BY CALEB AYANSINA
ABUJA—PRIMATE of All Nigeria (Anglican Communion), the Most Rev. Nicholas Okoh, Sunday challenged critics of President Goodluck Jonathan over the renovation of Otuoke Anglican Church by Ghitto Construction Company to remove the log in their eyes first before looking for the specks in another person’s, warning them to stop making provocative remarks.

St. Stephen Anglican Church, Otuoke

The Primate also in his Easter message, expressed optimism that Nigerians and Nigeria will indeed, rise and conquer the Boko Haram’s activities in the country.

Okoh, in an interview with newsmen, shortly after the Easter Service at Cathedral of Advents, Life Camp, Abuja, said those heating up the polity, because of the renovation that could be done by anybody, were not being fair, advising them not to allow their sense of reasoning to be beclouded by such trivial issue, when there were much more serious issues confronting the country.

He said:  “It is not an issue, that church, I can renovate it myself, it was already built and the renovation of church can be done by either Ghitto or anybody; people are looking for problem where there is none. The President doesn’t have to have a friend to renovate that church, since if anybody volunteered to do it, those people will receive blessing from God.

“Those who are pointing to the renovation of the church, let them search their midst, there are logs in their eyes, not the speck in somebody’s eye.”

Earlier, the Primate in his Easter message, affirmed that the victory of Easter would usher in permanent peace and victory over the visible and invisible hawkers of death and destruction in the country.

“Let us celebrate with emphasis on prayer for victory over wickedness of man, evil forces, principalities and power, darkness and retrogression. Nigeria must rise from the dead; the victory of Jesus over death and human intrigues must remain a continuing story in every facet of our national life. The Lord is risen.”

He canvassed for true federalism in Nigeria, pointing out that the combination of federal and unitary system of government being practised in disguised form  by the leaders put the country into this present confusion.

“How long shall we continue in this barricade style, God must give us victory over boko haram, because is a God of transformation and power, and He must deliver us from this condition, we can not make progress on this type of situation.

“If you move round the city (Abuja) they have blocked so many places. How long shall we continue in this, a cage? Lord in your mercy, Nigerian must rise up from the dead of boko haram, because our God is omnipotent and He will give us freedom.

“It has been raised from some quarters that our travail from boko haram, is it not by a divine visitation? Is God angry with the church? Because of our lookwarmness, compromises here and there, our apparent non-effectiveness to transforming the socio-economic life of people. So, how are we sure that, what we are going through is not the reward of our iniquities? Check your life, I check my life.

“There is so much of loyalty to material, ethnic group, religion and to all such of evils, but what is painful is that, if it is loyalty to religion we want, there is a clear political philosophy to that, it looks like we don’t want that.

“If we practice true federalism, then we can attend to our region, whatever you want to do there, but we want to run a federalism and unitary system at the same time, this is confusion. So, we have to pray to God of miracle, who raised Jesus from the death to raise Nigeria from the confusion we are in,” Okoh said.