*JUST SPEAK LIFE*
I grew up in Benin City. I look back and realise that it was a privileged life. It was a time of growth for me and my friends growing up, and YES you know yourselves. We all lived in what was called the GRA but then all of Benin was GRA when compared to today where the gap between the rich and the poor is so obvious that it is sickening. IT WAS A COMFORTABLE LIFE FOR ALL STRATA OF SOCIETY. A silver spooned life where Dad, Sir SIO Giwa-Amu was the first Solicitor-General and Permanent Secretary of the Midwestern Region ((1967-1970),
to Major General David Ejoor, his old school classmate and then under Brigadier General Osaigbovo Ogbemudia, and the Secretary to the State Government and Head of the Civil Service was Sir Imoukhuede (either an Oxford or Cambridge graduate). I would read Press bulletin which I thought was usual in all homes but later realised that it was a security briefing on State matters only for the State Executives. Every morning, milk was delivered to our house and I took it for granted that this was normal for every home. We never had any gateman at our gate and the gates were for the most part open and again it never occurred to me that this was special that there was never any theft or house robberies.
We drank water from the tap because it was clean water from the Water Board where uncle Okaisebor was in charge. We ate eggs from Mrs Ojeikere’s poultry on Giwa-Amu street; there was the best bakery in Benin; there was Agbontaen sawmill that produced the best furniture; we also had Bob Oshodi who made International standard furniture; the Commisioner of Police was uncle Magnus Eweka, uncle Adeola, and my Grand uncle George Amu, we went to Emotan preparatory school and from there naturally to either Edo College or Idia College!
It was a life of saftey and an assurance of an expected end. After all, Jeremiah 29:11 assured me of that expected end!! It was our right. It was a beautiful life of parties in Government house to friends houses and there was always RSVP (rice and stew very plenty). Oh we were sisters and brothers yet boyfriends and girlfriends where as soon as you enter and greet the father of the house the question was always- “and who is your father?” And once you introduced yourself you were welcomed to a sumptuous meal and a “greet your daddy for me.” It was a glorious time. A golden era. Colonial masters had gone and our parents moved in to sit and live a life prepared for the White colonial Masters. Dad was Solicitor General at 33 years of age! He was 10 years post call to the English bar.
I know that I was not the most privileged but write only from my experience. I understand that you my brethren, reading this, would have even better stories than I do, but how I miss that golden era. What did we do with the times given to us? How we have fallen to decay and rot. Nannies plan the kidnap of children in their care. Drivers, plan the robbery of their bosses; elected officials are kingpins of gangs that they call thugs to rig elections. Assasination of opponents in the most gruesome manner has become the order of the day.
Leaders have dark- night gangs that even kill their constituents and steal their properties; the old Fulani friends we had have become dangerous AK-47 herdsmen; we have religious insurgents with all kinds of appellation, killing, destroying and stealing whole villages as in John 10:10. Truly as Yeats said, “the blood dimmed tide is loosed and everywhere the ceremony of innocence is drowned.!” The beautiful Nigeria died and lies with dry rotted bones. The Church sleeps. The mosques sleep. God’s people dead and with dried bones in the valley while satan and his cohorts are having a field day in their reign of fear. The people of God are terrified.
My brothers and sisters under the shadow of the Almighty God we have a word in 2 Timothy 1:7
[7]For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
We have 3 spirits to fight against the reign of satan. And the word is in Job 22:28
[28]You will also declare a thing, And it will be established for you; So light will shine on your ways.
We have the power to speak to the dead and to our decay and we must. The question is what do we say? How do we say it?
Ezekiel 37:1-10
[1]The hand of the Lord came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones.
[2]Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed they were very dry.
[3]And He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” So I answered, “O Lord God, You know.”
[4]Again He said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord!
[5]Thus says the Lord God to these bones: “Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live.
[6]I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.” ’ ”
[7]So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to bone.
[8]Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them over; but there was no breath in them.
[9]Also He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” ’ ”
[10]So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, AN EXCEEDINGLY GREAT ARMY.
*DRY BONES*
The bones lay on the surface of the valley, like the remains of corpses denied a proper burial and left for vultures. LET US TAKE A LOOK AT OUR COUNTRY. DRY BONES LEFT TO ROT. SURELY THIS VALLEY WE ARE IN SMELLS OF PURIFIED BLOOD AND THE STENCH OF ROT IS DEHUMANIZING.
As a priest, Ezekiel knew how important was the proper treatment of human corpses. As we critically look upon this country where bandits of all names in and out of government preside we must feel the same as Ezekiel did.
Can these bones live? Can Nigeria rise up again? Can we live again as the living do? One might hope that a recently dead corpse might somehow resurrect. No one hopes that scattered, detached bones might live. I love Ezekiel’s response to God’s answer. I would carefully have answered the same “O Lord GOD, You know.”
· Ezekiel had no hope in the bones, but he did have hope in God.
· Ezekiel did not presume to know what God wanted to do with the bones.
