Nigerians will overcome pandemic, says CAN president

• Calls on govts, churches to provide palliatives

The President, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Rev. Samson Ayokunle, on Sunday, urged Nigerians not to be afraid in order to overcome the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Ayokunle, who doubles as the President of the Nigerian Baptist Convention (NBC), also narrated how he escaped plane crash recently while in the United States on his way back home.

The cleric made these disclosures in his online Sunday sermon yesterday, titled “Conquer Your Fear” taken from the Gospel of Matthew chapter 14 verses 22 to 33, where he charged people not to be afraid of the coronavirus plague in order to overcome it.

His words:  “Our Lord Jesus Christ walked on the raging water to show that the raging water is under His control. God rides on storms as His horses. At times whenever I was travelling by air and there was a storm, I would say, ‘Father, thank You for demonstrating your power here again! You are riding on this wind. I know You are there. I worship You. I worship your majesty”.

“That was what happened in February when I was flying from Washington DC to Atlanta to catch my flight coming to Nigeria. After boarding, the flight was delayed on the runway for about half an hour and later the 30 minutes became one hour. And eventually when we took off we were welcomed by a very strong storm. I was hearing gba, gbu, gba,gbu and I said, the Almighty God, I can see You at work. I know you are in the storm manifesting your power and glory. I worship your majesty. We your children are here, continue watching over us.

“The storm was raging for a long time and it prolonged the journey from one hour, twenty minutes to almost three hours. Even when we got to Atlanta, our plane couldn’t find a place to land but I kept on praising and glorifying the Almighty. Our God is always at work on our behalf and we should not be afraid.

“The more we worship him, the more of Him we see and the more of hope is built in us. Though it is good to listen to news and obey the rules of hygiene for your own good, they are not the only things you can do. The way for you to conquer your fear is in His worship. It is then you can see Him highly lifted up. It is then you will see Him take over your present and your future. It is then that you see your future in His hands and not in the hands of Coronavirus,” Ayokunle admonished.