Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Wednesday called on religious leaders to pray and fast for Nigeria ahead of the 2015 general elections.
Obasanjo made the call when he received the National President of the Pentecostal Federation of Nigeria (PFN), Rev. Felix Omobude, at his Hilltop mansion in Abeokuta, Ogun.
He described Nigeria as God’s project, adding: “it is only God that appoints leaders for a country, notwithstanding the political scheming and campaign promises of politicians.
Obasanjo described himself as an incurable optimist of the Nigeria nation and expressed the belief that the country would rank among the best nations of the world in no distant future.
The elder statesman, however, stressed that leadership was pivotal to such a transition.
Obasanjo recalled that Nigeria had passed through and surmounted difficult periods by the help of God, and “the same God is able to help us again.”
He, therefore, urged clerics throughout the nation to pray to God over the choice of a leader for Nigeria.
“I always say that I am an incurable optimist about this country.
“If there is anything that I will ask of you, it is that you and other clerics should never stop fasting and praying for Nigeria.”
“My short span of life has seen a few unexpected things in this country when we thought that the end would just happen, but God made us to scale through,” he said.
Responding, Omobude described Obasanjo as a special treasure to Nigeria, who would continue to be relevant in every affair of the country.
The PFN president assured that the federation would not fail in its calling to pray for the peace, unity and progress of Nigeria.
He noted that one of the major duties of clerics was to pray for the leaders of their countries.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Omobule was on a two-day visit to Ogun.