Gowon says only prayers can save Nigeria, Buhari

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode (right) with the former military Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, rtd. (left) during a courtesy visit to the Governor by the former military Head of State and Coordinators of Nigeria Prays at the Lagos House, Ikeja, on Friday, August 14, 2015.

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode (right) with the former military Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, rtd. (left) during a courtesy visit to the Governor by the former military Head of State and Coordinators of Nigeria Prays at the Lagos House, Ikeja, on Friday, August 14, 2015

Kazeem Ugbodaga

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode (right) with the former military Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, rtd. (left) during a courtesy visit to the Governor by the former military Head of State and Coordinators of Nigeria Prays at the Lagos House, Ikeja, on Friday, August 14, 2015
Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode (right) with the former military Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, rtd. (left) during a courtesy visit to the Governor by the former military Head of State and Coordinators of Nigeria Prays at the Lagos House, Ikeja, on Friday, August 14, 2015

Former Head of State, Yakubu Gowon has called on Nigerians to pray fervently for the leadership of the nation as it is only prayer that can save and rescue the nation from its problems.

Gowon, who visited Governor Akinwunmi Ambode on Friday evening at the State House, Ikeja, Lagos, Southwest Nigeria said his group, ‘Nigeria Prays’ was in Lagos as it wants to hold prayers for the nation in the Southwest zone.

“We are coming to Lagos to pray for our leaders, especially President Muhammadu Buhari to do the right thing for the state and the country. We are having the prayer on Sunday.

“We have encouraged Nigerians to pray for the country. It is only God who can help a nation solve any challenge that it may be facing,” adding that, “God has answered Nigeria’s prayers over the years.”

Gowon said his group had always prayed for the good of the nation, saying that God had wrought miracles in the nation due to prayer. He said it was because of prayer that the 2015 presidential election went on peacefully.

According to him, it is only prayers offered in sincerity of heart to God that he would answer, calling on Nigerians to be sincere with God.

Speaking, Ambode thanked Gowon for the visit, saying he remembered it was the former head of state who created Unity Schools where he went. “I also recall that at the end of the civil war in 1970, your good self declared that there was no victor, no vanquish and the main reason why you did that was because you wanted to create a platform for the future unity of Nigeria which is why we are so glad to receive you here today.

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“All this point to the fact that you have an unalloyed commitment to the unity of all Nigerians irrespective of where they come from and that is what we are very proud of in Lagos. Lagos remains a major cosmopolitan state and all Nigerians from different tribes and all walks of life are actually living in it for the last 48 years since it was created.

“I want to welcome you because what you stand for is what you have continued to preach even at the age of 81, you are still preaching the same thing you have been preaching 50 years ago,” he said.

Ambode emphasised that the last election could not have taken place if the hand of God was not there, saying it was obviously a manifestation of the greater blessings of the collective will of Nigerians to come together to lift up Nigeria spiritually.

“And we can see that the future can only be better than what it has been in the past and we know that the cohesion that is coming from the different religious groups; Muslims, Christians and even other religious groups means there is a common vision.

“We are looking for a peaceful Nigeria and then a prosperous Nigeria and that is what all of us stand for and we as a government in Lagos State are committed to that spiritual upliftment and development of Nigeria as a whole,” he said.

Ambode said he was glad that Lagos was hosting the rally. He noted that the state was committed to making the rally successful. “There is nothing else we can do than to continue to support you in every area that we would always make Nigeria Prays work at all times.

“I know three basic things that we are looking for: we know that Nigeria Prays stands to promote peaceful co-existence, we also recognise the fact that it is also standing to promote religious harmony; we also know that it is for the spiritual development and eventually the economic development of Nigeria,” Ambode said.

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