truth, righteousness, and justice.
7). Isa. 60:18-19 Pray that violence and destruction shall no more be heard of in Nigeria. Pray for peace all over the country.
MARATHON PRAYERS Monday 2nd - Sunday 8th June 2025
WHO ARE THE KILLERS IN NIGERIA?
Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon (2 Sam. 12:9).
The study of Criminology identifies three elements of crime: object, motive, and opportunity. For every crime, the three elements would usually be in place. The object is the material of the crime, e.g. the item stolen or destroyed. That could be money, a car, jewelry, food, time, or land. The motive is the propelling force for the crime: the hunger or greed that led to the theft, or the jealousy for which a wife poured acid on the husband’s perceived girlfriend. Finally, opportunity refers to the enabling environment for the crime. For example, no thief would steal if they feared that they would be caught, but the carelessness of an owner or the absence of security can provide a convenient opportunity for the theft. A criminal would usually abort a plan if unsure of a clean escape.
MARATHON PRAYERS Monday 26th May - Sunday 1st June 2025
RE-NEGOTIATE NIGERIA
Her princes within her are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves; they gnaw not the bones till the morrow. Her prophets are light and treacherous persons: her priests have polluted the sanctuary, they have done violence to the law (Zeph. 3:3-4).
MARATHON PRAYERS Monday 5th - Sunday 11th May 2025
ELIASHIB, THE HIGH PRIEST
A couple of weeks ago, we published a prayer call entitled “THE TIRSHATHA”. There, we looked at Nehemiah as an example of Godly leadership during crisis. Within the Nehemiah account lies an account of ungodly leadership amidst crises. Both accounts are preserved in the Scriptures for our learning and admonition.
Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child, and thy princes eat in the morning! Blessed art thou, O land, when thy king is the son of nobles, and thy princes eat in due season, for strength, and not for drunkenness! (Ecc. 10:16-17).
MARATHON PRAYERS Monday 21st - Sunday 27th April 2025
OUR GREATEST ENEMY IS HATE
This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you (John 15:12).
On 7th February 2017, during the biennial conference of Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) in Benin City, Edo State, the then Vice President of Nigeria, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, delivered the keynote address entitled “Our Greatest Enemy is Hate.” In the paper, Prof. Osinbajo catalogued the series of riots in Nigeria, mostly religious riots in the northern parts of the country. The account was chilling. A short excerpt from his paper reads as follows:
"Between 1979 and 1983, during the Shagari administration, there were the Maitatsine crises in Kano, Maiduguri, Kaduna, Yola, and the Gombe riots in 1980, and the Kalakuta crises in Bulumkutu, Maiduguri, where over 5,000 died and 60,000 were displaced. In the first coming of the military administration of General Muhammadu Buhari (1983 – 1985), we also had the Maitatsine riot in Jimeta, and in Yola in February 1985. In that riot, about 586 died. A re-occurrence was seen in the Pagani ward of Gombe in April of the same year, claiming another 165 souls. The Maitatsine crisis ended with General Buhari’s Government which put a stop to it in 1985.
"The spiral of religious clashes, however, continued in the Babangida administration (August 1985 – 1993). You might recall, for instance, the Easter procession clashes in Ilorin in March 1986 and the clashes between Christian and Muslim students of the University of Ibadan in May 1986. There was also the violence in Jos in 1987 and the Kafanchan crises in Southern Kaduna, the same year, where thousands of people died in Kafanchan, Kano, Zamfara and Bauchi. Religious riots still occurred in the following year in Bauchi and Gombe as well as in Zaria and Kaduna where 107 students of the Ahmadu Bello University were seriously injured during the election of a Christian to the leadership of the Students Union.
