L-R: President, Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), Bishop Francis Wale Oke; former President and Chairman of the occasion, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo; Vice President, Federal Republic of Nigeria, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo; President, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Rev Dr. Olasupo Ayokunle; President & Board Chairman of The Bible Society of Nigeria (BSN), Bishop Timothy Banwo and the General Secretary/CEO, BSN, Pastor Samuel Sanusi at a Christian Leadership Summit organized by the BSN in Lagos,
Vice President of Nigeria, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, and former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, have said there is no civilised society that has not benefitted from the principles of the Bible.
The duo also noted that the Bible has consistently been a great instrumental in the transformation of lives and communities across the world.
They made this assertion while speaking at a Christian Leadership Summit with the theme “The Holy Bible: Our Reliable Foundation for Maximizing Personal and National Well-Being” organized by The Bible Society of Nigeria (BSN) in Lagos recently.
Osinbajo in his presentation said no developed civilization, that had not benefitted from the gospel of Jesus Christ. He stated that the gospel is the reliable structure on which personal and national development can truly be founded.
The word of God must be everywhere
The VP posited that the biblical principles of honesty, forthrightness, integrity, hard work, service, trustworthiness in business, and respect for credit and obligations were instrumental to the development of America and the Western world
For this to be achieved in Nigeria, Osinbajo said, “This Word of God must find its way into the hearts of men, but it must do so first by finding its way into their hands. We must be able to get the Bible across to people all over the world and that is up to us.”
He lauded The Bible Society of Nigeria for all it has achieved over the years but challenged the organization to adopt technology for fundraising and shorten the duration of Bible translation.
The Vice President expressed readiness to partner with the BSN to make the word of God available and accessible.
Transformation power of the Bible
The Chairman of the occasion, Chief Obasanjo said that God revealed Himself in several ways and the Bible enables us to know more about Him, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, and the church.
The former President said, “The Bible made it clear to us that it is only when we know the truth that we can be free. It is only when we are free that we have personal, family, community, national and global wellbeing, and God is the foundation of the word. Without the Bible, we are lost.”
He called on the Nigerians to rally around the BSN to get a befitting office complex as its current office is not ideal for Bible work.
Also speaking at the event the President, of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Rev. Olasupo Ayokunle, said the importance of the Bible to both our Christian faith and national lives cannot be overemphasized.
Without the Bible, he said, “evil would be on the increase” adding, “if the bandits, terrorists, and kidnappers had the word of God, Nigeria would have been more peaceful. He called on Christians to support the BSN to continue to make the Bible available.
Earlier, the President and Board Chairman of the BSN, Bishop Timothy Banwo noted that the BSN is the only Bible society in Africa that has a centre dedicated to Bible translation for the deaf in Nigerian Sign Language.
The General Secretary of the society, Pastor Samuel Sanusi assured Church leaders that the BSN will continue to complement their work by ensuring that the Bible is available.