THE NATIONAL PRAYER ALTAR
MARATHON PRAYERS
Monday 10th – Sunday 16th August 2026
CAN AT 50: WHAT NEXT?
Many pastors have destroyed my vineyard, they have trodden my portion under foot, they have made my pleasant portion a desolate wilderness. They have made it desolate, and being desolate it mourneth unto me; the whole land is made desolate, because no man layeth it to heart (Jer. 12:10-11).
The Marathon Prayer call of 27th April – 3rd May 2026, entitled “CAN AT 50: WHAT IS TO BE CELEBRATED?” reviewed the performance of the apex body of Christianity in Nigeria, fifty years after being established. Because leadership is everything, as it is commonly said, a further attempt shall be made to preview what leadership the Church in Nigeria requires. This should not be taken as hounding the umbrella body of Christianity in Nigeria; it is a sincere effort to ensure that the Church continues to thrive and flourish to fulfil God's purpose and remain relevant to the country.
In the past few weeks, God has been giving indications that there is leadership vacuum in the Nigeria Church. Christian leadership has been silent over certain matters. Thankfully, a former president of CAN, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, lately stepped up to speak to the government and make intervention for Nigerians. He was on national TV stating that the Tinubu government was a failure. He was followed a few weeks later by Cardinal John Onaiyekan, another former president of CAN, on national TV. These are not coincidences but acts of divine intervention. If former presidents of CAN could speak out, what about the incumbent president? Why has he not spoken against the failures of government? If he did, former presidents would have had no cause to speak.
If it is recalled that the current president of CAN joined Muslims at a Mosque in Abuja to break their Ramadan fast in 2025, and his other CAN officials joined President Tinubu at Aso Villa in 2026 to break another Ramadan fast. Christians should be circumspect about the direction of the leadership of a Church faced with a jihad. Islamic jihadists are murdering Christians in thousands, while Christian leaders are snacking with Muslims at Ramadan feasts. Not only is such fraternization repulsive, it is outright rebellion against God’s express command in 1 Cor. 10:20-22: "But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils. Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils. Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? are we stronger than he?"
God usually relates to His people through their leaders. Whatever a leader does is sometimes charged to the account of the followers. The consequence of every action or inaction of the leader is visited on the followers. It was David who conducted an illegal census, but it was 70,000 Israelites that died. None died in David’s family, not even a headache. If Nigeria Christians are comfortable with their continued anguish under the APC while their leaders continue to use the spiritual authority of the Church to keep APC in power, since 2015, well and good. However, if the agony of Christians under Islamists is unwelcome, then Christians should take a serious look at leadership performance in the Church. It should be reiterated that “leadership is everything”. If the leadership of the Church demonstrates allegiance to God, the people will prosper and have peace, but if the leadership lacks commitment to God, the people will suffer the judgement of God. Examples abound in the Scriptures.
The northern kingdom of Israel existed for 290 years and had 19 kings all of whom were opposed to God. Consequently, that kingdom went into exile under the Assyrians and has not returned, to date. In the southern kingdom of Israel, when David was on the throne, the kingdom prospered. Solomon succeeded David and started well. Silver was aa common as stones in Israel. The nation was healthy and prosperous, until Solomon strayed into idolatry and the entire kingdom was split in two. Similarly, when wicked kings like Ahaz and Manasseh ruled, the nation of Judah suffered consequences; consequences not essentially because of the sins of the people but mainly because of the iniquity of their kings. When righteous rulers like Jehoshaphat and Hezekiah were on the throne, prosperity and peace returned to the land. When King Josiah arrived on the throne, God had become so incensed against the back-and-forth of the people that the revivals under King Josiah could not quench the wrath that heaven had kindled against the land.
It is against this Scriptural background that Nigeria Christians are being called upon to review the performance of their leaders and set standards for result-oriented leadership, to prevent avoidable suffering in the land. The present sufferings are not merely the consequence of the corruption of the citizens, but primarily due to leadership failures at all levels, which became worse with Church leaders implicated in moral failures.
