By Bayo Famoroti
The wife of the Anglican Bishop of Ekiti, Mrs. A.B. Ajayi, has advised Nigerians not to join the bandwagon to do evil by criticizing evil at the top but ignoring the evil beneath.
She gave the advice in her Presidential address at the 38th Mothers’ Union Conference hosted by Basiri and Great Commission Archdeaconries with the theme: Being a living sacrifice to God (Rom.12:1).
The Diocesan President said: “If you are inflating unnecessarily on sales of commodity in a time like this, that the common man in the community cannot afford, it is evil. We must not hide under the disguise that “things are expensive” to extort the masses.
“Of course there are many who do that; Christians must not do so. We must show that we are the light of the world (Matt. 5:12). Life is not dictated by what everyone does. Learn to do the right at all times. Right is right even if no one is doing it; evil is evil even when everyone is doing it
“In the midst of this malady, we are tempted to ask IS GOD STILL FOR US? There is no doubt that God is still for us and with us. Don’t forget His promise in Isaiah 43:2 when you pass through the waters, I WILL BE WITH YOU; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through fire, you will not be burned; the flame will not set you ablaze.” Our confidence is built on the written and spoken word of the Almighty God therefore, we are not shaken come what may. We must therefore appreciate God who has been taking care of us beyond our abilities as humans. We don’t feed on our means but on divine providence! Halleluyah!!!
“What then are our duties as citizens of this great nation? What are cultures we must imbibe at such a time as this? There must be partnership in building our nation and it has to do with. Partnership with God, 2. Partnership with leaders and 3. Partnership with one another”, she said.
Citing the second stanza of the National Anthem, Mama Ekiti pointed out that its prayer was conceived in the heart of the composer for the desired greatness to be attained in Nigeria.
She said our leaders would only do the right thing when they are guided by the God of creation and that It is therefore our duty to intercede more in the place of prayer for Nigeria as a whole, for our President and his cabinet, and all ministers at all levels, pointing out that It is wise to daily say GOD BLESS NIGERIA than saying: “which kind useless country be this!”
“. Learn to give to the less privileged: what shows that we belong to God is our act of giving. This is a critical moment in Nigeria. We must learn to share with one another no matter how little. The government will not fix every problem, we must as individuals take responsibilities to have a better society.
“Spend within your means: no one needs to tell us to be prudent in a time like this. I encourage us as citizens to use scale of preference as touching our needs. You don’t have to be reckless in spending because you want to show off. It is unwise to use the money you don’t own to buy things you don’t need and later regret buying such”, she said.
Mama Ekiti also called on government to look into the critical area of prioritizing the welfare of the citizens, youth employment, insecurity adding; “ It is my earnest prayer that God will grant unto our leaders the enabling to lead with integrity, fairness and equity”.