Spiritual Revolution
for National Transformation
(An Overview of the letter shared with a friend on the issue of Spiritual Revolution for National Development)
Since the day I heard your voice, it was like the pregnancy of Elizabeth leaping in salutation to the pregnancy in the belly of Mary, the mother of Jesus. It was a vibration of destiny being connected to a singular purpose. Each of your words and quotes echoes into the very existence of my being rekindling all visions and dreams of a new nation God has impressed upon my heart and still wrapped up in its aura to date.
Over the years, the injustices and oppression of this land have sparked up unquenchable burdens and inner desires to be a voice speaking truth to power and against the oppression and oppressors of the land within my enclave of calling and purpose.
I am an ardent believer that every genuine change or revolution must first happen from inward to outward part of a man. Starting from the realm of the unseen to the seen, it must first begin from the realm of the spirit before it can be firmly established outside. Because the unseen rules the seen world.
Therefore, if a revolution for a new nation must happen, heaven must first kiss the earth. That is to say, it must first take place in the mind just as it has happened to you. Men of purpose must be inspired by the realm of Him who governs the affairs of men.
The cries of the oppressed must reach out to strike a chord which will prompt the hand of Creator to activate his revolutionary motive for our great nation just like a scriptural reference of the cries of the children of Israel in the land of Egypt before the emergence of Moses.
I have always believed the crumbled walls of this nation will be built again only if the people like Nehemiah who will be burdened genuinely by her state takes it upon themselves with a sense of divine purpose to see her walls built again to the great admiration she once enjoyed, then such Nehemiah of this generation will possess a divine backing in conjunction with the prophetic voice to accomplish the supreme purpose of God over this nation.
Nehemiah went through many challenges against the political jogglers and predators of his days but refused to compromise until the wall of Jerusalem was built and he achieved this through many like minds who were inspired by his convictions. These groups of people worked day and night with a sickle in one hand and sword on the other while some were standing on the tower to sound the trumpet to alert others of the dangers around.
The prophetic insight here is the people on the watchtower; these categories of people are the night watch with eyesight, insight, foresight, and hindsight. It comes with the strategic power of prayer and revival. Nehemiah 4:1-20, Ezra 4:1-5, Ezra 5:1-2
Another example is found in Exodus 17: 14, the Lord commanded Moses to write the victory of that day in memorial and rehearse it the ears of Joshua. Why rehearse in the ears of Joshua? You will understand in this story that Moses, Aaron, and Hur were on the mountain lifting up the rod of Moses while Joshua was on the field fighting with the skillfulness of his sword on the field of battle and when the hand of Moses goes down, Joshua loses the battle but when His hand is steady with the help of Aaron and Hur, Joshua kept winning and this has a deep spiritual connotation. It demonstrated teamwork which comprises a called man of God, a mouthpiece of God, and a man with technical skill and know-how to wedge sword on the field of battle. A superb combination of the Spirit and the physical. Hence the God commanded Moses to rehearse the roles he played at the backend in his ears which led to his victory so he will not just think his victory was due to his skillfulness in wedging his sword only.
My apologies if my analysis looks like a thesis, it just to further juxtapose a perspective that strengthened my resolve.
I see you as such a voice a divine capability and vision to inspire the Joshuas and Nehemiah’s of this generation, at the sounding of your voice which epitomize the trumpet, many destinies shall arise and break forth from the cocoon of mediocrity that has taken over the passion of our youths and the entire nation.
I have no doubt your sense of purpose is in doubt! Rather I am vehemently convinced your voice and pen are judiciously crafted to unburden the divine intention in standing against the oppression and social injustices in the land with a deep conviction to establish a new order in the political space with a view of good governance, equal right and peaceful coexistence among the citizens.
This ideology and desires are what I share with you and will never trade it for anything.
I am more of a Leviticus lineage in the area of my calling but with a radical belief in a spiritual revolution for national transformation. As much I believe in the religious institution i.e. the Church, I also feel the church has failed in her responsibility to be the place of hope and succor for the oppressed. Rather some of the agents of the church have even in one way or the other aggravated the pains and sufferings of the people through various gimmicks of extortion, insensitivity, and inhumane acts towards the people and all these I see as an outflow of a failed state and religious institution.
I believe the revolution of the religious institution will be the antidote for the moral decadence in our nation upon which a new nation and attitudinal change will emerge if we can repair the broken pillars of our spiritual platform.
