The annals of history reveal an immutable axiom: it is not the collapse of economies or the defeat of armies that dooms civilizations, but rather the erosion of their spiritual essence. When a nation forfeits its soul, what follows is an inevitable descent into moral squalor and eventual extinction.
As we traverse the corridors of time, the remnants of once-glorious kingdoms, empires, and republics lie strewn across the landscape of history. Their demise was not always precipitated by adversaries beyond their borders but by the insidious decay within. The loss of godly virtues, the abdication of justice, and the suppression of righteousness marked their twilight. The sovereign voice of the Almighty reverberates through the wreckage: “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Matthew 6:33)
The corollary of this truth is engraved in solemn script across the contemporary globe. In territories still imprisoned by the iron fist of communism, apartheid, and doctrinal tyranny, human beings languish in subhuman conditions—denied the divinely conferred liberties that sanctify human dignity. Nigeria is far from exempt. We too are ensnared in a sophisticated bondage—engineered not by colonizers but by our own political architects. The chains are now psychological, economic, and systemic, cunningly disguised as governance.
In a country ordained to exude affluence and divine favour, the national mood is instead one of agitation, apprehension, and existential dread. Anxiety is our native air. April 2025 has not spared us; nearly 100 innocent souls have been swallowed by unsanctioned violence, sacrificed on the altar of our collective negligence. When one man, the Holy bibles says carries gifts, valour, vision, and virtue meant for an entire republic. Sadly, Nigerians are busy killing themselves. This is unlike Americans who throw themselves into mourning for losing a citizen . The genesis of this tragic imbalance is clear: God has been methodically ousted from both our private conscience and public institutions.
The celestial paradigm—the City of God—has been discarded in favour of the City of Man, a realm where carnal ambition eclipses compassion, and avarice eclipses virtue. But man, estranged from his Creator, is but an architect of his own annihilation. As Christ asserted: “Without Me, you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)
To repudiate this eternal truth is to court national disaster. The turbulence convulsing Nigeria—political ineptitude, economic malaise, ethno-religious schisms, and ethical depravity—is merely symptomatic of a deep spiritual delinquency. We have bartered the sacred for the superficial, divine intent for transient gratification.
The multifaceted dilemmas confronting peace—and the proliferating shadows cast by the abuse of power, parochial nationalism, and shameless duplicity—have long occupied symposiums, roundtables, and diplomatic conclaves. However, these efforts remain sterile, as they often bypass the deeper moral rot. The way forward demands more than intellectual discourse; it demands spiritual introspection. Our national recovery hinges on sincere dialogues, sacred assemblies, and outcome-oriented deliberations.
Crucially, we must cultivate prudence in our associations, guard our convictions, and vest our trust only in a rare cadre—men and women uncorrupted by the corrosive currents of political expediency.
Indeed, what Nigeria requires is not another charismatic figurehead or utopian economic strategy. What we need is a metanoia—a collective transformation of heart and purpose. We must reimagine this nation through the prism of shared destiny, viewing each other not through ethnic or partisan lenses but as co-labourers in the vineyard of national restoration.
Yet let us not be seduced by delusory optimism. The sands of time slip swiftly. If malice, egocentrism, and entrenched animosities are not summarily abandoned—and if credible, enduring pacts for peace and cohesion are not enacted with urgency—we, already tethered to the precipice of disintegration, may soon tumble into an abyss where the only peace left is that of the grave.
Still, amid this grim prognosis, the Church of Christ, a bulwark amid the existential tremors of this era, remains an unshakable beacon of hope. Like a lighthouse standing firm against a stormy tide, she continues to proclaim—tirelessly and audaciously—the timeless apostolic exhortation: “Sufficient to such a man is this punishment, which was inflicted of many.” (2 Corinthians 2:6)
She proclaims, unwaveringly, that even in chaos, grace endures. Even amid ashes, resurrection looms. Even when a nation teeters on the brink, revival is but a prayer, a turning, a breath away.
– Inah Boniface Ocholi writes from Ayah – Igalamela/Odolu LGA, Kogi state.
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