"A Shiite uprising followed in Katsina in 1991, with dozens of lives lost. Another clash of Christians and Muslims in Bauchi in April 21, 1991 claimed 200 lives, and 700 places of worship were burnt. Other notable cases include the Bonnke Riot of October 1991 in which hundreds died in Kano and the renewed Kafanchan crises of 1992 where, at least, 60 were killed in Zango Kataf. Several more lives were lost in Funtua, Katsina State during the Kalakato crises of February 1992. Under the Military administration of General Abacha in November 1993 to June 9, 1998, there were two occurrences of religious riots again in Jos in April 1994 and April 1997 where, at least, 200 houses were burnt down and several persons killed."
The full paper can be accessed at: https://proshare.co/articles/acting-president-yemi-osinbajos-speech-at-the-pfn-14th-national-biennial-conference-in-benin-city?menu=Economy&classification=Read&category=Politics
The unfortunate narrative above has been surpassed by the cycle of violence and destruction unleased upon Nigeria from 2009 to date. The magnitude of the destruction of lives and properties that has taken place in Nigeria from 2009 makes the narrative above a child’s play. Insurgent groups like Boko Haram, Fulani 'Herdsmen,' 'Bandits,' Al Qaeda, Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), and the other terrorist organizations have turned Nigeria into killing fields. Clearly, their actions are motivated by hate.
Recently, Christians in the North and Middle Belt regions of Nigeria have been traumatized, oppressed, persecuted, and afflicted in the most inhumane manner unimaginable, as reported below of the Gbagyi people:
• They hunt the people on the farm to kidnap and demand payment of ransoms in millions of Naira. For example, just last year, a young man called Isaac Yari was kidnapped on his farm near Rumanan Gbagyi. He was shot and left in the pool of his blood for days and they still collected ransom in the form of motor bikes. • They come to communities like Sarari, Sabon Gida, Pappana, Malfa, Rimi, etc to demand ransom in millions of Naira. • Reliefs, like bags of grains from trucks, are usually dropped to themselves or the whole truck diverted to their camps. • They threaten the people to farm for them, the bandits. • They come to the villagers to take their chickens, goats and force the women to cook for them. • They force the young girls to marry them. • They abuse the women and young girls.
The National Christian Elders Forum (NCEF) identified two major factors responsible for violence and disunity in Nigeria: 1. The supremacist ideology of a particular ethnic group 2. The doctrine of hate taught in Madrasas of northern Nigeria
History has confirmed that one section of the country is filled with hate and intolerance towards other sections of the country. That hate is not in-born; it is deliberately taught and nurtured as a tool for political and cultural domination. The hate is being deployed on the platform of a religion. The solution is not counter hate but the infusion of the superior ideology of love. Hate will always beget hate. Those who promote the doctrine of hate have destruction and death as their ultimate goal. At a meeting of some select religious leaders in Abuja in 2015, it was agreed that violence cannot prevail against an ideology. Only a counter ideology can. The Church has that counter ideology.
In addition to the various prayers for Nigeria, the Church should consider practical ways of deploying its counter ideology of love to overcome the destructive doctrine of hate that wreaks so much havoc in the country. As Prof. Osinbajo wondered in his paper in 2017, “… why is it that no administration since 1970 has succeeded in completely stopping these killings? ... It is because the answer to hate lies with the Church. It can only be found in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.” Prof. Osinbajo went further, “How can a man pray for those who, in his presence, killed his children and ripped out the baby with which his wife was pregnant? How do you love someone who comes into your community annually to kill as many as he can find? How do I turn the other cheek when the bones of the right side of my face have been cracked by the first slap?” The answer to this question is provided by God when He says in His word, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord” (Rom. 12:19).
While we appreciate the good words of Prof. Osinbajo in 2017, we are not by this prayer call absolving the government of Buhari (in which Prof. Osinbajo was the Number Two man) of criminal negligence with respect to managing the security of the country. The security architecture of Nigeria collapsed under the Buhari presidency. For historical accuracy, we are referring to the paper delivered by the former Vice President because no one can contest the authenticity of the data it provides.
