The Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Oyo, Most Rev. Emmanuel Badejo, has called on Nigerians to be truthful and diligent in 2023.
Badejo made the call on Monday in his new year message titled ‘Be Truthful and Diligent: God Will Save Nigeria’.
The Catholic Bishop said the New Year in view of what the previous year had been, called for Nigerians to be diligent and have a change of heart.
“If we do not change our ways, then nothing is new in the year, we simply cannot continue with a country where crime is tolerated or even rewarded and valour and virtue are punished.
“How does one explain the platitude of the authorities in the face of the ongoing mayhem and bloodshed in Kaduna and Zamfara and elsewhere in the country?
“How does anyone justify the fact that arrested suspects of the St. Francis Catholic Church Owo in Ondo State mass murder have still not been fully identified or prosecuted? So many are unattended and unresolved tragedies across the country.
“We, Nigerians, must apply all our legitimate strengths and resources to snatch our country back from the threshold of total chaos; 2023 must be that year of promise.
“We have another opportunity, especially through the general elections to truthfully and courageously choose leaders who will pursue our common good and not their selfish dreams. So, secure your PVC and vote your own choice.
“We must produce leaders with integrity and a good track record, who follow not the logic of the survival of the fittest, but the survival of the weakest, therefore, a nation where truth and justice will reign,” he said.
He also urged Nigerians to pay no attention to Prophets of Doom, saying there is nothing wrong with faith religion, and prayer which the people have in abundance.
Badejo enjoined Nigerians never to substitute prayer and religion for the opportunity to take Nigeria back from the grip of corruption, selfishness, criminality, and other evil practices.
According to him, we must work and pray at the same time.
“After celebrating Christmas so prayerfully it will really amount to unbelief to doubt that if we do our best, God will ensure Nigeria’s recovery.
“However, I ask Nigerians not to shun prophets of doom who, around this time annually, come up with hackneyed, visions and messages of doom.
“It’s better to listen more to Jesus who says: ‘Do not be afraid, I am with you, I am the way the truth and the life.’
“The duty of true prophets is to admonish and encourage God’s people to live righteous lives, galvanize them to do their duties, to pray for the nation and not to predict doom and destruction without redemption.
“In nearby Ghana, security agencies have reportedly cautioned prophets of doom to desist from their trade this year, what a shame for security to be more disposed to giving hope than “men of God” are; given that many Ghanaian prophets and pastors learnt from Nigerian ‘masters’.
“Maybe Nigeria should borrow a leaf from the Ghanaian authorities really, what use is prophetic declarations that do not eventually bring people nearer to God?,” he said.
He further remarked that Nigeria would make more progress in all aspects once the citizens decided to live by the truth.
“Let us resolve firmly not to buy or sell our votes, it is a crime before the state and a sin before God to buy or sell votes.
“Vote according to your conscience and experience, pray for God’s direction in all you do, and work in that direction.
“Shun evil and expose it wherever you can, let us know that evil done to the neighbor, unattended to, might eventually consume me, God forbid that to happen.
“We must remember as has been proven many times over, that the power of the people will always be greater than the people in power if the people would only use that power correctly,” he said.
Badejo urged all to always remember that “righteousness exalts a nation while sin destroys it” (Prov. 14:34).
If my people who bear my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my presence and turn from their wicked ways, then I will listen from heaven and forgive their sins and restore their country.” (2Chron. 7:14).
“The earth is the Lord’s and its fullness thereof, says the psalmist; the earth does not belong to the devil, so God will always have the power to make things right if only we mend our ways and do things right.
“Yes, there is hope, so have a New Year happier than the last,” Badejo said.
