Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
Aso Villa Chaplain, Seyi Malomo, Senior pastors drawn from the Redeem Christian Church of God (RCCG), including leaders from the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) gathered, on Monday, to offer praises and thanksgiving to God for sparing the life of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who reportedly escaped death by the whiskers, last Thursday.
The chopper that conveyed Osibanjo from the Nigeria Customs Command and Staff College, Gwagwalada, Abuja, where he attended the graduation ceremony of Senior Division Course 1/2018 participants, was forced to land few seconds after take-off.
Osinbajo’s spokesman, Laolu Akande, on his verified Twitter handle, @akandeoj, had claimed Osinbajo returned to the Presidential Villa by road due to technical reasons on the helicopter.
Akande wrote, “VP Osinbajo attended the graduation ceremony of Nigeria Customs Senior Course in Gwagwalada today (Thursday).
“On his way back, it was decided, for technical reasons, not to fly the chopper that had brought him to the venue.
“He drove back to the Presidential Villa and continued his schedule.”
Malomo, who put together the thanksgiving service, said there was every reason to thank God for sparing Osinbajo’s life.
According to the cleric, the incident was significant because it was not just Osinbajo’s life that was spared, the country, Nigeria and its leaders were also preserved from the calamity that could have befallen it.
“Last week we received the news with shock that the Vice President’s helicopter engine failed and we thank God that God preserved him.
“The preservation of the leaders is the preservation of the nation and as a result we want to thank God. So, this programme was organised to thank God for his watchful eyes over our leaders, over our nation and more particularly over the deliverance for the Vice President.
“We will be spending 120 hours praising God, teaching about thanksgiving, praying to God to bless Nigeria more, establish peace in Nigeria more, preserve our nation more, give us the victory that is needed.
“As we all know we are a nation that deeply loves God and a love for God that is also born out of deep appreciation because we know that God loves us too and his love for us manifest in his good works towards us,” he said.
He said invitations were extended to chairman of the Pentecostal Bishop Forum of Northern Nigeria, Archbishop John Praise, who gave his words to be present at the event, including Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria, FCT Chapter, Rev Dr. Isreal Akanji, senior pastors from the RCCG, among others.
Malomo, however, criticised Christians who daily bemoan their situation, saying they should be a praying for the church rather than complaining.
Citing the movement of the Israelites from Egypt to the promised land to illustrate his point, Malomo said rather than murmur and complain, Christians should look up to God for their supplications.
“My advice to them is for them to join us, we are to be a praying church not a complaining church, many of us as Christians knows that one of the things that angered God most in the journey of the children of Israel from Egypt was their momouring and complaints.
“We know that Nigeria has left Egypt we are on our way to the promised land, even though their might be manner and wilderness experience, the red sea we shouldn’t complain but look up to God and call on him that is what we are doing,” he stated.