The challenge facing the Church, within the equal rights of self-defense, is how to mobilize and deploy its superior ideology of love to overcome the destructive ideology of hate that is ravaging the country. A Muslim convert to Christianity in the North said, “If Christians live like Christians, no Muslim will remain a Muslim.”
It is time for Christians to awaken the love of Christ in their individual lives as well as in their churches. Currently, the love of Christ is in short supply within the Church. The current atmosphere of division and contention amongst Christian groups, as well as amongst church leaders, is a manifestation of hate, not love. The open strife amongst some ministers of the gospel promotes division amongst their followers. Going by the command of Jesus in John 13:35, "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another" it will appear that the Nigeria Church lacks genuine disciples of Jesus.
The neglect of persecuted Christians in the country, particularly those in IDP camps, is a serious indictment of the Nigeria Church. All efforts to mobilize Christians to help those in IDPs have yielded little result. In one extreme case, church leaders wilfully destroyed structures that were built to mobilize support for Christian IDPs.
The Church that is meant to deploy the ideology of love to combat hate in the country is battling hate within its fold. A Church that would not demonstrate the love of Christ to its members will find it difficult to utilize the ideology of love to counter the ideology of hate in the land. The first step is for Christian leaders to build structures to resolve strife amongst ministers of the gospel. Such a structure was proposed in the Strategy Document submitted to CAN by the National Christian Elders Forum in 2015. Regrettably, the document was not implemented. If the Church does not have a structure to maintain discipline and orderliness, building Christian love and unity will remain a mirage.
Having identified hate as our worst enemy, conscious efforts should be made in the Church to eliminate hate within the Body of Christ. There must be conscious plans to promote brotherly love amongst the saints. One of such works is to support persecuted Christians. If the enemies of the Church see Christians taking care of persecuted Christians, they will begin to respect them. However, if the current attitude of neglect of Christian IDPs persists, the message is that nobody cares for the persecuted, and the terrorists would be emboldened to afflict them the more.
We are commanded by the Master to demonstrate the love of God to a broken world, starting from the household of God. In 1 Cor. 13 we are taught that if we do everything but do not have love, we are nothing. May our love not grow cold.
PRAYER POINTS
1. John 13:35 The Nigeria Church has fallen below the expectation of the Lord with regards to brotherly love. Pray for forgiveness and ask for the Lord’s intervention for Christians to walk in love towards each other.
2. Jam. 4:1-3 Pray for the righteous judgment of God to fall upon ministers of the gospel who are causing divisions amongst the saints because of their contentions and covetousness.
3. Num. 35:33-34 For many years, Nigeria has been polluted by the blood of the innocent. Pray that God will purge and cleanse the land from the pollution and defilement of bloodshed, according to His righteous judgment.
4. Rom. 12:17-19 Pray that God will execute judgment according to His word upon all who afflict Christians in Nigeria. Pray God’s judgment on all the sponsors, collaborators, and foot soldiers of the various expressions of terrorism in Nigeria.
5. Matt. 24:22 Pray that God will shorten the days of His indignation against Nigeria so that a righteous government shall emerge to tackle insecurity in the country.
6. Ps. 91:9-13 Pray for divine protection for Christians undergoing persecution in Nigeria. Pray that God will send angels to protect them from all attacks.
7. Matt. 6:10 Pray that the Government of the Kingdom of God shall come upon Nigeria and the will of God be done all over the country. Amen.
MARATHON PRAYERS Monday 7th March - Sunday 13th April 2025
GOVERNMENT UPON HIS SHOULDERS
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6).
MARATHON PRAYERS Monday 31st March - Sunday 6th April 2025
THE PARABLE OF THE ESTATE MANAGER
Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful. 1 Cor. 4:2
There was a certain rich man who built a housing estate of many apartments and let it out to tenants. After a while, the rich man travelled abroad for some years. Before leaving the country, the rich man handed over the management of his estate to a manager. After a few years, the lord of the estate returned and met his estate in disarray. The buildings were not maintained, the estate roads were filled with potholes, while the tenants were constantly fighting and injuring each other. Instead of managing what was entrusted into his hands, the estate manager was busy acquiring his own properties and making friends with the business rivals of his lord. Those business rivals had purposed to encroach on the property of the master and take it over. What should the lord of the estate do to his estate manager?
