Niger state Chairman of the Christian Association Of Nigerian (CAN), Most Rev. Dr. Bulus Dauwa Yohanna has called on Christians to use the yuletide season to pray for leaders of the country to lead the nation out of the current challenges.
He urged Christians in his Christmas message tagged: the hour has come, wake up!. (Romans 13:11), to pray for the downtrodden and those held in captivity by bandits and other criminals.
According to the Chairman who is also the Catholic Bishop of Kontagora Diocese, “let us pray to God for our President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and our dear Governor, Rt. Hon. Umar Mohammed Bago and ask God to bless and grant them the courage and wisdom to lead us out of the current challenges we are facing as a nation and to bring out programmes and activities that will alleviate the suffering of the masses.
“Let us join hands together with Governor Bago to actualize the New Niger agenda because the call to wake up from slumber is an urgent call to all and sundry”.
While congratulating Nigerlites and indeed the entire Christendom for another Christmas celebration, Bishop Yohanna implored Bloc leaders, local government Coordinators, leaders of churches and all Christians to strive in order to overcome the temptation to promote self, tendency to work for personal interest over and above the common good, to guard against actions and behaviors that can be detrimental to the goal of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and jeopardize the message of the Gospel.
The Catholic Bishop of Kontagora Diocese while saying the season is associated with a lot of travelling and visitations to friends and families to re-unite with our loved ones charged all Christians to be vigilant.
According to him “please if you must travel, plan very well and find out the situation of things the direction you are going and be careful the kind of vehicles you take for your journeys”.
Furthermore, he urged Christians and indeed Bigrrlites to remember those affected by insecurity challenges.
Accordingly, he said “as we celebrate Christmas and the new year in few days to come with our families and friends let us also remember our brothers and sisters who are held in captivity by bandits and other criminals who seem to have taken over some parts of the country.
“Let us remember and pray for the poor, the widows, orphans, the abandoned in the society, drug addicts, those bereaved, the sick, the home bound, the old people and so on, because these are the people that Jesus, as our Savior, brought the Good News that our God is a loving, forgiving, merciful, rewarding God and not a judging, cruel, punishing God.”