Right-Wise Nigeria

I was weeping bitterly, pleading for mercy for the Nation, for myself, and for my bloodline. I cried for the parts we have played, knowingly or unknowingly, as Nigerians, contributing to where she stands today. Past images of a crooked Nigeria filled my mind and stirred me to pray desperately, to take my place in the hope of a righteous Nigeria.

It was a conviction woven with the right fear and the right agony, the kind that moves a person into action. Even after living outside Nigeria for a couple of years now, I still remember her woes, the troubles that made me ask why over and over as a little girl.

We were a people whose normal resembled scenes from an overly dramatized movie. I have asked many questions, but now I understand that what we face is the fruit of corruption sown deep into the ground. Corruption was birthing corruption.

We planted it so abundantly that it altered the very composition of the soil. It has now become difficult to sow righteousness in that land, and only those divinely helped can truly succeed.

During my recent visit to my blessed Nation, I wondered how she could ever be helped except by a sovereign act of God. The story is that we were oppressed by wrong leaders, leaders we chose, encouraged, and supported. The cry is that they became what we never expected once they sat on the seat of power.

Yet the truth is closer to home. We all need repentance for what our Nation has become. This is crucial for determining the path ahead, whether one of positive change or one that leads to destruction.

On that short trip to Nigeria, my husband and I visited a food spot. As we attempted to park, a man who looked to be in his mid-thirties suddenly appeared, banging on our car and insisting it was a no-parking zone. His persistence was troubling, and to avoid conflict, we found another space in a crowded area. When we stepped out, we saw the same man had parked his own car in the spot he had denied us. I was beyond shocked.

There was comedy in the moment, yet this has become what many now call street smarts, including those who claim to be religious. Wisdom is being redefined as the ability to deceive. If someone is outsmarted, many believe they deserve it.

As I wept for my country, these were the images that fueled my cries for mercy.

I remembered sitting in a hospital waiting room in Lagos as a high schooler, watching nurses speak to patients with such rudeness that it reduced human beings to nothing. Worth was given only to those who looked rich or essential.

I remembered members of my religious community who were entrusted with distributing resources quietly putting some aside for themselves. It was considered normal.

I remembered sitting in a national exam hall where teachers sold answers to students.

When people stood for truth, even in simple matters such as refusing to cut in line, many remained silent. If one person protested injustice in a store, at a bank, or on the road, it was painful how often they were left to fight alone.

The evil of this corruption is that the system has almost become sentient. It now corrupts people. Innocent individuals can no longer accomplish simple tasks without paying bribes. It has become the expected way of life.

I once needed a form from a religious organization. It required more than ten signatures, and at least five offices demanded a gift for their trouble. It was sickening.

Even in the diaspora, you can always feel the struggle. There is the weight of loved ones depending on you and the constant hope that the failed state will not swallow them, as Nigerians often say. The fact is that you are one missing document or one unexpected foreign policy shift away from tasting the struggles you hoped to escape.

The most agonizing reality for Nigerians is tribalism. It is a disease that makes even the most academically brilliant sound foolish. Academic excellence does not equal wisdom; We expect true wisdom from righteous men. Yet in my experience, I have found this mindset most common among religious people, and that is the deepest disappointment.

These groups have become peddlers of unforgiveness, prejudice, and poor judgment. Every human being, regardless of nation, gender, race, or language, is capable of good or evil. This is a sound truth. For the Christian mind, I expect it to be the bare minimum of understanding.

It is heartbreaking that we have remained silent about these issues in institutions of learning, on many pulpits, and in the media. The selfishness that grows in corruption hides itself beneath the excuse of survival. It breeds an unending cycle of hurt people hurting others.

In the struggle to survive, many have turned to all forms of crime, from scams to kidnapping. Many support the wrong government simply because they hope to gain some benefit, even if illegitimate.

As many of us flee to foreign nations, we must remember that we seek refuge in lands built by men who were willing to lose everything or even die for the sake of truth, justice, and righteousness.

Many of their just men even walked away from family ties if those ties would force them toward evil or cost them their souls.

As a Christian, I dare say that if there will be any people willing to lay down their lives for their friends and neighbors in the hope that righteousness will reign, they will most likely be people of the church, if the Lord permits. This is the way of right-wise men.

I weep for all who have had to sell their souls simply to survive. This is the bitter fruit of corruption.

A new generation is rising in Nigeria, a generation whose destinies hang by a thread except for the intervention of God and the partnership of faithful men.

I ache to see my brothers and sisters bow their heads as though they have no worth, no strength, and no hope. While watching a Nigerian competition show recently, I noticed this clearly: a profound lack of confidence and identity. My siblings looked beaten down. Anyone with a tender heart would weep.

I have read stories of lost dreams and shattered life paths. I have heard the cries of survivors of mass killings and Christian persecution in Northern Nigeria.

I have seen the depth of poverty, both of body and mind. My heart cries for mercy on Nigeria.

Yet there is good news. God is saying in this season that we must remember Nigeria’s divine identity, though greatly opposed. Her name is righteousness, and she will shine brightly before all who behold her.

What then does prayer look like for Nigeria?

God has already begun by opening our eyes and stirring compassion within us. This compassion is necessary for prayer, compassion for ourselves, and compassion for our neighbors. It is how we position ourselves to stand in the gap for divine guidance and intervention.

Our prayers must also be reflected in our actions. Each of us must play our part in building a right-wise Nigeria, whether from within or from the diaspora. We must build, each in our small portion, the foundations for the Nigeria that is emerging. I believe this with every fiber of my being.

Our most basic actions must begin with speaking truth and condemning the darkness that intends to swallow us.

So we must pray, and we must each take our place in the hope of the coming right-wise Nigeria.