The subsidy debate has engulfed Nigeria, albeit the entire known world and I’d like to add, even the heavenly host who by now most certainly would have been bombarded by innumerable petitions and supplications from citizens of the most populous black nation on earth. This existential crisis has knocked tenderly at the door of Nigerians for more than a few months and was eventually formed and happily delivered on none other than the first day of 2012 (recall that 2012 is the year the world ends according to the Mayan calendar, so we can expect 2012 to be action packed from start to finish). The nature of that action will depend on us.
Before I digress, let’s dive into the chronicles of King Nebuchadnezzar. Who was King Nebuchadnezzar you might ask? He was one of the few kings known to have practically conquered the entire world. Daniel, a great Prophet of God went even as far as to describe him as king of kings. This king was specially chosen by God to execute judgment upon a stubborn nation that had consistently ignored divine instructions. As you might have figured, that stubborn nation was His first born son – Israel.
This king ransacked God’s own nation and carried off everything and everyone worth confiscating as slaves to his own country. He chose the finest of their princes and deployed them as strategic human capital to stabilize and expand his kingdom to the far ends of the earth. To make matters worse, God defied all protocol and declared this pagan king as His own very servant sent to accomplish divine mandate.
Critical Deduction: Every king and ruler is specially and carefully chosen and selected by God irrespective of their character and the circumstances that brought them to power. In 2011, I campaigned heavily against the incumbent president of Nigeria, but as is forever recorded in history, the party I supported lost out gallantly. The man with no shoes was crowned king right in front of us and we had little choice but to accept this as “divine mandate”. The consolation was that irrespective of the outcome, God ruled in the affairs of men.
A certain period came after king Nebuchadnezzar had appointed the best minds into his cabinet when he encountered a series of dreams. The king got up one morning and forgot his dreams. Interestingly, he remembered he had dreams, and he figured they weren’t ordinary dreams but the challenge was that the storage area (in his brain) responsible for storing the details of these dreams had been wiped clean. The power outage in the king’s mind would have serious implications for the king’s subjects (astrologers, magicians,sorcerers) and possibly several other innocent citizens of the kingdom.
Is there any chance that President Jonathan, despite appointing leading minds from across the ocean, lately encountered a series of troubling and disturbing dreams about his kingdom? Is it possible that the President, perhaps lacking the ability to lay hold of his original dreams about the Kingdom of Nigeria has now issued an edict and proclamation to slay his subjects unless they are able to recollect, interpret and execute his dream? Is it possible that these very subjects (and consultants) under the influence of the narcotic called self-preservation have now rebelled and hurriedly revealed to the President a concocted dream, an imperfect interpretation and a short term but largely ineffective solution? The Lord knows!
King Nebuchadnezzar promptly issued a death warrant for all wise men in Babylon.
This is very significant. During such crisis, the first set of victims would not be the weak or lazy, but the custodians and power houses of production in the kingdom. Is it co-incidental that the death warrant called subsidy removal has as its first victims, owners of SMEs. Basic economics tell us that SMEs are (and will forever remain) the lifeblood of any economy. Kill the SMEs and economy is stone dead.
Enter Daniel. Ezekiel told us what was seen, and what was foreseen by him in the former years of the captivity in Babylon but Daniel tells us what was seen and foreseen in the latter years of the captivity. Daniel, meaning “the judgment of God” (from the original Hebrew) was of the tribe of Judah, and as it should seem, of the royal family. Daniel and his friends were not approached by the king’s army for professional or prophetic advice but were swiftly sought out to be slaughtered. In a classic Daniel style response, Daniel masterfully and skillfully engaged the Captain of the king’s guard and sought audience with the king who subsequently granted Daniel some additional time to find the solution (not a solution). There is always The Solution!
Advanced engagement and negotiation skills have repeatedly proven to be critical in resolving issues of immense proportions such as have engulfed Nigeria in this hour of destiny. As expected, Daniel returned with the silver bullet that heaven released (not men’s economic theories) and the rest as they say, is history. The king of kings bowed down and worshipped Daniel. The matter was resolved by just one man who heard from heaven.
We are the wise men of Nigeria today, and a call is being made for our heads. Shall we like Daniel, receive divine wisdom and insight to design frameworks and economic blueprints that Harvard knows nothing of? Do we have the courage to engage the President and have we the right to enter into his presence? Do we have the spiritual authority that will compel kings and presidents to listen to us, obey us and bow before us?
President Jonathan, like king Nebuchadnezzar has been commissioned by God to lead and direct the affairs of Nigeria in this hour but where is Daniel, and when shall he appear? The hour has come and now is for Daniel to take center stage. Rather than complain, I choose to engage the dreams regarding the future of Nigeria with courage and divine counsel. I ask that you do the same.
References:
Dan 2:1-49
Rom13:1-3
1Tim2:1-2
No comments:
Post a Comment