Check out this incredible article giving insight into the state of affairs in the nation Nigeria. The writer listened to what TB Joshua said in yesterday’s service and watched as the events unfolded accordingly.
By Nosa Osazuwa
The nation of Nigeria was in a state of limbo, a standstill going into Sunday 15th January 2012, as talks between the Federal Government and labour unions in an attempt to come to a consensus on the issue of fuel subsidies and protests, ended in an unsatisfactory deadlock.
The discussions on Saturday evening which lasted for hours in order to resolve the petrol price crisis which had caused a nationwide strike for five days was inconclusive as both sides acknowledged that they had been unable to come to a place of compromise. Talks were postponed again ‘till Sunday night, leaving Nigerians unsure of what the coming week might hold – whether continued protests nationwide or a compromise from the president and the government, or something else.
TB Joshua
On Sunday morning, while Nigerians were worrying about what the outcome of the crisis might be, many still afraid to venture out of the safety of their homes, Pastor TB Joshua, of The Synagogue, Church Of All Nations, Ikotun Egbe, Lagos, addressed the issue directly during his sermon, broadcast live via his TV station, Emmanuel TV.
He said that Nigeria had prayed and hoped. But that one thing that was yet to be done was to apply love. He quoted, 1 Corinthians 13:13 – There are only 3 things – faith, hope and love. The greatest is love. “Since the greatest thing is love, we need to make the greatest sacrifice. Our president is the person who should make the greatest sacrifice. The other participants will follow”, TB Joshua asserted.
Addressing the nation, he said: “My message to the nation, to you Nigeria – is compromise. Love is compromise – to give chance for peace in the interests of the nation. To compromise means we must shift ground.”
He further said: “We should not give the impression of embarrassing the president and the other participants in the crisis. To achieve this easily, our president must rely more on politicians than on technocrats”.
Towards the end of his sermon, TB Joshua once again reassured his nation of Nigeria, saying:
“The nation Nigeria and people of Nigeria – the issue of the crisis, put it behind you. You say that you are not going on Monday, that you think you’ll be restricted. No. I think God is on top. God is in control.”
Later on Sunday night, the Nigerian government sent mixed messages. Many Nigerians sat glued to their television sets, awaiting a message from the president yet none came. Talks were postponed again and Nigerians went to bed unsure of what the morrow might bring forth.
The tables turned on Monday 16th January 2012, when early in the morning, the news was released nationwide that a consensus had been reached and an agreement had finally been made.
Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan said in an address to the nation that petrol prices would be reduced to 97 naira a litre. That is a reduction of about 35 percent but it still remains higher than the 65 naira per litre Nigerians paid before the government ended the fuel subsidy at the beginning of the year. That is, he had come to a place of compromise.
“The Government will continue to pursue full deregulation of the downstream petroleum sector. However, given the hardships being suffered by Nigerians, and after due consideration and consultations … the government has approved the reduction of the pump price of petrol,” said Goodluck Jonathan in a televised address Monday morning.
In response, labour unions promptly agreed to suspend mass protests to allow further negotiations with the government.
The questions that might spring to many minds are, was it all just a co-incidence or did the president listen to the counsel from TB Joshua and act according to it? Did TB Joshua send a message to the president, giving him God’s opinion on the crises at hand?
It doesn’t take Albert Einstein to see the connection between TB Joshua’s words and the action taken later that day by the President and the Federal Government.
TB Joshua is a renowned minister known world over, particularly for his prophetic ministry and his humanitarian services. Most recently, it was said that he had accurately predicted the street protests in Nigeria, stating in October 2011 that he could see people protesting from street to street, from state to state. He mentioned that the people that really make this economy work, the grassroots would soon be on the street and that the nation would come to a standstill as the big men would wonder how they could do the job by themselves.
One might ask, if the president and Nigerians had listened to this prophecy at the time it was given and sought advice on how to handle the crisis, we might not have lost the billions of naira that the catastrophe cost our nation. Perhaps our president should learn from the leaders and kings of old, who always sought God’s opinion from a prophet regarding the matters of the nation.
