By Adeyinka Adeniran
The Archbishop of the Ecclesiastical Province of Ibadan, Most Reverend Williams Aladekugbe have said things will soon come back to normalcy despite the current situation facing the country, noting that there is light at the end of the tunnel.
This is as he urged citizens to stay positive and support the government, using the Biblical example of Nineveh to say God is able to change the situation of the country sooner than the people can think or imagine.
Aladekugbe spoke at the Thanksgiving service for his Election and Presentation as the 4th Archbishop of the Ecclesiastical Province of Ibadan.
The service which held at The Cathedral of St. Peter, Aremo, Ibadan had in attendance over 30 Bishops, from different parts of the country, both serving and retired.
The cleric who is the Bishop of the Ibadan North Diocese urged the people to imbibe the culture of speaking positive things about the country, in the stead of cursing the nation in their utterances.
Archbishop Aladekugbe said “My words of encouragement to Nigerians is that we should keep focused, keep trusting God, keep praying. No doubt things are tough.
“The rich also cry and if somebody is a little bit higher than others in the society now he knows that he’s in for trouble. So we keep encouraging our people to trust in God, to work well and to pray that no matter what things will come to normalcy at God’s own time. It had been like this in some places.
“We all remember the story of Nineveh and when the Lord intervened, brought back all the loss it was like in a dream and that same God is still on the throne. He has never been dethroned. He doesn’t need our votes to continue raining and we know that at his own time he will perfect everything for us.
“At the end of the tunnel there is hope. I am one of those who believe in this country that Nigeria will be well, Nigeria will be great, Nigeria will be honorable, Nigeria will be livable. I still believe and I still trust in that and we should every day of our life say something positive about this country.
“We should be like the American who when they wake up in the morning and say God bless America. We should wake up every morning and say God bless Nigeria and Nigeria will be great again, Nigeria will be honored again, Nigeria will be celebrated again. These are statements we should be saying every moment so that God will hear us onto our prayers.”
Speaking on his new task, he assured that he will leverage on consultation and synergy with other Bishops within and outside the Province in order to achieve the mandate required of the new office.
“A tree does not make a forest and so he has said it all and he said it very rightly. At this level, you need a lot of consultation with brother Bishops before things are carried out. Yes, I may have a vision, I may have an idea but the normal thing would be to share my mission or vision with them.
“Let’s see how it goes so that it becomes everybody’s mission and so we’re going to take that on and ensure that we do wide consultation before anything for the province is implemented.”
The guest Preacher at the Service, the Archbishop of Lagos Province and Bishop of Remo Diocese, Most Reverend Micheal Fape congratulating the new Archbishop urged him to consult widely before making or taking decision while praying for more wisdom to get the task done.
Also speaking, Bishop of Ibadan Dioceae, Dr Joseph Akinfenwa urged the new Archbishop to continue his culture of consultation and tapping from the brains of those before him and others around.
Akinfenwa who was a former occupier of the office urged him not to see himself better or higher than others, saying communication and synergy will help to solve many issues and make cases presentable.
He also urged Nigerians to pray for divine intervention to move the country forward saying the political class seem overwhelm and doing their best as both the populace and citizens have become something else.
“Let’s pray God to intervene. We should not even give God a directive of how to do it, but let him just intervene. Like the man who led the prayer said, that’s the thing we need to be telling our God now. Because all we are hearing now is grammar. And all we are hearing now is ideology. And even the politicians have become a different thing entirely.
“The populace too have become a different thing entirely. Because it is a matter of anywhere the stomach face, that is where they belong to. So we need God’s mercy. We need God’s intervention.”
He further urged the new Archbishop, “The preacher said something that is very fundamental. Consult, consult and consult. Those of us who have been in that position before by the grace of God, we consulted. We didn’t see ourselves as higher than our other bishops.
“We saw ourselves as equal. We communicate, we synergize to solve issues and to make our cases presentable. And it is not a case of you are distant from here to there, but a case of brotherliness.
“And of course every bishop in the province is an open book. So he can consult. And I am happy that he is used to coming to us and consulting. We trust that he will not fail. We trust that God will uphold him and succeed. And take this province to a greater height in Jesus’ name.”
