THE NATIONAL PRAYER ALTAR
MARATHON PRAYERS
Monday 27th July – Sunday 2nd August 2026
LEADERSHIP IS EVERYTHING
When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn (Prov. 29:2).
On 15th May 2024, Singapore swore a new Prime Minister into office. A commentator noted, “After four years of strict, tedious filtering and performance index review applied on four outstanding candidates, finally, Mr. Lawrence Wong was chosen to take the responsibility as the 4th PM of Singapore. Mr. Wong, a Double Degree and PhD. holder from Harvard University in Economics, was selected after he received the highest score in Character, Performance, Integrity, Quality and job Key Performance Index (KPI). Mr. Lawrence Wong scored ZERO in the following: 1. Public Complaints 2. Police Traffic Summons 3. Public Summon 4. Racial hatred statements 5. Corruption and Bribery 6. Legal Court cases 7. Tax fraud 8. Abuse of Power 9. FBI, CIA, Interpol checks.” Singapore pays premium attention to the election of its leaders, because leadership is everything in the life of a country. How does Nigeria choose its leaders?
Mr. Pieter Willem Botha, a former leader of South Africa, said, “Black people cannot rule themselves because they don’t have the brain and mental capacity to govern a society. Give them guns, they will kill themselves. Give them independence and democracy, they will use it to promote tribalism, ethnicity, bigotry, hatred, killings, and wars.” A lot of Africans protested that Mr. Botha was racist and his comments were offensive. However, no African has been able to prove him wrong.
In a few months, Nigeria is scheduled to undergo another transition of power. Against the backdrop of the selection process of Singapore, and the blunt statement of Mr. Botha, the preparation of Nigerians for a new President should be assessed. It is disheartening that Nigerians are being told to support a candidate whose character profile and Key Performance Index (KPI) make him the most unqualified for leadership amongst 230 million people. The most unfortunate aspect about the Nigeria case is that the prominent promoters of this candidate are well educated Christians. Neither their education nor their Christian values have helped them to prove Mr. Botha wrong in his assessment of black Africans.
The candidate being presented to Nigerians is morally challenged in terms of character assessment. His declared age is false, his home town and acclaimed parentage are false, his purported primary school and secondary school are false, his university certificate is under controversy, and his wealth is stupendous without a link to any industry or enterprise. To worsen matters, his KPI as president for three years is abysmal. In his first year as president, he increased the number of poor people in Nigeria from 87 million under Buhari to 139 million poor Nigerians. Through his “reforms”, by 2026, he has increased the figure to 143 million poor people. If such an individual had offered to be a leader in Singapore, he would have been promptly thrown into jail. Unfortunately, this is the candidate of many Church leaders and Christian elites. At this point, Nigerians should thank Mr. Pieter Willem Botha for telling them the truth that they are unwilling to tell themselves.
The leadership deficit in Nigeria might have been different if Church leaders had set a good example for Nigeria in the appointment of their own leaders. Sadly, some Christian leaders are appointed without regard to Godly character, personal discipline, or empathy for fellow Christians. If Church leaders followed the command of Christ in Matt. 7:12, to do unto others as they want it to be done unto them, they would not have handled Christian leadership in the compromising manner that has brought calamity upon millions of Christians in the country. The current insurgency in Nigeria is exposing the leadership deficit in the Church.
If Nigeria is going to break the jinx of bad leadership, Christians must set the pace by bringing Godly values into Church leadership. If the Church had promoted competent leadership, APC could not have gone as far it did. In recent years, the Church has witnessed leaders who lie, steal, and manifest an inability to separate the holy from the profane (Ez. 22:26). Rather than act against such ungodly entities in the sanctuary, other Christian leaders rally round them because they are of the same stock. Christians must deliberately cultivate competent and spiritual leadership that will reflect the character of Christ. When Godly men lead the Church, the country will have no option but to follow suit. As at this moment, the Nigeria Church is not setting a good example for Nigeria.
It is the law of nature that an environment will not clean itself unless a conscious mind sets out to do so. In Gen. 2:15, God put Adam in the garden of Eden to "dress it and to keep it." At that point, sin had not entered the world, yet the environment required intentional management. The human society will not run smoothly unless conscious minds arise to enforce order. The enforcement of such order in Nigeria can be effectively achieved if Christians will agree to put the Church in order. The lawlessness in the Church is spilling out into the entire country. It is a spiritual principle. It was pointed out in recent prayer calls that the problem of Nigeria stems from the greed in the Church.
