REMARKS BY HIS EXCELLENCY, PROF. YEMI OSINBAJO, SAN, GCON, VICE PRESIDENT, FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA, AT THE DEMOCRACY DAY INTERDENOMINATIONAL CHURCH SERVICE, AT THE NATIONAL CHRISTIAN CENTRE TITLED: “GO FORWARD”, ON MAY 27, 2018.


PROTOCOLS


Bible text: Exodus 14:10 -15

The children of Israel were on a journey of nation-building; the Lord had promised to take them to a land flowing with milk and honey. They had just left the captivity of Egypt, where they were cheated and punished by Pharaoh. God took them on the journey out of captivity, out of anguish, and promised them a place of comfort, abundance and peace.

But the journey was tougher than they expected, suddenly they saw Pharaoh and his army coming after them. They were unarmed, and one of the most vicious armies in history was coming after them. They ran in great fear, with their wives and children. They carried the elderly, the disabled, and the babies, but in front of them was the Red Sea. No boats to cross the sea. They were, “between the proverbial devil and the deep blue sea.”

So they turned to their leader, Moses, who himself was now full of fear because he didn’t expect what they were now experiencing. A lesson here, when God puts you on a journey to your destiny, whether you are a person or a nation, He doesn’t tell you what the challenges will be, lest you refuse to undertake the journey.

So the Israelites turned to their leader, Moses, saying in Exodus 14.11, “because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt? Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, ‘let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness.”

So it is in the journey of nation-building and development, our own nation is no different, we are on a journey from the anguish of the past. There have been times when the journey is somewhat tough, difficult, and fearful; we look behind us and see the armies of the past, the armies of division, which led to a civil war where millions died, the armies of religious strife that refuse to leave us, the armies of corruption and graft, those who want us to remain in the captivity of ethnic and religious conflicts. Ahead of us, we see the Red Sea, bloody conflicts, and the doomsayers saying that the future will be worse than the past!

And then the people say, why did you take us from where we were? The same people who cried in anguish to the Lord, now say, “you should have left us in Egypt.” We didn’t know you were taking us out of captivity to kill us here in the wilderness. Like Moses, the leadership say to God, but what shall we do oh Lord? We didn’t expect that this would be a journey to destruction.

Then God said to Moses in Exodus 15, “why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward. Go forward! Don’t turn back! Moses inspired by God, said to the children of Israel, “do not be afraid, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.”

So I say to you brethren in Christ and fellow countrymen and women, let us go forward, do not look back, the armies of the enemy that you see today threatening to kill and maim, and the claws of poverty and injustice you shall see again no more forever, the Lord will fight for you and you shall hold your peace. We must go forward, we are a people of prophecy.

God has said concerning this nation, that He is building a new Nigeria; a nation where men and women of all tribes and faith, dwell in love and peace. A nation, where our young people have ample opportunities for productive and rewarding work. The promises of God are sure and certain. 2nd Corinthians 1:20

For all the promises of God in Him are yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us. This is the future and we are headed in that direction already.




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Oluyemi Oluleke “Yemi” Osinbajo is a Nigerian Lawyer and politician who is the current Vice President of Nigeria, in office since 29 May 2015.

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