MARATHON PRAYERS Monday 24th - Sunday 30th March 2025
CHRISTIAN, SEEK NOT YET REPOSE
Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices (2 Cor. 2:11)
After the recent declaration of the State of Emergency in Rivers State, a public analyst, Dr. Charles Apoki, made a short videocast on the development, in which he described the declaration as “state capture”. What does “state capture” mean? “State capture” by whom, and for what purpose? While one might agree on Dr Apoki’s analysis of state capture, who has captured the state might not entirely be the President. There are other forces that have long determined to capture the entire Nigerian state for racial, cultural, and political domination through the manipulation of religion.
MARATHON PRAYERS Monday 17th - Sunday 23rd March 2025
A CHURCH OF TWO OPINIONS
And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word (1 Kings 18:21).
We received with concern the news that the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) joined Muslims to break the Ramadan fast in Abuja in March 2025. If the information had been otherwise received, it might have been dismissed as fake news, but it was on TV, with the CAN President making his supportive remarks. Our first concern is for our Church leaders, because not everyone might be entirely aware of the spiritual significance of some of their actions.
MARATHON PRAYERS Monday 10th - Sunday 16th March 2025
THE FROG IN THE POT
A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished (Prov. 22:3).
The human brain reacts sharply to three things: food, beauty, and danger. Instinctively, the brain notes all three. It is not human nature for one to see danger and remain passive. The quest for survival is the greatest instinct in humans. Once danger is sensed, amygdala, the "fight or flight" region of the brain that processes emotional responses, is instantly activated.
MARATHON PRAYERS Monday 3rd - Sunday 9th March 2025
THE ASO VILLA CHAPEL
And Ahaz gathered together the vessels of the house of God and cut in pieces the vessels of the house of God, and shut up the doors of the house of the Lord, and he made him altars in every corner of Jerusalem (2 Chro. 28:24).
Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation (Luke 19:42-44).
MARATHON PRAYERS Monday 17th - Sunday 24th February 2025
THE CALENDAR OF GOD
Because to every purpose there is time and judgment, therefore the misery of man is great upon him (Eccl. 8: 6).)
This prayer call was first published in June 2024. It is being repeated now because its message is apt for the season that Nigeria has entered into. As events unfold in the country, there is need for the saints to focus prayers against dead thrones still disturbing the land. They must be buried forever.
MARATHON PRAYERS Monday 10th - Sunday 16th February 2025
THE POLITICS OF RELIGION
A controversy is currently raging in the public domain over plans to establish Sharia Courts in the Southwest of Nigeria. Attempts were made by some Muslims to launch Sharia Court and Sharia Arbitration Panel in Oyo and Ekiti states of Yorubaland. Both moves encountered disapproval from the governments of the states and a stiffer resistance from the Muslim population in Yorubaland. It would be amazing to those who do not understand the difference between Islam in the North and Islam in the West of Nigeria. They might be wondering that it is even Muslims in the South West who are in the vanguard of the rejection of Sharia.
MARATHON PRAYERS Monday 3rd - Sunday 9th February 2025
THE “ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT”
At present, the catchword amongst Nigerians, particularly the Christian community, is “New Nigeria”. Most Christians are eagerly looking forward to a turnaround in the affairs of the country. Further encouraged by prophecy, they are optimistic of the emergence of righteousness, justice, and prosperity in the land. However, while we await the “New Nigeria”, we should ask ourselves, “What happened to the Old Nigeria?” If we do not understand what caused the collapse of the “Old Nigeria”, those same factors could afflict the “New Nigeria.”
The House of Karis is a Christian publishing house focused on providing pure and truthful information that shall enable Christians live in righteousness and in the fear of God.
