He would heal Nigeria spiritually’
From Wole Balogun, Ado-Ekiti
RENOWNED Prophet and General Overseer of The Word Bible Church, with international headquarters in Ajelogo, Ketu, Lagos, Prophet Julius Kumoluyi has asserted that President Mohammadu Buhari’s administration would heal the nation’s soul spiritually.
Counseling that the spiritual controls the physical, Prophet Kumoluyi opines further that he is convinced in his spirit as a genuine man of God that President’s Buhari’s current style of governance will lead to the total healing of Nigerians soul “ from all ailments of stagnancy occasioned by age-long endemic corruption.”
He made the remarks while fielding questions bordering on the state of the nation from journalists during his monthly healing and deliverance crusade at his church’s branch in his hometown in Igbara-Odo in Ekiti State recently.
The current government promised Eldorado in a very short time after assuming power, but it’s almost two years now, things are getting worse, what is your take?
We need to thank our God. There hasn’t been anything like pollution or war and no disintegration. We have to thank God. Like I said about two months ago, Nigeria is like a two-storey building that suddenly collapses, it will take a long while and huge effort to rebuild it.
We started having problems from the days of military regime long time ago. For the civilians to bring it to back normal, we have to exercise a lot of patience. No president of Nigeria has ever done what President Mohammed Buhari is doing right now. Look at all the shocking revelations about the looting of our treasury. Nigeria may not have been progressing but we still have cause to thank God and there is hope that things will get better. Our continuous fasting and prayers will assist this country to get to her destination.
Looking spiritually at what President Buhari is doing right now, personally I feel strongly that Nigeria will soon be better. Everything that has a beginning must have an end, a day is coming when Nigeria would be out of the woods. We will also have to thank God for Ekiti at 20. Many people are criticizing Governor Ayodele Fayose, it’s a normal thing. As a leader, criticism helps you to perform even better. Even Jesus Christ was criticized while on earth. I have people who criticize me as a General Overseer. Criticism makes a leader stronger and better, because it corrects the leader and makes him to identify areas of weakness and improve on them. If given the chance to lead the state, those criticizing Fayose would know that leadership is a Herculean task. Personally, I’ll advise we pray for our leaders for them to have the wisdom to lead us to greatness.
There has been controversy on the government’s proposal to sell national assets to finance 2016 budget.What do you say?
Personally, I don’t think it is bad to sell our national assets if that appears the easiest way out. I give you an example of a company I once worked for in the ‘70s. There was a time we had financial problem and the management chose to sell some properties of the company and the proceeds was used to rescue the company and in about three years after, the company was revived and even began to buy other properties. So, selling our assets can work instead of borrowing money again and impoverishing us with huge interest on such loan.
Other things we can also do to revive this economy is diversifying into agriculture. Thank God this is already being considered by the government which is a very good development. But we will have to be patient to reap the benefits because the gains of planting crops is not immediate. Right now, Nigeria is investing in agriculture so I was told, and it will take two to three years before harvesting would start.
In the past we have made the mistake of investing only in oil at the expense of cash crops like cotton, cocoa among others.
I prophesy that a time will come when Nigerian visa would be difficult for the white men to get because they don’t have regard for us in their embassies today. I have just returned from America. They treat us as if we are thieves. Those mocking us and saying we’re fantastically corrupt and all that will come and beg to come to our country. This is my prayer.
There is also controversy on calls from eminent Nigerians on the need to restructure Nigeria towards regionalism, what do you say?
Regionalism is what is being practiced in America and I think we should adopt that system where each autonomous state would have fiscal federalism, generate its own funds, control its internal economy and resources and make contribution to the central government. There will be rapid development in the regions and all kinds of sectarian crisis, vandalism, kidnapping and all such would end. Nigeria is indeed ripe to have state police forces because that would be more effective in curbing anti-social behaviors and crimes. In America, there is community policing and the community is responsible for paying officers and that gives room for effective security. Abroad, they don’t have huge natural resources like we do but they generate huge money by taxation at almost all level of public service including parking in public places and they regulate these areas well. Here, everything doesn’t seem well. Look at our education, a graduate cannot even articulate himself well.
Crime is on the increase in the country because the Nigerian Police Force cannot cope. In the United States, there are several kinds of police. Nigeria is ripe for state police. Those in positions of authority are aware of this. It is only that there’s anxiety in certain quarters.
Why have Nigerian leaders failed to replicate the development models they see in abroad at home here?
That is caused by lack of patriotism on their part. Lack of patriotism remains the bane of Nigerian leaders. Most of our leaders are self-seeking and that is why they are refusing to replicate the developments they see in the developed world in the public domain, but rather using the commonwealth to replicate such in their homes and estates. I once saw a very decent toilet at a church in America which I liked so much. I took its photograph and built the same model here in our church headquarters in Lagos and when our colleagues in America saw it in Nigeria, they marveled that it is just like theirs. So, I wonder why our leaders can’t do same for the country. You can imagine only one person siphoning N50 billion out of the commonwealth! Isn’t that madness?. If such a person dies today, no one would bury him with the money and even his children cannot exhaust it. But I pray that the Lord will change their hearts for good so that Nigeria can be better.
What role should clerics in Nigeria play under this government?
If you ask any man of God he would reply by saying we should pray and fast for the nation, that is our role as clerics, but what is disheartening now is that there is no cordiality among most men of God in this country. For me, personally, I have been fasting and praying for the country. But I still want a situation whereby all genuine men of God in this country would come together and pray for this nation. I am still advising the President again to encourage a situation whereby all clerics in the country would choose a particular day for periodic prayers for the nation. It could bi-monthly or otherwise. We really need to set aside a day for powerful prayers for our nation. And we could use our national stadium for the venue for such prayers by both Muslim and Christian clerics. America has a day for national prayers, why can’t we have ours?
When President Muhammadu Buhari’s was a military head of state, he introduced War Against Indiscipline (WAI) and it worked. So, I advise that he should also introduce a national day prayer for the nation. In another way, the government can also set aside a day for all to seek God’s face for the nation, Muslims to go their mosques for prayers and Christians to their churches for prayers for the nation.
What other strategy would you propose as solution to our current economic woes?
Aggressive investment in agriculture by the governments and individuals will greatly assist in the country’s economic and social revamping. If we go back to agriculture as it used to be before the discovery of oil, the lost glory of Nigeria will be restored. We should not forget in a hurry the place of Nigeria with revenue from cocoa, cotton, groundnuts and palm oil. We can still get back there. Agro business remains a way out for the country.