This approach I believe will tackle the forces of darkness that hover on the soul of men to influence him to do evil to his neighbors while on the other hand, the forces of GO(O)D) inspires the soul of men for the greater good of others.
I believe, a good tree will produce good fruit and vice visa. The people who govern us today have lost their moral compass and conscience hence the corruption we are seeing today in our political space. And you will bear witness with me that this greed which has metamorphosed into corruption over a long period of time has its root in the failure of moral decadence which only fear of God can cure. And this can only be achieved from a religious and cultural approach to instill those lost virtues of integrity and love for one another which serves as elementary requirement and pillars for healthy nationhood.
Also, this institution serves as an engine room of a nation where characters, beliefs, and orientation of people are shaped, and all these are critical to a national revolution.
Perhaps Govt can play a regulatory role of this institution without bias or sentiment to check unethical practices of some sycophants who tarnish the sacred profession not only in one religion but in all other acclaimed ones. If this can be achieved, the institution will take her rightful place in shaping the moral character of the citizens.
The religious institution is the soul of the nation and the engine room where the need of national values, moral characters, and virtues are instilled.
Yes, the state has failed because they have refused to uphold the tenets of laws, social justice, and equality but not a failure yet. This nation will utterly become a failure if her citizens refuse to rise to speak against the vices that are ongoing now. The nation will become a failure if no one will dare to call a spade a spade without the fear of those who can only kill the body but not the soul.
The real patriots of Nigeria are not those who have never been touched with the failures of her political actors, rather they are those who have experienced it all, and in spite of her fading hope and blinking future, they still find something to hang their faith on and willing to take a daring step to break loose from the shackles of oppression but meanwhile they will never choose the option of silence.
I am sorry once again, to bore you with my view rather you have sparked off a fire of which I am consumed with your ideology and your charismas to trailblaze and inspire our generation to positive action at least not to keep quiet anymore.
Like you once said “…. Is it accidental that nobody in my generation has acquired the capacity to speak as the men in my hero’s generation? I think not. I believe that we are all products of the environment that nurtures us, and Professor’s generation was imbued with a sense of purpose that seems completely obliterated in my own generation. Professor’s generation had a surplus of men with the capacity to dream, idealists who had big dreams for the Nigeria State. The first coupists, Kaduna Nzeogwu et al., Fela Anikulapo, Gani Fawehinmi — that generation had several dreamers and original thinkers.
My own generation, on the other hand, is replete with survivalists; peopled with men and women who have become experts in existential living; the art of compromises, even with their own consciences, and the pursuit of personal wealth at the expense of corporate poverty. My generation has no vision of the Nigeria State; we grew up during and after the Civil War. We were either Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo, Edo, and so on; we were anything but Nigerians, and not believing in the Nigeria State, we pursued individual and personal aggrandizements. There were periodic and episodic identifications with the Nigeria State, but being unfortunate to have lived as young adults under the several kleptocratic regimes headed by the military, we had no high ideals to live up to, no windmills to charge, and idealistic dreams died quickly in the economic maelstrom that witnessed our youthful years. We are the worst that the Nigeria State has thrown up, existential in outlook, bankrupt in morals. We are raising children who cannot survive in the country that we will bequeath to them if things are not quickly reversed. It is this harsh reality that has now loosened my tongue and woken me from inertia. My purpose is to sound the alarm in the hope that we have not traveled too far down this road towards national destruction and we can do a course correction before it is too late. Silence is no longer an option.
This has furthered endeared me to your school of thought which served as a clarion call to the men of purpose and vision for a new Nigeria to at least gear up new vigor and vitality to once dream again to possess the new nation that is about to be rebirthed.
To this end, have I made up my mind to be an ardent student of your school of thought and to also prepare to use whatever platform God has provided to further push and amplify your voice with deeper insight until our change comes.
This change may be instant or in the distant future, but I have to take a stand from a vintage perspective to behold the dawn of a new day and the rising of a new sun setting upon this nation in a soon time to come.
In conclusion, you may not fully agree with all I have said but it is crystal clear we both desires to achieve a better nation. I respect your views and accepted it all and I will also desire to unlearn and learn more as to be an evangelist of this gospel to this generation.
I thank God for your inspiration and for such a time as this, a voice like this is screaming in our national wilderness, it’s an indication there is still a ray of hope in the tunnel of darkness. There is still a better day ahead for the generation to come.
I remain Tishbite
