Abuja- Christians across the country have been called upon to use the Christmas season to pray for peace and tranquility in the country ahead of the 2015 general elections.
Most Rev’d, Samuel Adefila-Abidoye, the spiritual father, Cherubim and Seraphim Movement church worldwide, Ayo Ni o, made the call in a statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday.
The statement, made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), said that the true essence of the Christmas was sacrifice and love.
He called on the citizens to embrace love as the panacea to the myriad of problems currently bedevilling the country as we gradually transit from 2014 to the New Year, 2015.
The cleric stated that dearth of love among Nigerians has given birth to distrust, intolerance, hatred and unwarranted violence among the citizens of this country.
He said that the only solution to the problem was for each citizen to begin to see the next person as his or her brother or sister.
Abidoye said that the problem of insecurity being visited on the whole nation by insurgents, especially in the North East region, was because Nigerians have lost their humanity.
He said they have sacrificed their humanity for greed and self-centredness.
“It beats my imagination why Nigerians behave the way they do, because there is no reason for the level of intolerance and hatred being displayed in the country.
“The Boko Haram sect has brought to the fore, the level of hatred existing among Nigerians.
“Imagine the numbers of people, both Muslims and Christians, killed from the activities of the sect in the past three, four years.
“Besides that, the people in government continue to act as if the matter is just a minor one, requiring little or attention.
“They continue to spend our money like water while their fellow citizens are being slaughtered in sickening manner,” he said.
Abidoye advised Nigerians to move closer to God and serve Him instead of running after money.
He stated that the love of money has destroyed the moral fabric of the country, stressing that the younger generation are also in a hurry to succeed.
“The younger generation are too money conscious.
“They are ready to do anything to make money. No more restraint in their conducts. They lack patience, and just want to get rich as quickly as possible, making them very, very desperate.
“We should be careful that we did not provoke God to be angry with this country as the level of bloodshed in the country is just too much.
“I want to appeal to all Nigerians to embrace love and peace as a way out of our problems.
“No problem is too big for God, and I am sure our situation is not too bad for redemption.
“I also want to appeal to our politicians to remember the suffering populace. They should give a thought to the jobless people.
“The government should remember those who are helpless and are looking up to them to better their lot,’’ he urged. (NAN)
