The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr Boss Mustapha, says Nigeria needs genuine prophets to stand on its behalf and guide the nation on the path of righteousness.
Mustapha made this assertion in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), on Tuesday in Abuja, while reacting to negative or death prophecies being proclaimed by some prophets over citizens.
According to him, the primary responsibility of a prophet is to give guidance, direction and correction to the nation and the church.
He, however, said that God may raise some prophets up to be prophets to a nation, saying that prophets and clerics have important roles to play in national affairs.
According to the SGF, fake prophecies flying around in the nation was not in anyway helping Nigeria.
“A true prophet of God will be committed to speaking God’s truth. He or she will never contradict God’s revealed Word.
“A true prophet will say, like Prophet Micaiah just before his fateful confrontation with Ahab, “As surely as the Lord lives, I can tell him only what my God says,” he said.
He said that prophets often have both teaching and revelatory roles, declaring God’s truth on contemporary issues while also revealing details about the future.
“Isaiah’s ministry, for example, touched on both the present and the future.
“He preached boldly against the corruption of his day and delivered grand visions of the future of Israel,” he said.
The SGF said that prophets have the task to faithfully speak God’s word to the people, adding that they were instrumental in guiding any nation to the path of righteousness and establishing the church.
He said the household of God is “built on the foundation of the apostles, prophets, evangelists and pastors, with Christ Jesus being the chief cornerstone.”
The SGF explained that many prophets in the Old Testament found themselves confronting kings, and taking an important role in national affairs.
He said some of them also addressed their words to foreign nations and they demonstrated the ministry of a Prophet to Nations.
Mustapha urges prophets in the country to come together and confer direction and correction from God that would bring lasting solution to challenges facing the country.
This, he said, was better than predicting death to the citizens.
“We are living in a time in Nigeria where we need God’s power, when God’s purposes must be accomplished through “shaking” and protective prophecies.
“The ministry of the prophet is very important at this point in time because God cannot act, without first giving a warning through His prophets.
“Surely, the Sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing His plan to His servants and the prophets.
“God cannot shake a nation until He has announced it through His prophets.(NAN)