The Archbishop, Province of the Niger, and Bishop of Awka Diocese, Most Rev Alexander Ibezim, has described Nigeria as a sick country that prayers may not heal.
He stated this on Wednesday in his address to mark the 60th Independence anniversary of the country.
He said the trouble with Nigeria was that most people were religious without having ethical values.
He stated that Nigerians, especially, the leadership had offended God and that the prayers of sinners would not heal any nation. He said that such prayers were an abomination before God.
He said, “An honest assessment of our country shows that our country is sick. Nigeria is an elderly country but sick. Sick in the sense that at this stage Nigeria should have grown a mature nation – a nation that would have been able to contain its own problems and live a healthy lifestyle. But Nigeria of today is sick – economically sick, politically sick, and spiritually sick.
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“Every time people say: pray, pray, God is not an author of confusion. God is interested in how we live our lives. Everybody is religious in Nigeria. But religion without ethical values has no meaning because God abhors corruption; and God abhors wickedness.
“The prayer of a wicked man is an abomination in the sight of God. Our political leaders should know that their time has tenure. Life is a journey. People are crying that life is very difficult. There is a day of accountability. If there is no accountability here, there must be accountability before God. Leaders should know they are leading human beings not animals.
He added, “I’m not saying Nigeria has not survived. I’m not talking about survival, but I’m talking about a nation that is sick. That’s is the true state of Nigeria today. For any nation to survive, that nation must be spiritually alive. Once you are spiritually dead, you can’t be physically healthy. Nigeria should go back to God in sincerity.
“We have sinned against God the Almighty God, the politicians, and all of us. No matter the policies you formulate without addressing the spiritual decay in the system, the healthy aspect will be a dream.