FEATURE ARTICLE

Tonye David-West, Jr., Ph.D Political Scientist USA Wednesday, September 26, 2001

ANNOUNCE THIS ARTICLE TO YOUR FRIENDS

National day of prayer Nigerians in the US declare September 30th, a day for fasting & praying

"Righteousness exalted a nation, but sin is a reproach..." The Holy Bible. e need no one to tell us that our nation has been awashed in sin since its inception. Our leaders have taken the lead in this regard as most of them have deserted their mandate and have fallen prey to the temptation of self-aggrandizement and embezzlement. Our young girls prostitute overseas with impunity, our young boys are embroiled in armed robbery, 419 crimes, devilish entreaties, drugs and assorted ills. There are religious strives at every turn, every corner, every locality. Nigeria has deserted God, the only one who can pull it from the doldrums. The same God who delivered the children of Israel from slavery can deliver Nigeria from the stronghold of the devil. The same God who delivered us from the hands of the dictators can deliver us from the forces of stagnation. But it would take prayers, folks, prayers. The children of God would have to pray and fast and ask God almighty to free us from all these bribery and corruption that has made us Sodom and Gomorrah. We should pray for the world, the victims of the recent riots in Jos and all victims of acts of violence and inhumanity all over the world including those who suffered acts of terrorism in the destruction of the World Trade Centers, The Pentagon and the plane which crashed in western Pennsylvania. We, as humans, cannot comprehend these acts, but make no mistakes about it, they all point to the end times as amply predicted in the holy book. Each one reach one while there is still time. Each one love your wife, your husband, your children, you may not see them the next day. Each one show kindness to one another. Each one live life to its fullest each day and wisely at that. Each one pray that our leaders find godly wisdom to set our country aright in this new millennium. No one should take anything for granted. Life is precious and a gift, not a right. Many of us have been touched by the sad events unfolding in Jos, Nigeria and in New York City and Washington DC. The only solution is prayer and faith in God. A few days ago, I received a letter from one of my readers, Dr. Ladi Kukoyi, a medical doctor in the United States. This declaration, is as a result of his appeal and that of his in-law, Mrs. Faosat Adelani, a hardworking Nigerian, both of whom are very patriotic Nigerians and want to see their country delivered from evil, from mischievousness, from its self-serving leaders and from all manner of decadence and sinful entreaties through prayers. Without equivocation, I join them in this worthy effort. In addition to their others efforts, [ie., through their respective churches and Nigerian organizations] in promoting this national day of prayer, they have asked that I urge Nigerians of all faith and creed, through this esteemed medium to publicize this day. Therefore, all Nigerians, regardless of faith and religion, regardless of location, regardless of profession, etc., are asked to pray to their God on SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2001, a day before the 41st anniversary of our country, to ask Him for deliverance, to put an end to these religious violence that desecrate places of worship and destroy human lives and properties. We are all children of God and we should be able to get along with one another, we should be able to channel our diversity into the progress of our nation, not the destruction of it. Pass this on to other Nigerians, to your friends, your relatives, your co-workers, everyone should fast and pray for Nigeria everyday and especially on this particular day for God to lead us and rid our nation of corruption and the evil minded people. Together, we shall reclaim Nigeria and together, we shall rid our country of the evil forces. But we can only achieve this through fasting and praying. Spare a few minutes, an hour, etc, on SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2001 to lift Nigeria to the high heavens in your place of worship, be it a church, Mosque, Temple, Synagogue, etc. Say a prayer, however short, however long. Fast if you can. Its your country, its your people. If Nigeria fails, we all suffer no matter where we are. We all have families still in Nigeria, a loved one, a close friend, a wife, a husband, a wife to be, a husband to be, etc, and we certainly want the best for them, for our nation. Lets reclaim Nigeria, for with God ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE. I leave you with the letter from Dr. Ladi Kukoyi sent to me via email on Thursday, August 30, 2001: Dear Dr. Tonye David-West,Jr., I would like to commend you on your widely read articles on Nigeriaworld.com. I would like to ask of you to please publicize a prayer day for Nigeria that an in-law of mine, MRS FAOSAT ADELANI, came up with. As we know, Nigeria will be celebrating its 41st birthday on October 1st and while some progress has been made lately, we are still kilometers away from the promised land of Canaan. Like the Israelites when they left slavery in Egypt, our journey has been prolonged in the desert of sin for four decades. The only way the Israelites made it home was through a re-dedication of themselves to God and a commitment to leave their sinful ways behind. Similarly, if Nigeria is to progress, we feel that Nigeria must come before God in prayer. Therefore, we'd like all Nigerians at home and abroad to use Sunday September 30 as a day of fasting and prayer for our country's fortunes. It doesn't matter what your faith is as God tells us that He will hear when we call upon him. So please join in this National day of prayer. Sincerely, Ladi Kukoyi, M.D