Former Head of State, General (Dr.) Yakubu Gowon (rtd), has revealed that when it became inevitable that he would become the Head of State of Nigeria, after the 1966 counter- coup, the first thing he did was to send everybody around him away, lock himself up and go on his knees to pray fervently for God’s divine grace to rule.
The ex-head of state and convener of Pray Nigeria Group and patron of Bible Society of Nigeria (BSN), made the disclosure in a brief remark on the topic, “Individual Accountability in Service,” adopted for the 9th annual luncheon of the special members forum of the BSN, at the Muson Centre, Onikan, Lagos, last week.
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He urged everybody, particularly those in position, to always seek God first in whatever they do and also, to serve with the fear of God so as to be successful.
He said, “When it became pratical that I was going to be the new Head of State, when I saw I could not escape it, I asked everybody out, locked myself up in the room and got on my knees to seek the face of God.” Gowon pointed out that no matter your position, you are responsible for your action and would be held liable for it.
“Whatever position you are in life, you as the head at that particular time, will be accountable for whatever you do, “We at the Bible Society of Nigeria have put our hands on the plough and will not look back until Nigeria is saturated with the scriptures. At the moment, complete Bible is available in 20 Nigerian languages, the New Testament in 60 languages and one book or another in 98 languages.”
He urged wealthy Christians and spirited members of the public to sponsor the translation of the Bible in their own languages. General Overseer of The Living Seed Church, Bro. Gbile Akanni and guest speaker at the luncheon, urged Christians to get prepared to give account of their stewardship before God on the last day.
The clergyman warned that accountability was not optional as God created everything and everybody for himself. He reminded those in authority that all powers belong to God, adding that they were only exercising the power as stewards and must be accountable for it.
His words: “Whoever is put in charge of another man’s estate must give account. You will be held accountable for the way you live your life; because he created us and died for us; those who now live should no longer live for themselves, but for him who died for them.
You will be held accountable for the way you live your life, because you do not own your life.”
Also speaking on the occasion, the Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Mrs. Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, represented by her Senior Special Assistant, Dr. Tunde Opeibi, said that whoever was privileged to serve the people should know that they were holding the mandate in trust for the people and would be held accountable. She urged those in power to shun corruption, selfishness and greed.
Highpoint of the event was the presentation of the prestigious Bible Award for Excellence by the Bible Society of Nigeria to Sir Michael Ade Ojo, Chairman of Elizade Group; Most Reverend Emmanuel Udofia, Primate, The African Church, Nigeria and Rt. Reverend Timothy Yahaya, Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN Chairman, Taraba State.
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