House of Representatives Speaker Yakubu Dogara has cautioned advocates of a divided Nigeria, saying they are ignorant of God’s plans for the country.
According to the Speaker, who spoke at a church event in Abuja yesterday, the 1970 Civil War was enough to break-up the country.
But, he said God had other plans and did now allow it to manifest.
A statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs, Turaki Hassan, reads: “Those calling for dismemberment of Nigeria don’t know the plan of God for the country.
“Nigeria is not a mistake because it was God, who created the country and He has good plans for her people.
“Those who think Nigeria is a mistake, it may be because they don’t know the purpose. But if you want to know the purpose of a thing, you have to go back to the manual, and who puts the manual together? It’s the manufacturer. So, I would challenge them to go back to the manufacturer of Nigeria, who is God. So that we can get the manual for Nigeria.
“If we were a mistake, maybe during the first civil war, this country would have disintegrated. But God decided to keep this country one and God has never made a mistake.”
The Speaker argued that for the country to have survived the civil war means that there was a purpose for the nation, adding that “until the destiny of this nation is realised, nothing will happen to Nigeria”.
Acknowledging that the nation is facing multifaceted challenges, the Speaker urged Nigerians not to relent in offering prayers for the country as, according to him, nothing is impossible with God, including Nigeria’s challenges.
He said: “For our country, we will never cease to ask that prayers be made, especially collective prayers. We all know the benefits of collective prayers; it is said that whenever two or three of you come together and ask of anything, God will do it.
“We know the challenges we face, they are quite enormous challenges, they are very difficult, but they are not insurmountable. With God on our side, we will surmount them, and the only way we can do that is when we have the benefit of the wisdom of God; wisdom means application of knowledge.”