TRANSCRIPT OF THE SPEECH BY DR. GOODLUCK EBELE JONATHAN AT CHURCH SERVICE TO MARK NIGERIA’S 51st INDEPENDENCE ANNIVERSARY.
I thank you for prayers because it is because of it we are even seeing what we are seeing today. You have been praying for us and my request is for you to continue to pray for the government.
You have been praying for us but others will not even want us to move an inch especially those of us who are politicians. But one prayer I will continue to request because if you listen to Nigerians ore read their statement, some Nigerians sill want the President of this country to be a lion or a tiger, somebody that has that kind of strength and force and agility to make things happen the way they think. Some others will want the President to operate like an army general like my Chief of Army Staff commanding his troop. Incidentally, I am not a lion; I am not also a general.
Somebody will want the president to operate like the Kings of Syria, Babylon, Egypt, the pharaoh all powerful people that you read about in the Bible, they want the president to operate that way, the characters of the Goliath, unfortunat ely I am not one of those.
But God knows why I am here even though I don’t have any of those attributes , or those kinds of characters I have used as an example. But through your prayers God placed me here. The only thing I ask you to do for me and that is the prayer I pray every time, is for God to use me to change this country.
I don’t need to be a lion, I don’t need to be Nebuchadnezzar, I don’t need to operate like the Pharaoh of Egypt, I don’t need to be an army general but I can change this country without those traits.
You know these days for you to be an intellectual and for people to listen to you, you have to abuse government. Somebody was asking, is Nigeria on an auto pilot? Meaning a plane without a pilot and I say Nigeria is being piloted by God himself.
There is no pilot no matter how many hours you have flown your aircraft and get to your destination if God wants you to stop half way God is in charge and God will take us to our destination.
Is not going to be easy but with God using you and us we will get to where we want to go.
I just got back from the US, the President of America is like the president of the world because is the most powerful country. In most cases if you go for UN General Assembly, if you are to speak immediately after the US President then you are in trouble. Immediately he speaks about two third of the hall will leave because everybody wants to listen to the President of America.
Obama when he spoke commended Nigeria but back home we are being abused. When we had the Security Council meeting outside the General Assembly but here we are being abused. When the President of South Africa, Gabon spoke they commended Nigeria but here we are not being appreciated. But what I can assure you is that Nigeria is on course and with your prayers and guidance of God we will surely get to the destination we are going.
is not going to be easy because just like Rev. Yusuf Turaki said they are Goliaths everywhere, very very terrible Goliaths, the ones that can even kill their father and mother and even their children in other to stop government are willing to do it. So we have these terrible Goliaths that are trying to frustrate but surely with God we will conquer them.
I remember one of the sermons Pastor Ayo gave here, he said every Goliath has an exposed forehead, all the Goliaths that are stumbling blocks to the development and growth of this country, God will exposed their heads for the stone of David.
Brothers and Sisters we are celebrating Nigeria at 51 after the independence but as a baton we are 97 years old because Nigeria was amalgamated in 1914, in 2014 we will celebrate the centenary, our 100 years of existence, we will do a big ceremony. Today, we are celebrating 51 years of independence, definitely Nigeria is moving and with your prayers and God’s guidance we all get to where we want to go. Jesus is Lord