NATION BUILDING; THE KINGDOM PERSPECTIVE

 

The past few days have been one filled with grief, pain, lessons and disappointment in Nigeria.

The youths of the country took to the streets to ask for end to Police brutality that has become the habit of a division of the Nigerian Police Force known as Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS). The youths also sought for justice for those who have been oppressed and killed by the SARS and also to demand for accountability from the ruling class. The #EndSars campaign took a sad turn when the peaceful protesters were attacked in Lekki, Lagos State, on the 20^th of October by military men after over a week of gathering at that location peacefully. This led to multiple level of violence in the state and country at large.

The gory clips and videos of the events flying around with no government official taking responsibility for the dastardly act led to more anger in the land. The “Nigeria dream” became a mirage. The energy invested in the two weeks of coming out to make the case for a better Nigeria seem to dissipate totally when the president of the country made a speech leaving out the Lekki incident and every of his words were devoid of hope, empathy and any sense of leadership.

I saw many people meddle with the idea of leaving the country. Here is the truth; not all of us will be privileged to travel out of the country. So, from the perspective of a believer, how do you draw joy in what seem to be as hopeless as the Nigeria dream? Let me start from explaining the concept of nation building to you, howbeit, from the kingdom perspective.

 

I need you to first understand that when we talk about a nation, it is not referring to a country as a geographical location. It is an ideology; a way of life. It is the embodiment of character, nature and lifestyle that a people carry even when they are not in the geographical expression of their birth.

Do you remember what the scriptures said about Rebekah’s pregnancy?

“And the Lord said unto her, two nations are in thy womb, and two manners of people shall be separated from thy bowels…” Gen 25:23a

This is a description of two people who will be a type of a kind of life. They are from same belly, but, they are two nations because they represented two different expressions of a people who will come forth in the scheme of prophecy; it is not a government.

Daniel and his friends were exiled in Babylon. This is naturally a condition of discomfort that makes any man look for every means to find safety and acceptance before his captors.

The king ordered that some of them were selected, trained and made ready to come before him with the intention of serving on his team. Daniel and his friends came out exceptional and they were enlisted.  Although these men had left Jerusalem, they were no longer where the Ark of the Covenant was, but the Ark was practically living in them.

Having been selected as the privileged ones, the king ordered they were well fed by different delicacies. This was a treatment of honor in a strange land. A rare privilege many will fight to have. However, Daniel and his peers had a nation in them. They had been built into a nation of God. They were not in Jerusalem but the ideology of Jerusalem goes everywhere with them- it was a consciousness of honor to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. That was the nation built in them. This exactly was the nation in Rebekah’s womb and God is still in the business of enriching that nation today.

 

“But Daniel made up his mind not to eat the food and wine given to them by the King. He asked the superintendent for permission to eat other things instead” Dan 1:8

 

The refusal to eat the kings’ meal wasn’t because it was a sin but the nation in them needed to find a way of expression. There needs to be a manifestation and that avenue must be created to show forth the light. Daniel and his friends didn’t miss out on that channel of expression. The people around noticed these guys carried what they don’t and the nation (righteousness) in them was established there through these men.

 

For all the years lived in Babylon, they never behaved like a Babylonian because of how much of what had been in them. This is the Nigerian dream of the Lord for Nigeria. A nation where you can take a man who will stand for the truth everywhere he is found because a nation (way of life of righteousness) has been delivered to such a man. Can you see this is beyond what politics can drive?

And this isn’t about becoming a preacher either as some may think. Joseph did it; he held a political office in a strange land. We must take this fight from the root. We are not ignorant. Nothing would have changed in Egypt if one of the king’s magicians still managed the economy. What happens when there are no Josephs? Joseph was a type of a nation of Israel (righteousness) in Egypt.

 

So, friend, as a believer, you must first understand the kingdom perspective to nation building to tackle the challenges we have rightly and to end up seeing the prophetic become our reality.

Now, you’d see that the challenge isn’t all dependent on the political class. The Nigeria dream of the prophetic is about a people with the consciousness of righteousness everywhere they go. You are not trying to build Nigeria in a sense; you are building the kingdom into Nigeria.

I will continue next week to show how we would do this; it’s impact on politics and the society at large and more importantly, how you can stay joyful in the midst of the seeming hopelessness

 

Stay strong friend, I love you.

Be Innovated

Olufemi Ibitoye