Under the circumstances, Godly men and women must arise and demand accountability from their Church leaders. It is no longer Godly submission when Christians notice that sons of Belial are polluting the sanctuary. Such 'submission' makes the Godly complicit before God. As the country approaches another election cycle, it is becoming apparent that Christian leadership has again been compromised. The lukewarm response of Church leadership to the announcement of the Muslim-Muslim ticket of the APC for the 2027 election is a disturbing signal of compromise within the Church.
Leadership is everything. Once leadership is wrong, everything under it goes bad. A corrupt tree cannot produce good fruit. It is no use complaining that Nigeria is dysfunctional and people are suffering. There is nothing wrong with Nigeria. It is the leadership that is disastrous, both in the Church and in the government. Nigerians must begin to cultivate good leadership, and it must start at the next expected election. Performance parameters must be drawn up and used to assess the candidates. Any candidate who does not measure up to the expected KPI must be rejected at the polls. Nigerians cannot expect to have a decent society if they keep permitting morally challenged individuals to have access to leadership positions.
For the Christians, leadership parameters must be established at the Church and national levels. Church members must now become involved in assessing the performance of their leaders. A set of Christian leaders that appears easily compromised and swayed by filthy lucre cannot be left alone to produce the next set of leaders. They would replicate themselves and worsen the condition of the Church. The assumption of Church leaders that only they can appoint leaders for the Church is no longer tenable. When Christian leaders display a lack of spirituality by breaking Ramadan fast with Muslims, it is a signal that stringent conditions must be applied to the appointment of leaders for the Body of Christ. In 1 Cor. 10:21-22 and 2 Cor. 6:14-18 the Bible forbids such religious interactions.
At the national level, Christians must consciously draw up parameters to measure the performance of President Tinubu. Drawing from the example of Singapore, Christians should individually, or in groups, assess President Tinubu based on: Character, Integrity, Performance, and Quality, on a scale of 1 – 10, with 10 as the highest mark. For the Key Performance Index (KPI), President Tinubu should be assessed as follows:
1. Section 14(2)b of the Constitution states that “the SECURITY and WELFARE of the people shall be the primary purpose of government.” On a scale of 1-10, how well did President Tinubu comply with the constitutional parameter?
2. Electricity: This is the benchmark President Tinubu set for himself. He was emphatic that if he did not provide regular electricity, he should not be given a second term. How did he perform, on a scale of 1 – 10?
3. Eradication of poverty. Under President Jonathan, there were 33 million poor Nigerians. President Buhari increased that number to 87 million poor Nigerians. Under President Tinubu, the figure has risen to 143 million poor Nigerians. How well did President Tinubu perform in making life better for the citizens? Scale 1 – 10.
4. Safety of lives. In the eight years of President Buhari, it was reported that 63,111 Nigerians were killed. In the first year of President Tinubu, between May 2023 and April 2024, those killed in Nigeria were 614,937. In effect, the number of Nigerians killed in the first year of Tinubu was ten times more than those killed in the eight years of Buhari. How well did President Tinubu protect the lives of Nigerians? Scale 1 – 10.
5. Fuel subsidy. After withdrawing fuel subsidy, President Tinubu’s government spent N17.5 trillion in one year on “pipeline security and related costs.” N17.5 trillion is the equivalent of fuel subsidy payment for twelve years. On a scale of 1 – 10, Nigerians should assess President Tinubu.
This assessment of leadership performance should not be interpreted as partisan politicking. It is the right of Nigerians to assess the performance of their leaders. Any leader who objects to such an appraisal has become a despot. Nigeria requires leadership that is competent, capable, and committed.
God bless Nigeria.
PRAYER POINTS
1. Dan. 4:32
Pray that God will cast down all wicked and ungodly leaders in Nigeria.
2. Ps. 75:6-7
Pray that God will promote righteous men and women to positions of authority and influence in Nigeria.
3. Ez. 14:12-13
Plead the Blood of Jesus over every defilement in the Church and in Nigeria, for a cleansing.
4. Ez. 11:1-4
Prophesy that God shall break out in wrath against those who defile the Church and provoke Him to indignation against the land.
5. 2 Cor. 1:3-6
Intercede for Pastor Ezekiel Dachomo of Plateau State. Fulani militia killed nine members of his family in retaliation for his speaking up against their attacks. Pray that blood shall pursue all those attackers and their sponsors.
6. Ps. 24:1-2
Decree that Nigeria is the Lord’s and the fulness thereof. Condemn the Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket. Decree that that conspiracy shall not prosper.
7. Prov. 29:2
Pray that, henceforth, only the righteous shall be in authority in Nigeria.