· Ezekiel was confident that God did know.
God gave the prophet something to do. God commanded him to speak, to prophesy to the dry, dead bones. We MUST SPEAK TO OUR BELOVED NIGERIA FROM TODAY!
“O Nigeria my country of dry bones, hear the word of the LORD- ARISE FOR YOUR SET TIME IS COME! ARISE TO THE LIGHT FOR DARKNESS HAD OVERCOME YOU!
We must stand on God’s word as it was, it is and it shall ever be. God’s word had supernatural power.
Ezekiel 37:1,11,14,23
[1]The hand of the Lord came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones.
[11]Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They indeed say, ‘Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off!’
[14]I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken it and performed it, ” says the Lord.’ ” One Kingdom, One King
What God is telling us is that “Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, ( the Holy Spirit will come upon Nigeria) and you shall live: God promised to fill Nigeria’s dry bones with His breath. He promised to bring flesh upon those bones and cover them with skin. God would make the once dead and dry bones live. How tired are we of this smell and stench. How ready are we to come under one banner and revive the rot? This is a task of revival; restoring life to something that at one time had life. This is not demanding the creation of life from nothing; it is the restoration of life to something that has been long dead.
This is GOD DECLARING ON NIGERIA. IT IS HIS COMMAND THAT WE SPEAK TO OUR LAND. The bones can never create life within themselves. As the word of the LORD is proclaimed over them, they received God’s promise of life. The life is engendered by the breath which is the imposing of the Holy Spirit to come back to Nigeria. This has a double sense because the ancient Hebrew words for breath and spirit are the same. This was a granting of God’s Spirit (as previously promised in Ezekiel 36:27) and the restoration of life-giving breath.
What killed the country? Why are we dead as a nation? I am not condemning any political party and certainly not any government. I am only stating a fact. We are spiritually dead and dry bones. This is a fact. The spirit is the controlling partner of the physical. A spiritually dead country is a dry bone. SIN OF CORRUPTION; SIN OF BLOOD LETTING; SIN OF ALLOWING AGENTS OF DARKNESS TO STEAL , KILL AND DESTROY. OUR VERY NATION NIGERIA HAS BEEN PLAGUED BY THEFT, WANTON DEATH AND DESTRUCTION OF OUR RESOURCES!!!!! We are ALL guilty of commission or commission. We have permitted the plundering of our future. We allowed bandits by selling our lifes with our votes. By this we have committed what the Japanese call _harakiri_ (suicide). IT IS TIME TO SPEAK UP. *GOD IS CALLING US ALL TO SPEAK TO NIGERIA*
In Ephesians 2:1 says, “And you hath he quickened [revived], who were dead in trespasses and sins.” If sin still reigns in our lives, if we’re still controlled by a life of sin, then we’re spiritually dead. We are as good as dry bones. Thankfully, the hope in this story is that God can revive dry bones.
“For this my son was dead,” the father said of the prodigal son, “and is alive again; he was lost, and is found” (Luke 15:24).
Spiritually the prodigal son was as dead as dry bones, but God brought him to his knees and restored him to his senses. “For this my son was dead,” the father said of the prodigal son, “and is alive again; he was lost, and is found” (Luke 15:24).
LET US COME OUT OF SIN. LET US COME TO OUR SENSES. LET US SPEAK TO OURSELVES. LET US SPEAK TO OUR DRY BONES. WE MUST VOTE NOT ACCORDING TO OUR LONG THROAT BUT VOTE ACCORDING TO THE DICTATES OF A LIVING NATION.
LET US PUT AN END TO BANDITRY IN GOVERNMENT; LET US PUT AN END TO BLOOD LETTING AND KIDNAPPING.
LET US SPEAK TO NIGERIA WITH THE WORD OF GOD. LET US ARISE OUT OF DARKNESS. MAKE NIGERIA THE LIVING GIANT AGAIN. THE BEACON OF LIGHT WHERE PEACE AND HARMONY REIGNS.
God’s promise for us is that He will cleanse us once we can SPEAK:
In Ezekiel 37:23
[23] “They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions; but I will deliver them from all their dwelling places in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them. Then they shall be My people, and I will be their God.”
Remember the words of Micah 7:8
[8]Do not rejoice over me, my enemy; When I fall, I will arise; When I sit in darkness,
The Lord will be a light to me.
So what is dead in your life; your business; spiritual life; marriage; family; as we speak to Nigeria, SPEAK, SPEAK, SPEAK TO THE DRY BONES WITH THE AUTHORITY OF OUR GOD, WITH THE WORDS OF GOD and command LIFE back into the matter.
Pray with me, “OH LORD GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT, MY TEACHER, INSTRUCT MY TONGUE TO SPEAK TODAY TO MY LIFE, TO MY COUNTRY THAT THE DRY BONES ARISE AND BECOME A GREAT MIGHTY ARMY FOR THE KINGDOM OF GOD!”
OBAFEMI GIWA-AMU ESQ
