NATIONAL PRAYER ALTAR
MARATHON PRAYERS
Monday 21st - Sunday 27th April 2025
OUR GREATEST ENEMY IS HATE
This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you (John 15:12).
On 7th February 2017, during the biennial conference of Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) in Benin City, Edo State, the then Vice President of Nigeria, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, delivered the keynote address entitled “Our Greatest Enemy is Hate.” In the paper, Prof. Osinbajo catalogued the series of riots in Nigeria, mostly religious riots in the northern parts of the country. The account was chilling. A short excerpt from his paper reads as follows:
"Between 1979 and 1983, during the Shagari administration, there were the Maitatsine crises in Kano, Maiduguri, Kaduna, Yola, and the Gombe riots in 1980, and the Kalakuta crises in Bulumkutu, Maiduguri, where over 5,000 died and 60,000 were displaced. In the first coming of the military administration of General Muhammadu Buhari (1983 – 1985), we also had the Maitatsine riot in Jimeta, and in Yola in February 1985. In that riot, about 586 died. A re-occurrence was seen in the Pagani ward of Gombe in April of the same year, claiming another 165 souls. The Maitatsine crisis ended with General Buhari’s Government which put a stop to it in 1985.
"The spiral of religious clashes, however, continued in the Babangida administration (August 1985 – 1993). You might recall, for instance, the Easter procession clashes in Ilorin in March 1986 and the clashes between Christian and Muslim students of the University of Ibadan in May 1986. There was also the violence in Jos in 1987 and the Kafanchan crises in Southern Kaduna, the same year, where thousands of people died in Kafanchan, Kano, Zamfara and Bauchi. Religious riots still occurred in the following year in Bauchi and Gombe as well as in Zaria and Kaduna where 107 students of the Ahmadu Bello University were seriously injured during the election of a Christian to the leadership of the Students Union.
"A Shiite uprising followed in Katsina in 1991, with dozens of lives lost. Another clash of Christians and Muslims in Bauchi in April 21, 1991 claimed 200 lives, and 700 places of worship were burnt. Other notable cases include the Bonnke Riot of October 1991 in which hundreds died in Kano and the renewed Kafanchan crises of 1992 where, at least, 60 were killed in Zango Kataf. Several more lives were lost in Funtua, Katsina State during the Kalakato crises of February 1992. Under the Military administration of General Abacha in November 1993 to June 9, 1998, there were two occurrences of religious riots again in Jos in April 1994 and April 1997 where, at least, 200 houses were burnt down and several persons killed."
The full paper can be accessed at: https://proshare.co/articles/acting-president-yemi-osinbajos-speech-at-the-pfn-14th-national-biennial-conference-in-benin-city?menu=Economy&classification=Read&category=Politics
The unfortunate narrative above has been surpassed by the cycle of violence and destruction unleased upon Nigeria from 2009 to date. The magnitude of the destruction of lives and properties that has taken place in Nigeria from 2009 makes the narrative above a child’s play. Insurgent groups like Boko Haram, Fulani 'Herdsmen,' 'Bandits,' Al Qaeda, Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), and the other terrorist organizations have turned Nigeria into killing fields. Clearly, their actions are motivated by hate.
Recently, Christians in the North and Middle Belt regions of Nigeria have been traumatized, oppressed, persecuted, and afflicted in the most inhumane manner unimaginable, as reported below of the Gbagyi people:
- They hunt the people on the farm to kidnap and demand payment of ransoms in millions of Naira. For example, just last year, a young man called Isaac Yari was kidnapped on his farm near Rumanan Gbagyi. He was shot and left in the pool of his blood for days and they still collected ransom in the form of motor bikes.
• They come to communities like Sarari, Sabon Gida, Pappana, Malfa, Rimi, etc to demand ransom in millions of Naira.
• Reliefs, like bags of grains from trucks, are usually dropped to themselves or the whole truck diverted to their camps.
• They threaten the people to farm for them, the bandits.
• They come to the villagers to take their chickens, goats and force the women to cook for them.
• They force the young girls to marry them.
• They abuse the women and young girls.
The National Christian Elders Forum (NCEF) identified two major factors responsible for violence and disunity in Nigeria:
1. The supremacist ideology of a particular ethnic group
2. The doctrine of hate taught in Madrasas of northern Nigeria
History has confirmed that one section of the country is filled with hate and intolerance towards other sections of the country. That hate is not in-born; it is deliberately taught and nurtured as a tool for political and cultural domination. The hate is being deployed on the platform of a religion. The solution is not counter hate but the infusion of the superior ideology of love. Hate will always beget hate. Those who promote the doctrine of hate have destruction and death as their ultimate goal. At a meeting of some select religious leaders in Abuja in 2015, it was agreed that violence cannot prevail against an ideology. Only a counter ideology can. The Church has that counter ideology.
