By  Moses aransiola

WHY  is it that everything Nigerian is problematic and every solution that has worked elsewhere becomes a nightmare when it gets here? The answer is that every nation that will enjoy extraordinary grace must experience extraordinary tribulation. The devil will see to that; and the purpose is to try to abort the glorious destiny.
I must also establish quickly that there are seven stages in the evolution of a nation of destiny. As the nation fulfils the condition for one stage it moves on to the next. The key to success, therefore, is for a nation of destiny to persevere and live righteously to fulfil its assigned destiny. Have you noticed that Nigerians lack passion for their country? Nothing seems to move them about the country because they do not see anything that inspires them. On the contrary, we have seen many non-Nigerians developing a strong passion for the country simply because they know the prophecies and plan of God for the nation.
The Jews certainly knew something about their nation, which Nigerians don’t seem to know about theirs. Moreover, the Jews rejoiced in Jerusalem, their capital city, because they knew it was a fountain of their blessing. Being a nation of destiny just like Israel, our tribulations are guaranteed, but our reactions to the tribulations are markedly different. How? Hear what the scriptures say about Israel and Israelites:
“Many a time they have afflicted me from my youth,” Let Israel now say — “Many a time they have afflicted me from my youth; yet they have not prevailed against me.” Psa. 129:1-2  “If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill!  If I do not remember you, let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth — if I do not exalt Jerusalem above my chief joy.” Psa. 137:5-6
Here, the Israelites were literally cursing themselves should they forget Jerusalem. It means that Jerusalem was everything to them. In Psalms 122:6-9, we see Israel calling for prayers for the nation, speaking prophetically over their nation and making a solemn pledge to seek the good of the nation. We can see that their commitment to the nation was based on the fact that the temple was located right in Jerusalem, in Israel. Such was the passion they had for the house of the Lord. The temple was the centre of their national life.
Sincerely speaking, no matter what anybody thinks: the temple of God in Africa is in Nigeria. We are the largest block of Christians in Africa with scores of millions of Orthodox, Evangelical and Pentecostal Christians. This understanding has informed the commitment of the intercessory community in Nigeria. The Daniels of the nation have a duty to pray for the will of God to come to pass for the good of Nigeria.   In book of Jeremiah 51:50, when Israel was scattered by the Assyrians, the Chaldeans and the Medes, a prophecy still went after them stating,“You who have escaped the sword … Remember the Lord afar off, and let Jerusalem come to your mind.” God wanted His people to be passionate about their land.  Why does the Bible pay so much attention to Jerusalem? This is because Jerusalem has a prophetic calling and destiny. Jerusalem is the most contested city in the world. Jerusalem has been attacked about 400 times by different kings and nations and their armies.No city has suffered such levels and magnitude of attack in history, yet Jerusalem continues to exist. The glorious and enviable destiny of Israel certainly attracted the enemy attacks. Great destinies always attract great troubles.
As I mentioned earlier, every nation of destiny must pass through seven evolutionary stages of development. How quickly the concerned nation moves from one stage to the other depends on the attitude of its people and their reaction to the experiences they are undergoing. These seven phases are discussed briefly:
The formation of a nation happens when it is created by whatever process; whether civil war, colonialism, amalgamation or independence. The United States, for example, came into being after the south and the north came together, after a bitter civil war.This is true for many other nations. Nigeria was formed in 1914 through amalgamation. This is the stage when a nation goes into labour, trying to sort itself out constitutionally, politically and socially. How long it tarries here depends on the people and how soon they are able to resolve the constitutional issues. Nigeria was at this stage between 1957 and 1960 when its nationalists shuttled to and from the Lancaster House in London on a series of Constitutional Conferences.
The presentation stage is the official stage of inauguration. Nigeria was presented formally to the global community on 1st October 1960, the day it gained its political independence from Britain. Ghana was presented in 1957 and South Sudan about six year ago. Most times, a nation of destiny goes almost directly from the presentation stage to the tribulation stage. You could see the different federating units trying to outdo one another because, most times, the new arrangement is a marriage of inconvenience in which people with different cultures and values are brought together to form a common country. During the incubation and presentation stages, several issues and differences are assumed. But after the presentation stage, the fault lines between cultures and tribes and regions begin to show up gradually. This is what South Sudan is going through right now.
Hardly had they been presented to the world than their travails broke out. The nation of Kenya also experienced the Mau Mau uprising after their independence. Nigeria’s case is well known. Things fell apart so quickly after independence that six years later it recorded two coups within a space of six months, and a 30 month civil war that followed.  The crisis in Nigeria today is a result of lack of awareness of who we are (as a destiny nation) and where we are on the destiny chart (tribulation stage). It is our attitude to ourselves and to God that will determine how long we remain here. And I will illustrate this shortly. If a nation succeeds in passing through the tribulation stage without disintegration, it then enters into manifestation stage. At this stage, the nation begins to give a good account of itself in different areas of its national life. This will eventually be expressed in self-reliance and prosperity. This is what most Nigerians are yearning for right now. But the stock set for us is even higher than that.
At this stage, the nation begins to add value to the global community in terms of economy, industry, science and technology, peace keeping, etc. The nation then becomes a blessing to the entire global community.

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