God, the reason Nigeria had not experienced another civil war - Adeboye

The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Enoch Adeboye, said on Sunday that God’s intervention was the reason Nigeria had not experienced another civil war.

He, therefore, advised Nigerians not to stop praying for the country amidst all the challenges bedevilling the nation.

Dressed in a white apparel at a special prayer programme for the country in commemoration of its 55th independence anniversary, tagged, ‘Free Indeed,’ at the national headquarters of the church in Ebute-Metta, Lagos, Adeboye said despite all the circumstances that made it look like Nigeria would have been divided, the country was still united due to God’s grace.

Speaking on the theme, he said it was possible for a country to witness freedom while its citizens would still be in bondage.

He urged Nigerians to keep praying for President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration so that in the next one year, the country would celebrate successes in various aspects, including security, economy and others.

He said, “It is possible for a country to be free, but its citizens are not. Nigeria has been free for 55 years, but many of us are not free.

“If not for God’s intervention, Nigeria would have been in another civil war. Without His intervention in this land, we would not be experiencing peace. We should keep praying for His peace to reign.

“We should also keep praying for the President and the Vice President (Yemi Osinbajo) so that in the next one year, in a way we cannot explain it, Nigeria will be celebrated among the nations of the world.

“We should also pray for all states in Nigeria so that in the next one year, all of them will also be celebrated.”

The Special Assistant to Adeboye on Administration and Personnel Matters, Funso Odesola, while also speaking on the country’s independence celebration, said looking back at the past 55 years, Nigeria has every reason to celebrate.

“Though we are not there yet, we are not where we used to be. So, we have every reason to celebrate and we should keep praying that we will get there despite our challenges,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Army said on Sunday that no amount of distractions would deter it from ending terrorism in Nigeria by December.

The Theatre Commander, Operation “Lafiya Dole,” Maj. Gen. Yushau Abubakar, gave this assurance while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria in Maiduguri.

Abubakar was reacting to recent spate of suicide bombings by suspected insurgents in some parts of the country.

He pointed out that the bombings were aimed at diverting the attention of the military from achieving its target in the ongoing anti-terrorism war.

“I want to assure Nigerians that for every second that passes, we get more committed to fighting the insurgents; we cannot be deterred.

“We are doing as much as we could to ensure that we completely eradicate the insurgents as quickly as possible because we are aware of the timeline within which to complete the task,’’ he said.

He said the military had already gotten clues about those involved in the recent suicide bombings in Maiduguri.

“We searched the houses and certain items that we recovered at the vicinity gave us some clues,’’ Abubakar said.

He said although investigations had commenced on the clues, it would take time before reaching a conclusion.

“Investigation on those that we suspect that are either participating or hiding, fuelling or conniving with those that carried out those acts is ongoing.

“They will be exposed in due course,’’ Abubakar assured.

He appealed to Nigerians to be security-conscious to avoid future reccurrence.

“The citizens need to know that security is their personal responsibility as individuals,” he said.