If We Truly Want To See Nigeria Rise Again…. – Osinbajo

Professor Yemi Osinbajo, a former vice president, has urged Nigerian churches to emphasise the value of peace, productivity, and community development rather than riches and wealth accumulation.

Speaking at a public lecture over the weekend, the former vice president made the case that churches have, for far too long, ignored the true calling of the gospel, which is to advance peace, unity, and the holistic development of society, in favour of the pursuit of individual prosperity and material wealth.

“For too long, our churches have been caught up in the pursuit of personal prosperity and material wealth, neglecting the true calling of the gospel to promote peace, unity, and the holistic development of our society. If we truly want to see Nigeria rise again and fulfill its immense potential, the church must return to its roots, preaching the values of hard work, compassion, and service to the community. It is only through this shift in focus that we can inspire our people to become agents of positive change, rather than mere consumers of prosperity gospel.” he said.

Osinbajo issued a warning, saying that when preachers prioritise incentives and rewards, especially for Christians in positions of power and government, people’s minds would get tarnished and national growth will suffer. They won’t be able to act morally. He believed that while many wealthy countries lack natural resources, many nations with abundant national endowments are destitute because people do not follow the standards of productivity and hard labour.

“The major responsibility of christians, responsibility of the church is propagating the correct version of the gospel of Jesus Christ and it is that correct version of the gospel of Jesus Christ that transformed other nations of the world. The nations that we copy, the nations we want to emulate, the nations whose developments we have seen, the nations in Europe, America, it is the gospel of Jesus Christ and the virtues of hard work, productivity, integrity, protection of the poor preached from the pulpit that transfer this nations.

“If we must transform and impact on our nations as Christians and as a Church, we must be mindful of the messages we preach, such that it will encourage and promote virtues of hardwork, integrity, productivity while also caring for the poor and needy around us,” he said.

A Gentle Reminder: Every obstacle is a stepping stone, every morning; a chance to go again, and those little steps take you closer to your dream.

Nnamdi Okoli