In addition to the various prayers for Nigeria, the Church should consider practical ways of deploying its counter ideology of love to overcome the destructive doctrine of hate that wreaks so much havoc in the country. As Prof. Osinbajo wondered in his paper in 2017, “… why is it that no administration since 1970 has succeeded in completely stopping these killings? ... It is because the answer to hate lies with the Church. It can only be found in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.” Prof. Osinbajo went further, “How can a man pray for those who, in his presence, killed his children and ripped out the baby with which his wife was pregnant? How do you love someone who comes into your community annually to kill as many as he can find? How do I turn the other cheek when the bones of the right side of my face have been cracked by the first slap?” The answer to this question is provided by God when He says in His word, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord” (Rom. 12:19).
While we appreciate the good words of Prof. Osinbajo in 2017, we are not by this prayer call absolving the government of Buhari (in which Prof. Osinbajo was the Number Two man) of criminal negligence with respect to managing the security of the country. The security architecture of Nigeria collapsed under the Buhari presidency. For historical accuracy, we are referring to the paper delivered by the former Vice President because no one can contest the authenticity of the data it provides.
The challenge facing the Church, within the equal rights of self-defense, is how to mobilize and deploy its superior ideology of love to overcome the destructive ideology of hate that is ravaging the country. A Muslim convert to Christianity in the North said, “If Christians live like Christians, no Muslim will remain a Muslim.”
It is time for Christians to awaken the love of Christ in their individual lives as well as in their churches. Currently, the love of Christ is in short supply within the Church. The current atmosphere of division and contention amongst Christian groups, as well as amongst church leaders, is a manifestation of hate, not love. The open strife amongst some ministers of the gospel promotes division amongst their followers. Going by the command of Jesus in John 13:35, "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another" it will appear that the Nigeria Church lacks genuine disciples of Jesus.
The neglect of persecuted Christians in the country, particularly those in IDP camps, is a serious indictment of the Nigeria Church. All efforts to mobilize Christians to help those in IDPs have yielded little result. In one extreme case, church leaders wilfully destroyed structures that were built to mobilize support for Christian IDPs.
The Church that is meant to deploy the ideology of love to combat hate in the country is battling hate within its fold. A Church that would not demonstrate the love of Christ to its members will find it difficult to utilize the ideology of love to counter the ideology of hate in the land. The first step is for Christian leaders to build structures to resolve strife amongst ministers of the gospel. Such a structure was proposed in the Strategy Document submitted to CAN by the National Christian Elders Forum in 2015. Regrettably, the document was not implemented. If the Church does not have a structure to maintain discipline and orderliness, building Christian love and unity will remain a mirage.
Having identified hate as our worst enemy, conscious efforts should be made in the Church to eliminate hate within the Body of Christ. There must be conscious plans to promote brotherly love amongst the saints. One of such works is to support persecuted Christians. If the enemies of the Church see Christians taking care of persecuted Christians, they will begin to respect them. However, if the current attitude of neglect of Christian IDPs persists, the message is that nobody cares for the persecuted, and the terrorists would be emboldened to afflict them the more.
We are commanded by the Master to demonstrate the love of God to a broken world, starting from the household of God. In 1 Cor. 13 we are taught that if we do everything but do not have love, we are nothing. May our love not grow cold.
PRAYER POINTS
1. John 13:35
The Nigeria Church has fallen below the expectation of the Lord with regards to brotherly love. Pray for forgiveness and ask for the Lord’s intervention for Christians to walk in love towards each other.
2. Jam. 4:1-3
Pray for the righteous judgment of God to fall upon ministers of the gospel who are causing divisions amongst the saints because of their contentions and covetousness.
3. Num. 35:33-34
For many years, Nigeria has been polluted by the blood of the innocent. Pray that God will purge and cleanse the land from the pollution and defilement of bloodshed, according to His righteous judgment.
4. Rom. 12:17-19
Pray that God will execute judgment according to His word upon all who afflict Christians in Nigeria. Pray God’s judgment on all the sponsors, collaborators, and foot soldiers of the various expressions of terrorism in Nigeria.
5. Matt. 24:22
Pray that God will shorten the days of His indignation against Nigeria so that a righteous government shall emerge to tackle insecurity in the country.
6. Ps. 91:9-13
Pray for divine protection for Christians undergoing persecution in Nigeria. Pray that God will send angels to protect them from all attacks.
7. Matt. 6:10
Pray that the Government of the Kingdom of God shall come upon Nigeria and the will of God be done all over the country. Amen.
JOIN US AT THE NATIONAL PRAYER ALTAR
DAILY INTERDENOMINATIONAL PRAYERS FOR NIGERIA
Started since 18th April, 2022
TIME: 9:00pm – 10:00pm daily (Nigeria time)
VENUE: ZOOM
ZOOM link:
https://zoom.us/j/96806190505?pwd=K2RqcUN3YjRwQzEzRDZaMUt2N1ZsUT09
Meeting ID: 968 0619 0505
Passcode: 024184
LINK TO MARATHON PRAYERS ZOOM ROOM
https://zoom.us/j/94064259957?pwd=bm13eDlSNTMrZWhVdTl5bmNRRlBHQT09
Meeting ID: 940 6425 9957
Passcode: Altar