After endorsing Tinubu and Shettima at the National Christian Centre before the 2023 election and giving them an 11-point agenda to implement, one would have thought that Church officials would have been bold to query the Tinubu administration. Strangely, those Christian leaders who endorsed a Muslim- Muslim ticket did not endorse any of the eleven Christian presidential candidates during that election. Their 11-point agenda should have served as a veritable parameter for measuring the performance of the Tinubu administration. No such performance assessment has been done since the first year of Tinubu. The impression has thus been created that their 11-point agenda was a charade, to justify receiving those politicians at the National Christian Centre.
The 11-point agenda is summarized below for Christians to review and determine if Tinubu implemented their demands, or ignored them.
1. Creation of state police or a fully decentralized police system.
2. Clear and unambiguous religious neutrality of the Nigerian state.
3. Enforcement of the fundamental rights of all Christians and other citizens, including economic and social rights.
4. Restructuring of Nigeria to decentralize governmental powers.
5. Equitable and enforceable sharing of executive political positions.
6. Ethnic and religious balance in military and security agency appointments.
7. Recognition of the right of self-determination for all Nigerian peoples within constitutional limits.
8. Rejection of RUGA (Rural Grazing Area) policy and support for ranching instead.
9. Provision of education and healthcare for all Nigerians, including Almajiri children.
10. Rejection of open grazing and modernization of animal husbandry.
11. Greater local control of local economic resources, including waters, rivers, forests, and related assets.
A conscientious Christian leadership should have constituted a standing committee to monitor the compliance of the Tinubu administration with those parameters. At each anniversary of his government, his report card should have been presented, drawing attention to areas not implemented.
On 26th August 2026, the Christian Association of Nigeria shall be 50 years. It started well, but has been floundering lately, with devastating calamity to the Christian community and the country. Rather than be an asset to the Church, mismanagement and loss of focus has turned the apex body into a liability. Its primary function of uniting the Body of Christ has been abandoned. Under CAN, the Church has become more divided than united, with officials at war with one another. The fiftieth year of CAN should be a time for sober reflection for the Church on the opportunities it missed.
Going forward, what next for the Church? The National Prayer Altar would counsel as follows:
1. The bold and incisive intervention of the former presidents of CAN is appreciated and commendable. However, the former leaders should not stop there. They should urgently convene a meeting of like-minded Christian leaders and collectively express righteous indignation against the impunity and lawlessness of this administration. It is righteousness to reject a second term for President Tinubu.
2. The conscientious Church leaders should review the structure of the apex body in view of global jihad seeking to use Nigeria as its base. The current structure of CAN was built at a time of peace. It should be restructured to cope with this time of war.
3. The Church must take a firm stand against the commercialization of Christian leadership, and build structures to expose and sanction erring leaders. In Matt. 4:19, the Lord said, ."Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." He did not say He would make them rich if they followed Him.
4. The Church must revisit its funding trust, which was deliberately compromised a few years ago. The Church requires a dedicated pool of resources to fund effective Christian advocacies.
5. The primary reason for the establishment of CAN is to build Christian unity. Sacrificial and strong spiritual leadership must be cultivated, to build Church unity. There must be adequate background checks before anyone is accepted to lead the Church.
The Lord promised that the gates of hell would not prevail against His Church. The children of the Kingdom of God should not open the gates to hell. God bless Nigeria.
PRAYER POINTS
1. Lam. 5:7-11
Repent on behalf of the Church for the leadership failures that have provoked God to wrath against the land.
2. Jer. 31:29-30
Remind God that the teeth of Nigerians Christians should not be set on edge because of the sour grapes eaten by some leaders in the Church and in the country.
3. Acts 15:6
Pray that the Spirit of God shall stir righteous leaders and elders in the Church to come together to deliberate on crucial issues in the Church.
4. Jn 17:21-23
Pray that the prayer of Jesus for the unity of His people shall be answered by God in the Nigeria Church.
5. Nah. 1:9
Pray that every conspiracy and satanic manipulation to impose an unrighteous government upon Nigeria against the will of the people shall not stand, in the name of Jesus.
6. Eph. 6:12
Take authority over the spirits of darkness ravaging the land.
7. Ps. 85:4-7
Pray that God shall grant the Nigeria Church a fresh fire of revival. AMEN
